The Nebraska State Education Association (NSEA) has launched a petition to end its state’s maiden voyage into school choice.

NSEA launched Support Our Schools Nebraska to run the petition, which began distributing signature sheets this week. NSEA must gather about 60,000 signatures by August 30 in order to qualify for the ballot next November.

***NEWS RELEASE***
Nebraska voters will be able to decide if they want the state to divert public tax dollars to pay for private schools under a petition filed today by a coalition of Nebraska public school advocates.#SOSNE • https://t.co/S880MaHneR pic.twitter.com/aW7FqC8O8j

— Support Our Schools Nebraska (@SOSNebraska) May 31, 2023

The petition launched a day after Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen signed the bill enacting school choice — LB753, or the Opportunity Scholarship Act — into law. The legislation marked the first type of school choice program in state history. NSEA alleged that the school choice program was a tax scheme to benefit private schools.

“Diverting millions of tax dollars to private schools will hurt our public schools as well as other essential public services and infrastructure,” said petition sponsor Jenni Benson in a press release.

LB753 is a historic step forward for the state of Nebraska. Our kids are our future, and we all believe that every Nebraska kid should have the opportunity to have their educational needs met. This law ensures that we fund students, not systems. pic.twitter.com/tsQHkXTWXd

— Governor Jim Pillen (@TeamPillen) May 30, 2023

In a statement that same day, Pillen characterized the NSEA’s petition as an attack on children seeking the best education for themselves.

“Every kid in Nebraska deserves a high-quality education and the opportunity to pursue their dreams,” said Pillen. “The NSEA’s attempt to overturn the Opportunity Scholarships Act is an attack on our kids and their educational opportunities. I am confident Nebraska voters will reject any attempt to limit school choice for our families.”

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RELEASE: Governor Pillen Statement on NSEA Petition pic.twitter.com/6nU37G3SVL

— Governor Jim Pillen (@TeamPillen) May 31, 2023

Following NSEA’s distribution of signature sheets, Pillen wrote in a weekly column that the state should be funding students rather than systems.

“These scholarships will go to those students who need them most. They will provide students the ability to attend a school they otherwise could never afford,” stated Pillen.

Nebraska’s school choice program establishes $50 million in tax credits for scholarships to private schools. Maximum scholarship amounts will be limited to the school’s cost of tuition and fees, with the average of scholarship amounts awarded per student not exceeding 75% of the state’s per-student expenditure.

The bill requires schools to prioritize five classes of students:

First priority goes to students who received an education scholarship from a scholarship-granting organization during the previous school year, and any siblings of a student in the same household who receives an education scholarship.

Second priority goes to students whose household incomes are under 100% of the federal poverty level; whose application for the enrollment option program was denied; who have an individualized education plan; who are experiencing bullying, harassment, hazing, assault, battery, kidnapping, robbery, sexual offenses, threat or intimidation, or fighting at school; who are in the foster care system; and who are in a family with a parent or guardian serving active-duty military, or whose parent or guardian was killed in the line of duty.

Third priority goes to students whose household income levels exceed 100%, but not 185% of the federal poverty level. Fourth priority goes to students whose household income levels exceed 185%, but not 213% of the federal poverty level. Finally, fifth priority goes to students whose household income levels exceed 213%, but not 300% of the federal income eligibility standard for reduced school meals.

Nebraska’s school choice legislation received some bipartisan support: three Democrats joined 30 Republicans to approve the legislation. One of the Democrats, State Sen. Justin Wayne, announced his break from his party in January to side with school choice.

Nebraska’s legislature is technically nonpartisan. The legislators, all senators, are elected without an official party affiliation. State party endorsements indicate where these senators align, making the Republican Party the majority in the legislature.

Nebraska’s legislature is unique: it is the only unicameral legislature in the country, signifying a single legislative chamber rather than a separate house and senate. Additionally, there are no representatives — just 49 senators serving four-year terms, making Nebraska’s legislative body the smallest in the nation.

In addition to the three Democrats joining 30 Republican colleagues to pass school choice, five senators were present, but didn’t vote: Republican Sens. Tom Brandt and Myron Dorn, and Democratic Sens. Jen Day, Tony Vargas, and Lynne Walz.

A 9/11 families group slammed the PGA Tour for announcing on Tuesday that it was merging with Saudi-backed LIV Golf, saying that they were betrayed by PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan.

The agreement between the two entities and the DP World Tour will form a new for-profit company that has not yet been named.

9/11 Families United released a statement slamming the PGA Tour for partnering with the Saudi-backed entity, noting that Saudi operatives played a role in facilitating the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans.

“PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan co-opted the 9/11 community last year in the PGA’s unequivocal agreement that the Saudi LIV project was nothing more than sportswashing of Saudi Arabia’s reputation,” said 9/11 Families United Chair Terry Strada, whose husband Tom died in the World Trade Center’s North Tower. “But now the PGA and Monahan appear to have become just more paid Saudi shills, taking billions of dollars to cleanse the Saudi reputation so that Americans and the world will forget how the Kingdom spent their billions of dollars before 9/11 to fund terrorism, spread their vitriolic hatred of Americans, and finance al Qaeda and the murder of our loved ones.”

“Make no mistake – we will never forget, “the statement continued. “Mr. Monahan talked last summer about knowing people who lost loved ones on 9/11, then wondered aloud on national television whether LIV Golfers ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour. They do now as does he. PGA Tour leaders should be ashamed of their hypocrisy and greed. Our entire 9/11 community has been betrayed by Commissioner Monahan and the PGA as it appears their concern for our loved ones was merely window-dressing in their quest for money – it was never to honor the great game of golf.”

9/11 Families United angrily reacts to the PGA Tour’s announcement of merging with LIV golf. “Our entire 9/11 community has been betrayed by Commissioner Monahan and the PGA as it appears their concern for our loved ones was merely window-dressing in their quest for money” pic.twitter.com/X1u0a3k1yb

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) June 6, 2023

The PGA Tour’s decades of dominance were challenged in June 2021 after retired golfer Greg Norman, with funding from the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF), hosted LIV’s first tournament. The PGA tour initially dismissed LIV out of hand, not allowing any golfer who participated in LIV to continue in the PGA tour.

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LIV slowly began picking off some of the biggest stars in golf to join their league. The PIF gave CEO Greg Norman a reserve of $2 billion that proved to be enough to pick off stars like Phil Mickelson ($200 million), Dustin Johnson ($100 million), and Bryson DeChambeau ($100 million) without having to win or even qualify for a single tournament, leaving even more money on the table.

The PGA Tour suspended 17 golfers from the tour for participating in LIV Golf, kicking off a year of lawsuits between the two golf juggernauts. Eleven pro golfers sued the PGA for allegedly stifling competition in a monopolistic manner. However, all 11 plaintiffs left the lawsuit by May of this year after LIV got involved as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, souring the public image of the golfer’s stated principled stand against the PGA.

The PGA filed a countersuit in September, alleging that LIV golf and, importantly, the PIF had unlawfully aided the 17 golfers in violating their contracts with the PGA by offering them separate contracts to play for LIV. The implication of the PIF is an international debacle, as stars such as Phil Mickelson have desperately tried to separate the LIV organization from the Saudi theocratic monarchy, with Greg Norman saying of Saudi Arabia’s human rights violations and the murder of WaPo reporter Jamaal Khashoggi that “we’ve all made mistakes.”

With the merger, all lawsuits have been dropped, and the only remaining threat is a DOJ antitrust investigation into the PGA, which will be complicated before the merger. The PGA Tour commissioner said the deal will push golf into the future and give fans the best experience.

“Going forward, fans can be confident that we will, collectively, deliver on the promise we’ve always made — to promote competition of the best in professional golf and that we are committed to securing and driving the game’s future,” Monahan said.

Nathan Gay contributed to this report.