Legislators Ask Arkansas Department of Education About Delays in EFA Reimbursements

Education, ,

On Friday, the Arkansas Legislative Council (ALC) accepted a subcommittee’s approval of new Education Freedom Account (EFA) rules from the Department of Education. During discussion of the rules, lawmakers asked staff members from the Department of Education about delays in EFA reimbursements, and the department acknowledged that approval currently takes 30 days.

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 the 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. Homeschoolers submitted comments to the State and testified in committee that approval for EFA expenses already takes weeks or months. The process created under these rules could take even longer.

The Arkansas Legislature’s Administrative Rules Subcommittee approved the rules without objection at its June 15 meeting, following some three hours of testimony from the Department of Education and from homeschoolers who are deeply concerned about changes the rules make to the EFA program.

On June 19, ALC accepted the subcommittee’s approval of the rules, but Sen. Terry Rice (R — Waldron) asked the Department of Education about the lengthy delays in approvals and reimbursements under the EFA program.

During discussion, the Department of Education indicated it has chosen to review EFA expenses and reimbursements in-house using department staff instead of outsourcing that responsibility to its vendor, Class Wallet, who is helping the state administer the EFA program.

The department also acknowledged that it currently takes its staff approximately 30 days to review expenses and approve reimbursements for homeschoolers, but says it is committed to reducing that timeframe.

You can watch the lawmakers’ discussion with the Department of Education here.

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

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Tyson Family Foundation Pledges Half-a-Million Dollars to Pro-LGBT Efforts in Northwest Arkansas

LGBT, ,

The Tyson Family Foundation has pledged to give $500,000 as part of a multi-year commitment to support pro-LGBT efforts in Northwest Arkansas. Talk Business reports that with the pledge, the foundation is set “to be a presenting sponsor of NWA Pride Weekend through 2030.”

The Tyson Family Foundation is located in Fayetteville, and its primary purpose is to promote education, health, arts and culture, and youth programs, as well as scholarship opportunities for Tyson Foods employees and their families.

The foundation’s pro-LGBT support comes as other groups are wisely choosing to pivot away from these sorts of initiatives.

For a long time, major corporations and charitable foundations spent a tremendous amount of time and money pandering to pro-LGBT groups. But in recent years, corporate support for LGBT Pride has fizzled and Fortune 500 companies have abandoned the pro-LGBT Equality Index.

Major companies from Walmart to Target and John Deere to Lowe’s have rolled back pro-LGBT policies due to consumer backlash.

In 2023, Bud Light managed to single-handedly overthrow itself as the number-one beer in America after sending transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney a novelty can of Bud Light with Mulvaney’s picture on it. Mulvaney posted a video showcasing the Bud Light can — which led to backlash and boycotts from Bud Light drinkers nationwide. All told, that novelty can of Bud Light ended up costing the company more than $1 billion in lost sales, and the brand has never fully recovered.

The pushback from Americans has reached all the way to Hollywood as well. In recent years, we’ve seen entertainment giants like Disney and Pixar remove pro-LGBT elements from their storylines in response to moviegoers.

It’s obvious that consumers are tired of pro-LGBT pandering by corporations and other groups. It’s also deeply concerning when organizations use their wealth and influence to support ideologies that lead to troubling consequences. These sorts of efforts are out of step with everyday Americans, plain and simple.

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

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Meta Asks Congress for Immunity from Child-Harm Lawsuits

Social Media, ,

Social media giant Meta reportedly is asking Congress for special protections from child-harm lawsuits in state courts.

Meta is the parent company that owns Facebook and Instagram, and over the past two decades it has grown into one of the largest social media corporations in the world. But the company has come under fire for failing to protect children on its platform.

In March, a New Mexico jury ruled that Meta knowingly harmed children’s mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on Instagram and Facebook. Jurors found thousands of violations, with penalties of $375 million. The day after that ruling, a Los Angeles jury awarded $3 million in damages to a young woman who said she became addicted to Meta and YouTube as a child, and recommended another $3 million in punitive damages after finding the companies acted with malice. Evidence presented at trial showed that tech executives knew their platforms were dangerous for children, but kept that information hidden. The companies face additional lawsuits from other children and families who say they suffered harm on these platforms as well.

Instead of taking steps to make its social media products safe for children, Reuters reports Meta is lobbying Congress for protection from child-harm lawsuits under the federal Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). The language would make online companies “immune from suit or liability under state law with respect to all claims ​for loss caused by, arising out of, relating to, or resulting from the safety or privacy of individuals under the age of eighteen online or otherwise related to the provisions” of KOSA.

Writing this into federal law could prevent AI platforms and social media companies from being held accountable when their negligence or misconduct harms teens who use these platforms.

All of this is significant for Arkansas, because Attorney General Tim Griffin has sued Meta in state court for endangering children.

The Arkansas Attorney General’s Office has alleged that platforms like Facebook and Instagram are built around algorithms intentionally designed “to exploit human psychology and foster addiction to maximize users’ screen time,” and that this exploitation is especially true of young users with developing brains.

Social media platforms are a multibillion dollar industry. The adults who own and profit from these companies have a responsibility to protect children on their platforms.

Family Council is not aware of any attorney general in America who is doing more to hold social media giants accountable and protect children online than Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin. Our federal policymakers need to do their part to hold these companies accountable and protect children as well.

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

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