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"Everybody can have a choice now," Linehan said following the celebratory event. "No matter where they live."

"My community can't wait," Sen. Justin Wayne, who represents a North Omaha legislative district, said.

"It's time that opportunity is afforded to every kid," Pillen said.

"Our kids are our future and we're never going to give up on a kid, ever," the governor said. "This will help make sure no kid is left behind."

The bill (LB753) provides individual and corporate taxpayers with a state income tax credit equal to that taxpayer's contribution to scholarships for private and parochial schools.

It's a proposal that was vigorously opposed by public school representatives.

The initial appropriation to fund the bill was set at $25 million a year, but is authorized to rise to $100 million after three years.

Pillen noted during Tuesday's celebration that it will also be accompanied by a $300 million increase in funding for public schools.

"Kids deserve extraordinary public and private education," the governor said, "and it's time that opportunity is offered to every kid.

"Every kid needs to find the right fit."

The bill was enacted on a 33-11 vote after a similar vote count freed the proposal from a filibuster waged by its opponents, gathering exactly the number required to make its way to enactment.

Critical votes were cast by Wayne and Sen. Terrell McKinney, two Democrats who represent North Omaha and its largely black community.

Another Democrat, Sen. Mike McDonnell of Omaha, also supplied a vital vote.

"It has been an issue I have struggled with," Wayne told the gathering at the foot of the steps leading up the Capitol's north entrance.

"Education is a passport to the future," he said, "and my community can't wait."

And "that's not a knock on public schools," Wayne said.

Parents just need to be able to find "the best education fit for their children," he said.

During debate on the bill, Wayne and McKinney had referred to specific stories about North Omaha kids who succeeded in parochial schools after failing in public schools.

"It is high time," Linehan said. Kids who "get bullied or don't just fit in and are not learning" need another opportunity, she said.

"Now there is no choice for kids from families with a limited income," Linehan said.

Tanya Santos, principal at Omaha Holy Name School, said the legislation will allow families "an opportunity to find the best fit for their children."

Children from St. Teresa's Catholic Church in Lincoln, Cathedral of the Risen Christ School in Lincoln, Holy Name School in Omaha and Kearney Catholic School participated in the event, holding a long banner that proclaimed: "Choice = Hope." 

Responding to Tuesday's event, Stand for Schools, an organization that supports public schools, said it will ensure that the issue is on the 2024 ballot in Nebraska "so that voters can have a say in the future of their community schools."