107A LB364 LPS Testimony

January 27, 2021

  • Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, Chairperson
  • Sen. Joni Albrecht
  • Sen. Elliot Bostar
  • Sen. Tom Briese
  • Sen. Mike Flood
  • Sen. Curt Friesen
  • Sen. Brett Lindstrom
  • Sen. Rich Pahls

Good afternoon distinguished members of the Revenue Committee:

My name is Connie Duncan, C-O-N-N-I-E D-U-N-C-A-N. I am a member of the Lincoln Board of Education. I am offering testimony in opposition to LB 364.

To begin, I think it is important to discuss one of the premises of the bill. It states that individuals who pay for private school are paying for education twice.

  • Citizens of Nebraska pay for public education through property, sales, and income taxes.
  • They do so whether they ever have children or not, whether they have children in public school or not, and whether their child requires hundreds and thousands of dollars in services or never takes part in anything other than the general course of study.
  • Saying private school parents are “paying twice” is like imply that those who do not have children in school should not have to pay taxes to support public education at all or those parents with students who have special needs aren’t paying their fair share.
  • The reason the state provides public education is grander than each parent paying a certain amount in taxes to cover the cost of their own children. The commitment of the state to our children’s education is about the future success of all of our children because, in reality, that is how we will measure the success of the state.

Beyond this concern, I would like to limit my testimony to just two of the many areas of concern with this bill:

First, LB364 makes these funds available to private schools while allowing them to apply discriminatory enrollment practices such as denying enrollment to students based on their disability, sex or religion. This means that these scholarships are not meant to be available to all Nebraska students. [If asked – Section 3, Subsection 4; Page 3, Lines 198-36].

Second, the bill does not identify any financial or academic accountability measures to ensure the use of funds meet the intent of the bill. This is in stark contrast to the transparent financial and academic accountability systems required of public schools.

As a general policy, state-provided funding usually includes requirements for equitable access and accountability, especially when the intent is serving children. LB364 appears to lack even minimal levels of financial and academic oversight and guarantees for equitable access.

For these reasons, I ask the Revenue Committee to indefinitely postpone LB364 and to continue their ongoing practice of supporting public education in ways that embrace equitable access and transparency.