‘Teach Children What to Think’: Lawsuit Targets Nebraska Schools’ Funding Formula

Two Nebraska families sued state and local officials Thursday, arguing the state’s K-12 education funding system violates parental rights.

Parents opposed to LGBTQ ideology in local public schools have no other cost-free option, the lawsuit argues, alleging “viewpoint discrimination” by the state and an unconstitutional condition on a public benefit.

“Parents have a right to provide education with the speech of their choice,” Christian Clase, litigation counsel for the New Civil Liberties Alliance, which is representing the families, told The Daily Signal. “This right applies to any parent. It should be up to them the values their children are taught.”

The plaintiffs, Justin Jacobsen and Timothy and Joanna Menter, previously enrolled their children in Lincoln Public Schools and later withdrew them to pursue alternative education aligned with their values. Private high school education can be an expensive alternative, exceeding $100,000 per student, while homeschooling involves the lost income of one parent staying home to teach, they noted.

The complaint says that Lincoln Public Schools promoted “alternative sexuality and transgendered ideologies” in classrooms and libraries, and expected students to use “LGBTQ-affirming pronouns.”

“For example, while the Menter[s’] very young children were in government school, LPS produced a sticker endorsing alternative sexuality and transgendered ideologies. The sticker was prominently displayed on many classroom doors,” the complaint says.

Later, the complaint noted: “One of Mr. Jacobsen’s daughters was told that she must accommodate transgender individuals in the girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms. She was encouraged to remove herself from those spaces if she felt uncomfortable sharing them with biological males.”

The lawsuit asks the court to enjoin state and local officials from conditioning benefits on public school enrollment. It doesn’t prescribe a remedy but would leave that to the state Legislature. The state spent an average of $19,038 per pupil in public schools during the 2024-25 academic year, with local funding providing nearly half of the revenue for Lincoln Public Schools.

While most states, including Nebraska, have laws requiring education for students, other states provide options such as vouchers or tax rebates for parents who choose either to homeschool or to send their children to private school, Clase said.

“There are financial pressures that parents in Nebraska face that parents in other states don’t,” Clase said.

“When parents send their children to a government school, the government’s preferred speakers instruct the child using a government’s choice of curricula, standards, codes of conduct, textbooks, lessons, and other applicable resources or rules,” the complaint says. “… The speech in government schools therefore inevitably advances values and ideas preferred by the government. Government schools do not merely teach students how to think; they teach them what to think.”

Besides Spellerberg, the defendants include the City of Lincoln, Lancaster County, Lincoln Public Schools, State Commissioner of Education Brian L. Maher, State Board of Education President Elizabeth Tegtmeier, Attorney General Michael Hilgers, Lancaster County Treasurer Rachel M. Garver, and Lincoln Board of Education President Bob Rauner.

Lincoln Public Schools Director of Communications Mindy Burbach said the school district contacted its counsel and would not have a comment on the lawsuit on Thursday.

The lawsuit, Jacobsen v. Spellerberg, was filed in the District Court of Lancaster County, and is named for Nebraska State Treasurer Joey Spellerberg, who oversees state funding issues.

Spellerberg is named only in his official capacity for overseeing the state’s finances, said Jamie Karl, the treasurer’s chief of staff.

“Treasurer Spellerberg and his staff are committed to faithfully carrying out our statutory and constitutional duties under Nebraska law,” Karl told the Daily Signal.