LEARNS EDUCATIONAL FREEDOM ACCOUNT PROGRAM

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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Since the Arkansas Children’s Educational Freedom Account (EFA) Program is so new, rules are currently developing and more details will be in place throughout the summer. This page will be updated as new rules become available and the application process begins.

Be sure to visit the Arkansas Department of Education LEARNS website by clicking here.

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. 

Who can apply for an Educational Freedom Account (EFA)?

EFA Eligibility grows each year

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. 

What learning expenses can families use the program for?

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. 

How will the Educational Freedom Account (EFA) impact existing state scholarship programs?

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.   

Virtual Town Hall with Sec. Jacob Oliva - March 29, 2023

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.

Town Halls with Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders

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.

Posted by Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Monday, April 24, 2023
Posted by Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday, April 25, 2023
Posted by Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Monday, May 15, 2023
Posted by Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Monday, May 22, 2023
Posted by Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday, June 6, 2023

If you have any questions, please reach out to us at questions@thereformalliance.org or call (501) 244-9028.


Philanthropic Investment in Arkansas Kids

K-12 Scholarship Programs

Arkansas currently has two programs that give families additional education options!

Click here for more details

Click the name of the program for more information.

The Arkansas Children’s Educational Freedom Account (EFA) Program provides funding for eligible students to meet specific education expenses, including private school tuition, fees, uniforms and other expenses required by the school. Eligible students in 2023-24 include those on the Succeed Scholarship Program in 2022-23, students with disabilities, those who are or ever have been in foster care, students of active duty military, students entering kindergarten for the first time, students of F-ranked schools and students at school rated Level 5- Intensive Support by the Arkansas Department of Education.

The Philanthropic Investment in Arkansas Kids Program provides funding for eligible students to attend private schools. Students are eligible for the program if the family's income is less than 200% of the federal poverty guidelines.

If you have any questions about the program or would like more information, please contact our office at info@thereformalliance.org or (501) 244-9028.


Philanthropic Investment in Arkansas Kids

Philanthropic Investment in Arkansas Kids

Philanthropic Investment in Arkansas Kids provides resources for families who need access to additional education options.

Do you want your state income tax dollars to directly fund K-12 students in Arkansas?

Here's your chance: The Reform Alliance (TRA) is accepting donations for the new Philanthropic Investment in Arkansas Kids program.

Who can contribute?

Individual or businesses that pay income taxes in Arkansas can claim a state tax credit for up to 100% of their annual income tax liability by donating to scholarship granting organizations, like TRA.

What does it do?

The donations will fund scholarships for K-12 students to attend qualified private schools. The scholarships gives students the chance to learn, grow and thrive in the environment that best meets their needs!

Here's how it works:

Philanthropic Investment in Arkansas

Estimate your donation

Taxpayers estimate their 2023 Arkansas state income tax liability and make a donation. Then, they complete this credit application form and send it to info@thereformalliance.org.

Don’t worry if your donation exceeds your 2023 liability: You may carry your credits forward for up to three years.

Donate Now
Philanthropic Investment in Arkansas

TRA notifies the DF&A

The Reform Alliance will notify the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration.

The Reform Alliance will also issue the K-12 scholarships for income-qualified students to attend a qualified private school of choice. Students flourish in schools that meet their needs!

Credit application form
Philanthropic Investment in Arkansas

DF&A issues tax credit

The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration will issue a tax credit certificate for the full amount of the contribution.

The amount available for state income tax credits is limited to $2 million per tax year, so taxpayers need to act quickly to reserve their credits.

Contact us
The Department of Finance and Administration refers to the program here, or you can expand the section below.

Act 904 of 2021 provides educational scholarship grants for eligible students to attend non-public schools. Act 904 provides an income tax credit to donors equal to 100% of contributions to scholarship-granting organizations (SGO’s). The credit may not exceed an eligible taxpayer’s income tax due. Unused income tax credits may be carried forward for three years. The Office of Tax Credits/Special Refunds of the Arkansas DFA will issue tax credits on a first-come, first-served basis up to $2,000,000 per calendar year.

The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) of the Department of Education will track grants and prepare an annual report on the program.

Any unused credit may be carried forward for 3 consecutive years.

To claim the credits authorized, attach to the tax return a copy of the Certificate of Tax Credit issued by Tax Credits/Special Refunds section of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration.

The email address is PIAKP.TaxCredit@dfa.arkansas.gov.

The form is located at Tax Credits/Special Refunds – Tax Credits and Special Refunds Forms.

Who is eligible for a scholarship?

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The 2023 application window is open from now until June 1, 2023, at 9:00am.

If you would like to receive updates about the program, please click here.

PARENTS: Start the application process HERE by creating an account. New applications may be submitted until June 1st at 9:00am. Scholarships will be awarded on a first come, first serve basis.

Why should we apply?

Every child learns differently, and sometimes students need a different learning environment, like smaller classrooms, individualized instruction or teachers specialized in working with certain learning disabilities.

Arkansas has a similiar K-12 scholarship program called the Succeed Scholarship that has already been established, but it is limited to students with learning disabilities, in foster care or from military families. The Reform Alliance gathers feedback from parents of students in the program annually, and nearly all parents report that students improve academically and show growth in their social development once they find the school that meets their needs. Click here to see the results! 

You can also hear stories from families who have used the Succeed Scholarship by following us on social media or watching the videos to the right.

If you have any questions about the program or would like more information, please contact our office at info@thereformalliance.org or (501) 244-9028.