Nebraska's Students Deserve Opportunity Scholarships, Too

Florida's Tax Credit Scholarship offers funding for low-income students to attend private schools, similar to the Opportunity Scholarship legislation (LB 26) sponsored by Senator Bob Krist in Nebraska. In Florida, thousands of students (69,950 during the 2014-2015 school year) have been able to take advantage of the Florida Tax Credit and attend the school of their choosing, yet the state teacher's union is unhappy. 

The state teacher's union (FEA) sued the state in 2014, but a judge ruled that the union had no standing on its claims regarding the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program. The union is now appealing the decision, sparking the #DropTheSuit "Rally in Tally," attended by some 10,000 students and parents. 

Around the country, hundreds of thousands of low-income students are making educational gains as they take advantage of innovative school choice options. So far, Nebraska's legislators have been unwilling to offer the same options to students in our state.