Family Council Asks State Board of Education to Rethink EFA Restrictions on Team Sports

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On Monday, Family Council and its homeschool division, the Education Alliance, submitted public comments asking the Arkansas Department of Education to rethink a set of proposed rules prohibiting Educational Freedom Account (EFA) money from being used for team sports under the LEARNS Act.

The proposed rules say that registration fees, equipment, dues, and any costs associated with club and team sports cannot be paid for with EFA funding.

Homeschooling has surged in Arkansas and across the nation. Educational Freedom Account funding makes it possible for Arkansas students to use public dollars to pay for educational services at public or private schools or at home. State spending on EFAs has topped $120.5 million so far this year, and thousands of students have taken advantage of school choice in Arkansas as a result.

Many homeschoolers have expressed concerns that completely prohibiting EFA spending on team sports is unfair, because public schools fund team sports with state money. There is also concern that the new rules go beyond boundaries set in the LEARNS Act.

Earlier this year, lawmakers passed Act 920 of 2025 which limits EFA spending on sports and other extracurricular activities to 25% of a student’s annual EFA funding. That means a student who participates in the LEARNS Act cannot spend more than one-fourth of his or her EFA money on extracurricular activities. However, the new education rules would go beyond state law by prohibiting EFA money from being spent on team sports altogether.

Public comments on the proposed EFA rules are due by Tuesday, December 16. Home schoolers can email their comments to ADE.RulesComments@ade.arkansas.gov.

You can read Family Council’s comments on the proposed rules here.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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South Dakota Officials Investigate Out-of-State Abortion Pill Ads

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News outlets say a national pro-abortion group is placing ads for abortion pills at gas stations in South Dakota, prompting state officials to launch an investigation into whether the ads violate state laws.

The ads from Mayday Health ask “Pregnant? Don’t want to be?” and direct women to a website that helps them order abortion pills through the mail.

The New York-based abortion group reportedly placed the ads at 30 gas stations for a six-week campaign, specifically targeting states with strong pro-life protections.

South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden asked Attorney General Marty Jackley to investigate whether the campaign violates the state’s abortion ban and constitutes deceptive trade practices.

This isn’t the first time Mayday Health has targeted pro-life states. In July, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin sent a cease-and-desist letter to the group after it promoted abortion pills in Arkansas.

Since 2022, Arkansas has generally prohibited abortion except to save the life of the mother, and state law prohibits abortion drugs from being delivered or distributed in the state. However, pro-abortion states are protecting abortionists who ship abortion drugs across the country.

Attorney General Griffin has said entities in these states are deliberately targeting women in pro-life states like Arkansas.

Abortion drugs carry significant health risks for women — including risks of sepsis and death.

A recent study by the experts at the Ethics and Public Policy Center found the abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol are at least 22 times more dangerous than the U.S. Food and Drug Administration labeling indicates.

Researchers noted that from 2017 to 2023, nearly one in nine women suffered serious health complications like sepsis, infection, and hemorrhaging as a direct result of abortion drugs.

All of this has prompted the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to launch a formal investigation into the drugs and their safety.

Abortion drugs end the lives of unborn children, and they hurt women. They simply should not be for sale in America.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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