'School choice' referendum to appear on Nebraska ballot

LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) - Secretary of State Bob Evnen’s office on Thursday certified the petition for a partial referendum on “school choice.”

In mid-July, Support Our Schools Nebraska turned in more than 86,000 signatures for the school choice petition, which required about 62,000 signatures. The Secretary of State said Friday that the state had verified that petition surpassed the minimum number and that those signatures represented at least 5% of 57 counties, which was 19 more than required.

The petition aims to repeal LB1402, which essentially establishes a back-up plan for “school choice.” LB1402 initially designated $25 million for Nebraska students to use to alleviate costs associated with attending a private school of their choice, but was cut to $10 million. The new bill would directly earmark state dollars for private school scholarships, effectively cutting out the middle man.

In order to appear on the ballot, the partial referendum needed verified signatures from at least 5% of registered Nebraska voters, as well as 5% of of registered voters in at least 38 counties.





https://www.wowt.com/2024/09/05/school-choice-referendum-appear-nebraska-ballot/