Education Official Tells Lawmakers that State Will Likely Have Enough Funds for All Voucher Requests | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Education official tells lawmakers that state will likely have enough funds for all voucher requests | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

An Arkansas Department of Education official told a legislative panel Friday that he thinks the agency will have enough funds to cover all of the Education Freedom Account applications for the upcoming school year, but added, "we're still continuing to evaluate that."

Arkansas panel approves $90M more for school vouchers ahead of statewide availability

From left: Arkansas Department of Education Secretary Jacob Oliva, Chief of Staff Courtney Salas-Ford and Chief Fiscal Officer Greg Rogers answer questions from the Arkansas Legislative Council about funding for the Education Freedom Account school voucher program on Friday, June 20, 2025. (Screenshot/Arkansas Legislature)Arkansas lawmakers on Friday approved the release of an additional $90 million for the state’s school voucher program, create…

Arkansas has put $277 million toward school vouchers for next year. It’s still not enough.

Arkansas’s school voucher program is on the verge of running out of money for the upcoming school year, even with a $90 million infusion the state Legislature is about to give it.  Vouchers, which the Arkansas Department of Education calls “Education Freedom Accounts,” give public money to private school and homeschool families to pay for tuition and other expenses. The program was created in 2023 with the passage of Arkansas LEARNS, the educati…

State Capitol Week in Review from Senator Ronald Caldwell

LITTLE ROCK — Due to its growing popularity, legislators allocated an additional $90 million to Educational Freedom Accounts. The chief financial officer of the Education Department said that without the additional funds the state would not be able to make first quarter payments before the upcoming school year. The governor proposed and the legislature approved […]