I’m glad Nebraskans will have a chance to vote in November on the state’s School Choice law.

It will be an interesting election issue, because there are good points to the argument on both sides, and it boils down to how much weight you give each side.

We’re all mostly aware of the history on this issue. The Opportunity Scholarship Act was passed by our Legislature last year. It allows taxpayers to divert up to half of their state income taxes to Scholarship Granting Organizations for tuition to private and parochial schools.

Opponents of the new law then circulated a petition for a vote of the people on this law. It was signed by some 117,000 voters, was found valid by the Secretary of State, and was will be decided by voters in November.

There was an attempt in January by Sen. Lou Ann Linehan to overturn the certification of this referendum petition, but Secretary of State Bob Evnen rejected this appeal saying the petition met all legal requirements.

Just recently, there has been considerable hoopla over a new proposal by Sen. Linehan, LB 1402, that would directly allocate $25 million a year from state coffers to scholarship granting organizations that award scholarships to private and parochial schools.

There are definitely some constitutional issues connected to that latest proposal, and I don’t believe it would pass muster.

From a personal standpoint, we are a family that has educated our children in a rural public school setting, and we have had positive experiences with public education.

However, we realize the experience of families in more urban settings could be much different than our own.

Taking a look at the arguments in favor of the School Choice bill, it would commit tax credits to fund private school scholarships, “with priority to children who live in poverty, foster care, or experience bullying, harassment, or other victimizing behaviors, or have a parent or guardian who is serving in the military,” according to Gov. Pillen.

Supporters say it provides an option for kids who would otherwise not have the choice for private or parochial education.

Supporters also say this plan is not “diverting” public funds to private education, because the funds (up to $25 million in tax credits for the first year) have never actually been in the state’s coffers.

Opponents, on the other hand, do see this plan as “diverting” funds to private education,” because without the credits the money would otherwise be in the state’s coffers They point out that the option of private and parochial education already exists in our state. There is privately funded tuition assistance available for private schools. However, there is no program in place in Nebraska to provide tax credits to fund student tuition.

Some new arguments have also been brought forward in the legislative debate. Competition is one of those. Sen. Linehan said it is clear that opponents of her proposal (including the state teacher’s union) “don’t want competition” for public schools.

On the other hand, opponents of school choice said, Linehan’s proposal provides no “accountability” from private schools, and there is no proof that competition from private schools would improve educational outcomes.

It is clear that very few minds have been changed on this issue, but Nebraskans who continue to follow the debate will be better informed when they vote in November.

‘Nebraskans who continue to follow the debate will be better informed . . .’