Nebraska aims to have the third-best open enrollment policy nationwide

Since 2023, Nebraska policymakers have improved the state’s K-12 open enrollment law each year. This policy lets students transfer to public schools in districts other than their assigned one. 

In 2023, legislators made the program more transparent and then increased student transfer opportunities in 2024. Once again, Nebraska policymakers are primed to expand students’ schooling options. In 2025, Legislative Bill (LB) 557 would open all public schools to any student interested in transferring via a randomized lottery.

2023 national polling conducted by YouGov showed that 84% of Americans support letting students attend public schools that are the right fit. Data from Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, West Virginia, and Wisconsin show that nearly 686,000 students attend a public school other than the one they were assigned. 

Policies like these help students escape bullying, streamline their commutes, access smaller class sizes, and enroll in specialized courses, such as Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate classes. 

If codified, LB 557 would ensure that students could access any school regardless of where they live. 

Moreover, the bill would explicitly prohibit school districts from discriminating against applicants based on their abilities or disabilities. Data from Wisconsin showed that students with disabilities were rejected at higher rates than their peers. Provisions like those found within LB 557 guarantee protections for students with disabilities.

Yet, this proposal can still be strengthened. In particular, the bill should clarify that school districts must accept all transfers so long as they have available capacity in the requested grade level in the proposal’s section 79-238(1). 

Additionally, the proposal should clarify the provision that would let school districts base standards for student selection on the interest of applicants, families, or legal guardians (proposal section 79-238(1)). As written, it is unclear what this provision is intended to do, and it could undermine Nebraska’s existing open enrollment program which lets students transfer to schools in other districts with open seats. 

Moreover, the bill strikes provisions (Nebraska code 79-238(2)(d)) that require districts to publish their transfer policies, procedures, and available capacity on their websites. This weakens transparency and makes it difficult for families to know if they should apply. All of this information should be posted to each school district’s website.

Additionally, the State Board of Education should be required to publish the report and data described in code section 79-239(4)(a-b) annually. This ensures families, taxpayers, and policymakers can hold districts accountable for their transfer practices.

The suggested tweaks to the proposal’s section 79-238(1) alone would cement LB 557 as a strong open enrollment proposal, clarifying that students could attend any school with open seats.

Despite these shortcomings, LB 577 would be a major win for Nebraska students. If codified, Nebraska would score 95/100 points on Reason Foundation’s open enrollment best practices scoresheet. This would improve the state’s grade from a B to an A and tie it with Arizona and West Virginia for the third-best open enrollment law in the nation. Most importantly, it would allow students to transfer to schools that better fit their needs.

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