The Arkansas Children's Educational Freedom Account (EFA) Program created by the LEARNS Act empowers families with access to choices for their children’s education.

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The Arkansas Children’s Educational Freedom Account (EFA) Program provides flexible funding to families who find that a traditional public school does not meet their student’s specific educational needs. Families who choose to participate in this program will have 90% of their child’s state education funding deposited in an online Educational Freedom Account. State educational funding in 2022-23 was $7,413. Parents can then use that funding to pay for approved school expenses, such as tuition at an eligible private school. 

For the 2023-2024 school year: 

1. A student with a disability identified under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq., as it existed on January 1, 2023;
2. A student who is considered homeless under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. § 11431 et seq., as it existed on January 1, 2023;
3. A foster child or a former foster child
4. A student who is enrolling in kindergarten for the first time
5. A student who is currently participating in the Succeed Scholarship Program, § 6-41-901 et seq.
6. A student who is currently enrolled in the Succeed Scholarship Program, § 6-41-901 et seq., and elects to enroll in the Arkansas Children’s Educational Freedom Account Program under this subchapter shall continue to receive the scholarship amount awarded to him or her under § 6-41-905;
7. A child of active-duty military personnel, as identified under Title 10 or Title 32 of the United States Code;
8. A student who was enrolled in the previous school year in a: (1) Public school that has a rating of “F” under §§ 6-15-2105 and 6-15-2106 and State Board of Education rules or (2) Public school district classified as in need of Level 5 — Intensive support under § 6-15-2913 or § 6-15-2915;

For 2024-2025: Students who participated in the EFA program in 2023-24, students enrolled in the previous year in D-rated schools, children of law enforcement officers and first responders, and children whose parents are veterans or in the reserve military.

In 2025-2026: Any K-12 student in the state of Arkansas will qualify for the program. 

For the first two years of the program, there is a statewide cap on the percentage of students statewide who can participate in it (1.5% of the total public school population in the first year, and 3% of the total public school population in the second year). But, by 2025, there will be no enrollment cap at all. So, even if participating is not available to you right away, you may be able to join later on. 

Like eligibility, what expenses families can pay for through the program will become more flexible with time. For the 2023-2024 school year, students can use the funds for traditional school expenses like tuition, fees, testing, and the cost of required school uniforms, supplies, technology, and services at a participating school.

In 2024-2025, qualifying expenses will expand to include tutoring services, curriculum, transportation costs to participating schools, technological devices for students’ educational needs (with specific costs such as entertainment devices prohibited), fees for courses and exams for college credit or career training, educational services by accredited practitioners for students with disabilities, and more. 

The program has a “rollover provision,” which means that if a family does not use all of their funds in a specific year, the funds will roll over to the next year, as long as the student still participates in the program. 

For many years, the Arkansas Succeed Scholarship Program provided private school vouchers for students with disabilities, foster children, and military families. The Succeed Scholarship will be absorbed into the Arkansas Children’s Educational Freedom Account (EFA) Program in August 2023. If your student currently receives a Succeed Scholarship, they will receive priority for the Educational Freedom Account (EFA) program. Note that families were required to complete an annual student certification to continue to receive funds for the 2023-2024 school year. 

Arkansas’ tax-credit scholarship for income-eligible children, the Philanthropic Investment in Arkansas Kids Scholarship Program, will continue to run separately. Income-eligible students with special needs may even be eligible to receive funds from both programs, if necessary, to cover qualifying learning expenses. The LEARNS Act actually expands the Philanthropic Investment in Arkansas Kids Scholarship Program by raising the cap on donations to the program. This may increase the number of scholarships available to students.   

On March 29, 2023, The Reform Alliance hosted a virtual town hall with Arkansas Sec. of Education Jacob Oliva, in which he shared information about the EFA program and answered public questions. You can watch that town hall below.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Arkansas Sec. of Education Jacob Oliva have been hosting town halls to share information about Arkansas LEARNS, including in Jonesboro, Texarkana, Russellville,Cabot, and El Dorado. During these live events, each of them presented information and answered questions from audience members. Watch these event below.