On Monday, a legislative subcommittee approved a new slate of Educational Freedom Account (EFA) rules despite strong concerns voiced by homeschoolers in the EFA program. The new rules are slated to take effect July 1.
Arkansas created the EFA program in 2023, making it possible for students to use public funds to pay for an education at a public or private school or at home. Thousands of homeschool students have taken advantage of this great program and test scores show they are excelling.
But earlier this spring the Arkansas Department of Education approved new administrative rules restricting how homeschoolers spend EFA funds on extracurricular activities and establishing complicated preapproval and reimbursement requirements for homeschoolers.
We have written repeatedly about how the wording in these rules carries unintended consequences for homeschoolers in the EFA program and won’t help save the State money.
On Monday, the Arkansas Legislative Council’s Administrative Rules Subcommittee approved the new EFA rules despite written comments from some 200 or more homeschoolers expressing concerns about unintended consequences from the rules and despite several homeschoolers travelling to the Capitol to voice their concerns in-person at the committee meeting.
During the meeting, some lawmakers indicated they believe homeschoolers should be more regulated and that the EFA program does not have to be fair to homeschoolers.
The EFA program is voluntary, and whether a family participates in it or not is up to them. But if a family chooses to homeschool under the EFA program, the rules ought to be fair for everyone.
In the past the Arkansas Department of Education has utilized workgroups that relied on input from parents in the EFA program to ensure EFA rules worked properly and did not carry unintended consequences. In this case, policymakers approved the rules despite concerns from stakeholders in the program.
Family Council and the Education Alliance deeply appreciate the homeschoolers who were willing to comment and testify on the unintended consequences from these rules, and we plan to work with homeschoolers to make sure they are treated as fairly as possible under the EFA program.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
Related posts:
Here is an Overview of Some of the Concerns Homeschoolers Have Raised About New EFA Rules
Department of Education Tells Homeschoolers New EFA Rules Don’t Have to be Fair
Dept. of Education Says New EFA Rules Don’t Have to be Fair for Homeschoolers
State Board of Education Unanimously Approves Rules Despite Homeschool Concerns