Pepsi v. Coke? Hermione v. Ron? Star Wars v. Star Trek? Karen v. Bobby? While there are many pop culture debates brewing online, the newest debate in the Nebraska education landscape is the impact of LB 753, the Opportunity Scholarship Act. As a refresher, LB 753 was signed into law by Governor Pillan on May 30, 2023 and provides $25 million in tax credits to those who donate to a “scholarship granting organization.” The “scholarship granting organization” will then distribute scholarships for students to attend private and parochial schools.
Two organizations have formed during the debate of this bill: Support Our Schools Nebraska and Keep Kids First. Currently, there is a petition circulating across the state seeking signatures to place the repeal of LB 753 on the ballot in November 2024. Why does all this background information matter to school lawyers? (You might be thinking, “Because lawyers are boring, duh!”) In fact, we have had several schools contact us for guidance about school employees who wish to assist in the political process. It is important for school districts to remind staff of the Nebraska law prohibiting use of public resources to support or oppose a ballot initiative.
Section 49-14,101.01 provides the general statutory language for use of public resources in connection with the political process. It specifically states: “A public official or public employee shall not use or authorize the use of personnel resources, property, or funds under his or her official care and control … for personal financial gain.” The law goes on to prohibit public employees from using public resources for the purpose of campaigning for or against a ballot question. The Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission has expressed the opinion that: “A public…employee may express his or her position with regard to a ballot question [or candidate] and may even urge voters to vote for or against…provided that government personnel, resources, property or funds under that official's care and control are not used for that purpose, and provided further in the case of a public employee that he or she does not engage in such political activity during office hours or when otherwise engaged in the performance of his or her official duties.” In addition to state law, Rule 27 provides that educators have an obligation to the public. Specifically, “the educator shall not use institutional privileges for private gain or to promote political candidates, political issues, or partisan political activities.”
What does this mean practically for schools? School administrators should remind staff that they are prohibited from campaigning for or against one of the organizations involved in the debate surrounding LB 753 when it involves school resources or time. To illustrate, here are a few examples.
Example #1: District teacher sends an email blast to all of his friends and co-workers using his school e-mail in support of signing the petition for Support Our Schools Nebraska. This is a violation of state law and Rule 27.
Example #2: District teacher shares the Keep Kids First Facebook page on the teacher’s personal Facebook page. The teacher does so during the school day. This is a violation of state law and Rule 27.
Example #3: District administrator sends an email to all staff voicing her opinion about LB 753 and stating the action she wishes her staff to take. This is a violation of state law and Rule 27.
There is a lot of political activity the school employees may be able to engage in—including advocating for or against political candidates or ballot initiatives—so long as the employee does not use school district resources to do so and does not do so on school time. We believe that ensuring that all school employees are aware of these limitations will help avoid some of the negative consequences that can arise under the rules and laws discussed above.
If you have any questions about these or other issues, please reach out to Karen, Steve, Bobby, Coady, Jordan, Tyler, or Sara at (402) 804-8000 or all of us at ksb@ksbschoollaw.com.