Home School – Page 3 – Family Council

Department of Education Data Shows Homeschoolers Excelling Under EFA Program

May 13, 2026Jerry CoxHome SchoolHome School, LEARNS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 13, 2026

Little Rock, Ark. – Homeschoolers participating in the Educational Freedom Account (EFA) program under the LEARNS Act outperformed students in private schools on state-mandated tests. According to data that Family Council obtained from the Arkansas Department of Education under the Freedom of Information Act homeschoolers, on average, scored in the sixty-third percentile in math and in the sixty-eighth percentile in reading. Meanwhile, private school students enrolled in the same EFA program scored at the fifty-fifth percentile in math and at the fifty-seventh percentile in reading, on average.

In 2023 the Arkansas Legislature created the EFA program to provide funding for students to cover education expenses at a private school or pay for approved homeschool education expenses. Students who receive EFA funds must take a nationally recognized norm-referenced test each year. Supporters of homeschooling say the testing data shows homeschoolers continue to outperform their peers in public and private schools.

In a statement, Family Council President Jerry Cox said, “The test scores speak for themselves. The State of Arkansas is getting more bang for the education dollars invested in homeschooling than anywhere else. When you break down the testing data we received, you find that Arkansas’ homeschoolers don’t just do better, on average. Many of Arkansas’ homeschoolers in the EFA program are outperforming 80% or 90% of their peers. These test scores prove what the Department of Education learned through 30 years of annual homeschool testing from 1985 to 2015: Arkansas homeschoolers score above average in every subject at every grade level every year. These high test scores and the success of homeschooling are evidence that when the government gets out of the way and lets parents educate their children, good things happen.”

Cox said that he hopes this strong showing by homeschoolers will prompt lawmakers and the Department of Education to maintain EFA funding for homeschoolers. “There have always been a few lawmakers and a few people at the Arkansas Department of Education who oppose homeschooling. This opposition has been evident with the introduction of two laws to restrict EFA funds for homeschoolers and with proposed Department of Education rules to place new restrictions on homeschoolers in the EFA program. A lot of homeschoolers are concerned those rules go beyond state law and will make it harder for homeschoolers to educate their children. Lawmakers could vote on those rules soon. The EFA program clearly is working well for homeschool families, and we hope our elected officials will keep it that way.”

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We are urging Arkansans to ask their lawmakers to make sure the new EFA rules are fair to homeschool families. If you need help contacting your state legislators, please call or email our office, and we will assist you.

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

Here’s How the State Board of Education Could Fix Its EFA Rules

May 6, 2026Jerry CoxHome SchoolHome School, LEARNS

We have written repeatedly about how lawmakers could vote very soon a flawed set of rules governing the Educational Freedom Account (EFA) program.

Arkansas created the EFA program 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, and many homeschool families have benefited from it.

But late last year, the Arkansas Department of Education began developing new administrative rules for the EFA program restricting how EFA funds could be used — especially when it came to athletic activities.

Homeschool families and organizations began voicing concerns about how the rules would prohibit EFA spending on many team sports while still letting private schools and public schools spend public tax dollars and EFA funds on school athletics.

Family Council and the Education Alliance offered changes to the rules, but the latest version of the rules still prohibits EFA funds from being used for team sports that require tryouts or limit participation based on ability.

The rules still establish new categories and restrictions on educational expenses, and they still reduce the maximum balance families can carry in their EFA accounts.

The Department of Education could fix the rules by doing two things:

1. Make Sure the Rules Track with State Law
Arkansas law already contains clear restrictions on EFA funds and how families use them to pay for educational expenses.

Arkansas law also makes it clear that no more than one-fourth of a student’s EFA funds can go toward extracurricular activities.

The law does not let the Department of Education write additional restrictions – like prohibiting EFA funds from paying for athletic activities that require tryouts.

The Department of Education should revise the rules to make sure they don’t go beyond existing state law.

2. Make the Rules Fair and Equitable for Every EFA Student
Arkansans submitted hundreds of public comments to the State Board of Education regarding the proposed rules, and many of them expressed concerns about how the new rules would go beyond state law and hurt homeschoolers participating in the EFA program. In response, the Department of Education wrote that it “respectfully rejects the premise that the goal of the EFA program in the homeschool context is or should be to provide equity between public or private schools and homeschooling.” In other words, the Department of Education does not believe its rules have to be fair to homeschoolers participating in the EFA program.

The EFA program is voluntary, and whether a family participates in it or not is up to them. But if a family chooses to homeschool under the EFA program, the rules ought to be fair for everyone.

The Department of Education should revise the rules to make sure they are fair and equitable for everyone.

We are urging homeschoolers across the state to ask their lawmakers to make sure the new EFA rules are fair to homeschool families.

Department of Education Tells Homeschoolers New EFA Rules Don’t Have to be Fair

Apr 29, 2026Jerry CoxHome SchoolHome School, LEARNS

The Department of Education disregarded concerns that Arkansas’ homeschoolers repeatedly expressed about new Educational Freedom Account (EFA) rules, according to documents Family Council obtained via the Freedom of Information Act.

Lawmakers created the EFA program 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, and many homeschool families have benefited from it.

The rules still establish new categories and restrictions on educational expenses, and they still reduce the maximum balance families can carry in their EFA accounts.

Family Council recently sent a Freedom of Information Act request asking for copies of public comments Arkansans submitted regarding the new EFA rules. In response, our office received more than 700 pages of documents containing comments homeschoolers have made since November regarding the rules.

The overwhelming majority of these comments express concerns about how the new rules would go beyond state law and hurt homeschoolers participating in the EFA program.

One family shared about how the rule change would hamper their daughter’s ability to participate in gymnastics, writing:

To share a personal example, my daughter has been involved in gymnastics since she was 2 years old and is now 6. This past year, she was able to move up based on her skill level and participate in league competitions at her gym. Since then, I have watched her confidence grow tremendously. She has become more disciplined, motivated, and proud of what she can accomplish. She currently trains three days a week and truly loves the sport.

Gymnastics, by nature, requires evaluation and placement for both safety and proper development. Advancing levels or making a team is not about exclusion—it ensures children are placed where they can safely learn and succeed. She is now working toward making the competitive team, which would allow her to compete across Arkansas. Opportunities like this would not be financially possible for our family without EFA support.

What is most concerning is the inconsistency this creates when compared to public school opportunities. Public schools use taxpayer funds to support extracurricular athletics such as basketball, volleyball, and cheerleading—many of which require tryouts and limit participation based on ability. Students who make those teams are supported using public funds. Under the proposed changes, however, families who have chosen alternative education paths would be denied access to similar opportunities simply because those programs involve evaluation or selection.

This creates an inequitable situation and contradicts the purpose of the EFA program, which is to expand educational freedom and allow families to make the best choices for their children.

In response, the Department of Education wrote: “The division respectfully rejects the premise that the goal of the EFA program in the homeschool context is or should be to provide equity between public or private schools and homeschooling.”

The department wrote the same thing to at least 30 other homeschool families who expressed similar concerns.

In other words, the Department of Education does not believe that the EFA rules have to treat homeschoolers fairly.

Arkansas law lets homeschooled students like this one spend no more than one-fourth of their EFA money on extracurriculars like gymnastics. The new rules go beyond state law by prohibiting this type of spending altogether. Meanwhile, private schools who participate in the EFA program and public schools who receive state funds are free to spend money on these types of programs.

We are urging homeschoolers across the state to ask their lawmakers to make sure the new EFA rules are fair to homeschool families.

If you need help finding contact information for your state senator and state representative, please contact our office, and we will be happy to help you.

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