Bill
LB 481
Creates HOPE Scholarships to cover all or part of private school costs for Nebraska foster children and eligible siblings at accredited nonprofit private schools.
LB 481 — Foster Child Scholarships Act (HOPE Scholarship Program)
Overview
- Purpose: To create the Foster Child Scholarships Act and establish the HOPE Scholarship Program to provide need-based scholarships for Nebraska’s foster children and their biological siblings to attend approved nonprofit private schools in Nebraska.
- Administering agency: Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
- Key aim: Allow eligible foster children (and eligible biological siblings) to attend approved private schools with state-assisted financial support.
- Status and timeline: Notice of hearing for February 12, 2025; introduced January 21, 2025; emergency provision with immediate effect upon enactment if approved.
What the bill would do
- Establishment of HOPE Scholarships
- Creates the Foster Child Scholarship Program and the HOPE Scholarship to cover all or part of the costs of attending an eligible school.
- Eligible schools are nonprofit private elementary/secondary schools located in Nebraska that are accredited, meet state health and safety standards, and comply with applicable anti-discrimination laws.
- Eligibility and recipients
- Eligible student: any elementary or secondary student who was eligible to attend a public school in the prior semester or is starting school for the first time and is in foster care, or is the biological sibling of a foster child (if the sibling would have been eligible to attend public school in the prior semester or is starting school for the first time).
- An educational decisionmaker (e.g., a parent, guardian, foster parent, or other person authorized to make educational decisions) may qualify the foster child for a HOPE Scholarship upon admission to a participating school.
- Student eligibility is sustained until graduation from high school or until age 21, regardless of changes in foster care placement.
- The act clarifies that receiving HOPE Scholarships does not grant the state authority to govern or influence the policies of the participating schools.
- Program administration and rules
- DHHS is responsible for distributing HOPE Scholarships and ensuring eligibility compliance.
- DHHS may adopt rules and regulations to implement the act.
- DHHS must annually notify educational decisionmakers about the program to raise awareness and eligibility.
- Reporting and accountability
- Beginning December 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, DHHS must electronically report to the Governor and Legislature:
- The number of eligible students receiving HOPE Scholarships in the most recent fiscal year.
- The total amount of HOPE Scholarships awarded in the most recent fiscal year.
- Demographic information for recipients (including income level, grade level, race/ethnicity, and geographic location).
- Funding
- The bill appropriates $200,000 from the General Fund for fiscal years 2025-26 and 2026-27 to fund the Foster Child Scholarships Act.
- Emergency/Effective date
- The act contains an emergency clause; it takes effect upon passage and approval as allowed by law.
Who is affected
- Primary beneficiaries: Nebraska foster children and their biological siblings who meet eligibility criteria.
- Educational decisionmakers: Parents, guardians, foster parents, or others with authority to make educational decisions for the eligible students.
- Participating private schools: Approved nonprofit private schools in Nebraska that meet accreditation, health/safety standards, and anti-discrimination requirements.
- State actors: Department of Health and Human Services, the Governor, and the Nebraska Legislature (for reporting and oversight).
Procedural notes
- Introduced: January 21, 2025
- Committee referral: Health and Human Services (Jan 23, 2025)
- Hearing notice: February 12, 2025
- Sponsor: Primary – Senator Beau Ballard; Chair – Senator Brian Hardin
- Status: Notice of hearing; bill language includes emergency clause and triggers immediate effect upon enactment if passed.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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