Voucher request period to open in April

The application period will open in April for Arkansas families that want to attain for the first time state-funded vouchers of more than $6,800 per year for their child’s private or home school enrollment in the coming 2024-25 school year.

Families of students who are currently receiving state funding for tuition and other private school costs will be able to renew their participation in the state’s Educational Freedom Account program a little earlier — in March.

Darrell Smith, assistant commissioner for school choice and parent empowerment in the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, on Tuesday presented an update on the plans for what will be the second year of the Educational Freedom Account program.

Smith said the application period is starting a little later than initially planned for 2024-25 because the state is in the process of taking bids from companies to manage the account program. That work is being done in the current first year of the voucher program by ClassWallet.

Additionally, the state is continuing to draft rules on the particulars of carrying out the program that will be available for the first time to families that home-school their children, Smith said.

An initial set of permanent rules was drafted in the fall of 2023 and put out for public review and reaction. The resulting revised draft rules will be released in the coming weeks for a second round of review and comment by the public, he said. Ultimately, the draft rules must be reviewed by the governor’s office and adopted by the Arkansas Board of Education and a committee of state lawmakers.

Smith said the private and home schools that participate in the voucher program can select their own curriculum but that must include the teaching of English/language arts, math, science and social studies. Additionally, those students and schools that participate in the program must take a reference test every spring and report the results to the state. There are about 15 different tests from which to choose, he added.

Smith’s online presentation Tuesday night — which included an explanation of the expanded student eligibility criteria for the accounts — was hosted by The Reform Alliance, a nonprofit organization that advocates for parental choice of schools for their students.

The Educational Freedom Account program is one of multiple provisions in the 145-page Arkansas LEARNS Act or Act 237 of 2023 that was initiated and championed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

The act revamps public education in the state with the establishment of the Educational Freedom Account program being one of the most dramatic provisions.

The accounts currently provide up to $6,672 per student for this 2023-24 school year — unless the students were part of the now-discontinued Succeed Scholarship Program. The former Succeed Scholarship students qualify for $7,413, which is the amount of state foundation aid guaranteed for students in public schools.

In the coming year, the Educational Freedom Accounts will provide up to $6,856 per student, which is 90% of the $7,618 minimum state funding per public school student. Former Succeed Scholarship students will also be eligible for up to $7,618, Smith said.

Private schools had to apply and be approved by the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education Department in 2023 to be able to accept the public funding for students. The 94 approved schools constitute about 70% of private schools in Arkansas, according to state reports.

As of Nov. 9, roughly 5,094 students were using the Educational Freedom Accounts to offset their tuition and other costs at the 94 private and parochial schools.

The account program is being phased in over three years. In the coming year, about 14,000 students, or 3% of the enrollment this year in public schools, can participate in the program. In the 2025-26 school year, all Arkansas students in kindergarten through 12th grades are eligible to participate in the voucher program, according to the law.

This year, students eligible for the program were those entering kindergarten, those with disabilities identified under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, children of active military personnel or those who have experienced homelessness or foster care.