This school year, a surge of families applied for Arkansas' Education Freedom Accounts, the school voucher program that is part of Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders' LEARNS Act. Little Rock Public Radio's Josie Lenora has more on a banner year for the controversial program.
The EFA program gives families taxpayer-funded dollars to go to a private or religious school or homeschool. The voucher is almost $7,000. It's the bulk, and perhaps the most controversial part, of Arkansas LEARNS, a massive education bill championed by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders in 2023.
This school year is the first where applications were open to everyone in the state. Previous years only gave out money to students who fit certain criteria. The Arkansas Advocate reports a record of more than 50,000 applications, with the deadline being last Friday.
More than half the money goes to families whose children are already in a private school. A large number of applications have been approved — over 44,000 — though approvals are made on a rolling basis based on criteria like a student's disability. Almost 16,000 EFA vouchers go to homeschool families.
The EFA program will cost the state millions. Detractors say it takes money away from public schools and gives it to kids who don't need it. Supporters say the system is more efficient: the money follows the child.
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