State Department of Education Refuses to Listen to Homeschoolers on Proposed EFA Restrictions
On Friday, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that the State Department of Education plans to move forward with proposed rules prohibiting homeschoolers from using Educational Freedom Account (EFA) funding to pay for team sports under the LEARNS Act.
The decision comes despite public comments from more than 200 citizens who oppose the rules. Family Council and its homeschool division, the Education Alliance, were among those who submitted public comments against the proposed rules in December.
Lawmakers created the EFA program under the LEARNS Act in 2023, making it possible for Arkansas students to use public funds to pay for an education at a public or private school or at home. Thousands of students have taken advantage of school choice in Arkansas under this program.
Last year the Arkansas Legislature approved Act 920 by Sen. Breanne Davis (R — Russellville) and Rep. Keith Brooks (R — Little Rock) reducing EFA vendor fees and limiting EFA spending on extracurricular activities to 25%. 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.
Family Council supported Act 920 because homeschoolers participating in the EFA program have seen the price of extracurricular activities go up. Cutting vendor fees and capping certain costs will encourage providers to keep their prices down.
However, the Department of Education’s proposed rules go beyond what Act 920 allows. The proposed EFA rules completely prohibit any EFA spending on registration fees, equipment costs, dues, and any costs associated with club or team sports.
Act 920 simply caps spending in these areas at 25% of a student’s total EFA funding, but the Department of Education wants to prohibit spending on team and club sports altogether.
Besides failing to track with Act 920, many homeschoolers have also expressed concerns that completely prohibiting EFA spending on team sports is unfair because public schools fund team sports with state money.
If the Department of Education opts to move forward with these rules, the legislators on the Arkansas Legislative Council’s Administrative Rules and Regulations Subcommittee will have to approve them in February.
Family Council and the Education Alliance are urging all Arkansans to ask their lawmakers not to approve the Department of Education’s proposed Rules Governing the Arkansas Children’s Educational Freedom Account Program.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
Family Council Joins Letter Urging Congress, President to Stand By the Hyde Amendment
On Friday, Family Council joined more than 70 other pro-life leaders and organizations in a letter urging President Trump and leaders in Congress to preserve the Hyde Amendment when it comes to Obamacare subsidies.
As we wrote nearly 10 years ago, the Hyde Amendment is a longstanding, bipartisan compromise that generally prevents federal money from paying for abortions. Experts estimate the Hyde Amendment has saved more than 2.6 million unborn children. However, that lifesaving compromise has recently come under attack.
Last week, amid calls from President Trump for Republicans to be “a little flexible” on the Hyde Amendment, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a three-year extension of the enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies without Hyde’s protections preventing publicly funded abortion.
In response, Americans United for Life’s Government Affairs Director, Brad Kehr, called the decision “the largest ever expansion of taxpayer funding for abortion.”
National Right to Life issued a statement, saying, “No federal dollar should ever pay for abortion. Not one. House members who walked away from that principle betrayed the children we fight for and the voters who trusted them. The Senate must stop this bill.”
In response, a coalition of pro-life organizations and leaders — including Family Council — sent a letter to President Trump, Vice President Vance, Speaker Mike Johnson, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune urging them to stop public tax dollars from paying for abortions under Obamacare.
The letter says in part:
The Hyde Amendment is at the core of protecting and supporting life. It has saved 2.64 million lives since its bipartisan enactment in 1976. Even today, a nearly 60% majority of Americans do not want their tax dollars to pay for abortion or abortion coverage. Hyde policies are applied extensively to federal programs and have been over the last nearly fifty years.
Please stand with all Americans who do not want to be forced to pay for abortions. Americans elected a Republican trifecta in 2024, and Congress should not now scorn their widespread support by forcing Americans to fund abortion through a “flexibility” on Hyde.
Pro-abortion groups have often said, “If you don’t like abortion, don’t have one.” But without the Hyde Amendment, even if you don’t like abortion and don’t have an abortion, you could still be forced to pay for an abortion with your taxes. We must stand up for the Hyde Amendment.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.