More than 16K Students Apply for School Choice Funding Under LEARNS Act
The Arkansas Department of Education reports more than 16,000 students have applied for Education Freedom Account (EFA) funding under Arkansas’ LEARNS Act. Families can use EFA funding to help their children receive a publicly-funded education at a public or private school or at home.
Since COVID-19, enrollment in private schools and in home schooling has surged in Arkansas.
In 2023 the Arkansas Legislature passed the LEARNS Act creating Education Freedom Accounts in Arkansas. The law also prohibits critical race theory in public schools, and it protects young elementary school children from inappropriate sexual material.
Many families feel like public education has deteriorated over the years, and they don’t like the direction it is heading. For those families, EFA funding and school choice legislation like the LEARNS Act could empower them with real alternatives that will help their children succeed.
That is part of the reason Family Council supported the 2023 LEARNS Act.
The fact that the State of Arkansas has received more than 16,000 applications for EFA funding shows there is serious demand for school choice in Arkansas.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
Deadline to File the Notice of Intent to Home School is Thursday
Thursday is the deadline to file the Notice of Intent to Home School in Arkansas.
By law, home schoolers in Arkansas must file the annual Notice of Intent form with their local public school district on or before August 15. The form simply informs the district superintendent that the family intends to home school in the coming school year. The law also requires home schoolers to provide basic information, such as the grades of their children, when they complete the Notice of Intent.
In the past, attorneys at the Arkansas Department of Human Services have told us firsthand that having a Notice of Intent to Home School on file with the school district is a home schooler’s best defense against accusations of educational neglect or truancy.
If a social worker with an ax to grind against home schooling shows up on your doorstep, a properly filed Notice of Intent form may be all that stands between you and a bad day in court. It may seem like just a piece of paper, but it’s a priceless piece of protection if someone accuses you of neglecting your children.
The 2024-2025 school year’s Notice of Intent form is available for download here. Home schoolers can simply print it, fill it out, and mail it or deliver it to the local public school superintendent’s office.
Home schoolers may also file the Notice of Intent electronically online. More information about how to do that is available here.
Home schoolers who encounter any difficulty completing the Notice of Intent online or on paper can contact the Arkansas Department of Education’s Home School Office at 501-683-3162.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.