Nebraska

Next up behind Kentucky is Nebraska, with $3.5 Billion per year just begging to be taken from innocent public school children. A simple Google search will show that the charter school predators have arrived in Nebraska, and this has led to numerous articles sharing opinions about the good, the bad and the ugly of charter schools in the cornhusker state.

Some are taking a more positive approach. Nebraska Loves Public Schools is dedicated to supporting public education one documentary film at a time.

Charter opponents say:

Local View: Charter schools are wrong for Nebraska

NEBRASKA education chief slams charter school bill

Meanwhile, proponents say:

According to their website, pro-charter school organization Educate Nebraska claims that “Charter schools have proven particularly beneficial for poor children and children of color. Too many of our persistently low performing schools exist in high poverty, high minority neighborhoods. These children and their families deserve better options now. Opening high quality public charter schools and allowing low-income children to attend a high performing private school will give parents a choice and children a chance.”  However, their claims are unsubstantiated, and don’t account for the fact that poverty is the number one contributor to low performing schools, and there is no explanation how simply switching these students to a charter school will change that.

A June 2015 article on the pro-charter website Our Children Our Schools warns of NEBRASKA FALLING BEHIND AS SCHOOL CHOICE SWEEPS THE NATION. However, Nebraska currently ranks 18th in the nation, behind two other school districts that have thus far resisted charters, as well (Vermont and North Dakota). It would seem that “falling behind” could be considered a GOOD thing in our currently volatile educational climate, especially since most — if not all — of the districts who were the early adopters of charters have seen their charter school saviors come and go.