The Nebraska Examiner has described Legislative Bill 753, the Opportunity Scholarship Act, as a bill that “provides public funds for private schools.” More specifically Legislative Bill 753 is described as “a bill that would set aside at least $25 million a year in taxpayer funds for tax credits for donations to private school scholarships.”

The philosophical public policy issue raised by LB 753 is, what is the purpose of taxpayer-funded K-12 education?

The purpose of taxpayer-funded K-12 education is to ensure that all children, regardless of their families’ financial situation, receive a basic education that will enable them to function reasonably well in society after high school graduation.

Is there only one way to provide this education? Of course not. It can be provided by government schools, parochial schools, nonreligious nonprofit schools, for-profit schools or home schools.

But it is said by some that public funds should only go to government schools. But that is not how federal, state and local governments provide many other services to citizens.

For example, when the Department of Roads needs a highway constructed or reconstructed, they do not usually do the work themselves. They hire and pay a private company through competitive bidding to do the work.

Many government programs allow people to choose where their government benefits are spent. For example, Medicaid allows beneficiaries to choose their doctor from among those doctors who accept Medicaid patients. They do not have to go to a government doctor or government hospital.

Another example are food stamps (now known as SNAP). Recipients can choose where to buy their groceries and, within limits, what foods to buy.

So why should K-12 education be any different? Why shouldn’t parents get to decide to spend public education dollars the same way? That is, choose the school that they decide is best for their children.

Some say this will destroy public education.

But even if, as seems highly unlikely, all government schools were replaced by publicly financed private schools, the purpose of taxpayer-funded K-12 education would still be achieved – Nebraska’s children would receive a basic education that would enable them to function reasonably well in society after graduation.

Opportunity scholarships would likely increase the quality of K-12 education because both government schools and private schools would have to provide services that would convince parents that their children will best be served by a particular school.

Finally, the money to pay for K-12 education is not the government schools’ money, it comes from the parents and grandparents of the students, among others. All the more reason the parents should be able to choose at which school the money should be spent – just like Medicaid, food stamps and other publicly financed programs.