Data from the state’s official transparency website shows Arkansas has spent more than $111 million on its school choice program since July 1.
In 2023, lawmakers passed the LEARNS Act overhauling public education in Arkansas and making it possible for students to use public dollars to pay for an education at a public or private school or through home schooling. Family Council and our homeschool division, the Education Alliance, were pleased to support this good law, because it gives families educational opportunities.
The State of Arkansas reportedly spent $111,138,210 on Educational Freedom Accounts under the LEARNS Act from July 1 through October 31 of this year. Administrative costs have accounted for $916,574 of the program’s spending. The other $110.2 million went to pay for education expenses.
Last spring, the General Assembly budgeted nearly $187.5 million for the Educational Freedom Accounts for the 2025-2026 school year and placed $90 million in its Restricted Reserve Fund set aside for the program.
Since the LEARNS Act launched in 2023, thousands of students have taken advantage of school choice in Arkansas. Many families feel that public education has deteriorated over the years, and they don’t like the direction it is heading. For those families, programs like the LEARNS Act could empower them with real alternatives that help their children succeed. That is part of the reason Family Council has supported the LEARNS Act.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
