Holly Hansen and her husband have always wanted to send their three sons to a parochial school to receive a Catholic education.Â
Hansen, who lives near Wahoo, said she followed up on that desire and enrolled all three in a Catholic school. But after her youngest boys, twins, started kindergarten, the family quickly realized the school did not have enough staff to help the boys who have individualized education plans and require additional help.
After many meetings with school officials, Hansen said it was decided the best thing for her twins would be to transfer to public school to get the special-education help they need.Â
"Every child has a right to an education and the value of public schools is immeasurable," Hansen said. "However, I should be able to choose the school my children attend. And if my husband and I want to provide a Catholic school environment for my children, they should be able to get that. And they should be able to receive the special-education help they need at any school they attend."Â Â
Hansen and other parents told similar stories to the Nebraska Legislature's Education Committee last month.
LB1251, introduced by Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair, would provide state-funded scholarships to help special-education students attend private and parochial schools.Â
Hansen said he introduced the bill to empower parents of children with special needs to choose the educational setting that is best for them.Â
His Equal Opportunity Scholarship for Students with Special Needs Program Act would not send money to a school. Instead, he said, it would give money to the parents of eligible students to assist them in sending their child to a school of their choice.Â
Students would be eligible if they received special-education services under an individualized education plan at a public school in Nebraska for at least one course in the preceding semester. The amount of money available to the student would depend on the level of intervention and support that student needs.
As written, LB1251 would take $5 million from the Nebraska State Lottery Operation Trust Fund and put it toward the scholarships. Hansen said he is still working out the details of the funding and there are a few other options for coming up with the required money.
Kami Jessop, director of special services for the Westside Community Schools, spoke in opposition to the bill on behalf of several education organizations, including the Nebraska State Education Association.
Jessop said she and other education organizations have a number of questions and concerns about the bill. She said students with disabilities are already entitled to enroll in the school of their choice and students who attend private schools are entitled to receive special-education services from public school staff.Â
Connie Knoche, education policy director for OpenSky Policy Institute, said her organization also opposes the bill.
"It would direct state funds to private schools without imposing any accountability or oversight over them to ensure the program is working as intended," Knoche said.Â