Jackson, who was still a teenager herself, became the girl’s advocate and eventually adopted her as a daughter. When specialists diagnosed the child with dyslexia, Jackson did research and found a private school with the right expertise. There was just one problem: tuition was more than Jackson’s monthly income.

According to EdChoice, there have been 73 separate fiscal analyses conducted on private school choice programs in the United States. Of those, 68 found the programs generated net savings for the state and four of them found the programs were cost neutral.

To this day, Nebraska students are limited to their residentially assigned public schools with the hope of enrolling in better public schools with option enrollment — but only if there’s room. For parents from underprivileged communities, who must fight every day to make sure their children have a chance to break the cycle of poverty, those options simply are not enough.

As I walked by the hotel bathroom, I saw my father throwing up in the sink. I immediately knew something was different. He looked me in the eye and told me, “Everything will be okay.” That was all I needed to hear. That was the first phrase I remember my father saying to me, surely it wouldn’t be the last. Father’s upset stomach was simply his body’s reaction to the first meal he ate in the United States.

A step in the right direction - tax-credit scholarships for Nebraska students. The Nebraska Legislature considers a tax-credit scholarship program that would give parents and students school choice for the first time in the Cornhusker state. The proposed bill would enable individuals, joint fillers, estates, trusts, limited liability companies and partnerships to fund scholarships in exchange for a tax credit.