Supporters of public-private school choice see an opening to advance their cause in Nebraska this year, emboldened by political shifts locally and nationally.
Measures introduced Wednesday in the state Legislature would create a new accountability system for Nebraska's public schools, then allow for private-school vouchers or charter options for students in lower-rated schools.
"We need an open and honest discussion about education in Nebraska — about outcomes and about cost," said state Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, who sponsored two of the measures and cosigned a third.
Linehan's daughter, Katie Linehan, leads the pro-school choice group Educate Nebraska.
The school choice bills were among 177 measures introduced on the Legislature's last day of bill introduction for the 2017 session.
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One bill (LB662) sponsored by Sen. Linehan would require the Nebraska Board of Education to establish an A-F grading scale to measure performance of the state's public schools and school districts.
Another Linehan bill (LB608) would provide vouchers for students to attend private school if their local school is among the lowest performing statewide.
The vouchers would equal 75 percent of the district's per-pupil revenue or the cost of private school attendance, whichever is less; the remaining 25 percent would go toward lowering property taxes in that district.
A third bill (LB630), introduced by Sen. Tyson Larson of O'Neill and cosigned by Linehan, would allow charter schools in districts with low-performing schools. The charter schools would be approved and overseen by a new Independent Public School Authorizing and Accountability Commission, which Larson's bill would create.
Similar efforts have failed in previous years. They generally experience fierce opposition from public school groups, which argue charter schools and vouchers divert critical resources from local districts.
Ann Hunter-Pirtle, executive director of the pro-public school group Stand for Schools, cautioned against using public school funding for "privatization schemes like charters and vouchers."
Steve Joel, superintendent of Lincoln Public Schools, asked what change people would like to see, given the state's high graduation rates, college-going rates and ACT scores.
"At the end of the day, Nebraskans have been very, very pleased with the educational outcomes schools produce. If we bring about change for change’s sake without regard for the work already done and without increasing existing resources ... it will negatively impact kids.â€
But school choice proponents say change is merited, and see local and national momentum swinging their way.
President-elect Donald Trump's pick for U.S. education secretary, Betsy DeVos, is a strong proponent of charter schools. And Nebraska's budget crunch means many state lawmakers will be looking to "do things better with less," Linehan said.
A key hurdle for any school choice measure in Nebraska is the Legislature's Education Committee, which has generally bottled up such bills in the past.
This year's committee is relatively split on ideological lines, although its new chairman, Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte, said he supports accountability for public schools and would consider measures to allow vouchers or charters.
"These kids only get one shot at an education," Groene said Wednesday. "Accountability is important."
Bills traditionally must advance from the relevant committee to be debated by the full Legislature. However, a majority of senators can also vote to pull a bill out of committee and force a full debate.
School choice proponents want Nebraska to follow 17 other states that have adopted accountability systems assigning A-F grades to schools and districts.
Commissioner of Education Matt Blomstedt declined to comment on the proposal Wednesday.
The state's current system, adopted in 2015, classifies schools as excellent, great, good or needs improvement.
The Linehans argue the system, called AQuESTT (Accountability for a Quality Education Today and Tomorrow) relies too much on subjective data and is less meaningful than an A-F scale. They also question whether AQuESTT complies with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, the rewrite of No Child Left Behind which President Barack Obama signed into law in December 2015.
"This bill will start a discussion that's going to happen regardless," Katie Linehan said.
State education officials have been working with the U.S. Department of Education to get Nebraska's current accountability model approved.Â
School choice advocates tried to compile their own A-F grades of Nebraska schools using existing data last year. Gov. Pete Ricketts' office and at least two state senators tried to help obtain the data, but the Board of Education said some of the data was confidential and could only be obtained through a special process for researchers.
The conservative group Americans for Prosperity-Nebraska applauded Wednesday's bills as well as two introduced earlier in the session by Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion.
One Smith bill (LB554) would task the state Board of Education with creating a website to document spending by schools, school districts and educational service units.
Matt Litt, Americans for Prosperity's state director, said the group is "excited" about that measure and Linehan's accountability bill: "Both of these measures equip taxpayers with valuable information to hold school districts accountable and advocate for children across the state.â€
Smith's other bill (LB295) is backed by the Nebraska Catholic Conference and would provide tax credits for people who contribute to private-school scholarship funds for low- to middle-income students.