Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen (R) has signed an executive order opting the state into a federal school choice tax credit program, enabling taxpayer funds to support private school tuition. The initiative, part of President Donald J. Trump’s 2023 tax and budget bill, allows individual taxpayers to redirect up to $1,700 in federal income taxes owed to scholarship-granting organizations for K-12 private education expenses.
The decision was announced Monday at a Catholic school in Lincoln, Nebraska, where Pillen declared, “I am not opting this in, I am cannonballing it into the state of Nebraska.” The move aligns with support from Representatives Mike Flood (R-NE) and Adrian Smith (R-NE), who backed the federal budget bill and private school scholarship initiative.
The program permits families earning up to 300 percent of the area median income to access scholarships. Critics, including Nebraska State Education Association President Tim Royers, argue the policy contradicts voter decisions, noting high-income families—those earning over $200,000 annually—could benefit through tax credits.
Pillen defended the measure, stating it does not jeopardize public school funding. “We have to have great public schools, and we have to have great St. Teresa’s,” he said. “And because of this legislation, both can win.”
