(The Center Square) – A joint education committee approved emergency rules Monday for Arkansas’ Education Freedom Accounts, which are part of the LEARNS Act passed by lawmakers this year.
The accounts will provide state funding to students who attend schools other than public schools.
Each eligible student approved to participate in the program will receive up to approximately $6,600 in their EFA to help cover private school tuition, fees, uniforms, and other required expenses, according to Andres Rhodes, chief legal counsel for the Department of Education. The total cap for the program is $46 million, Rhodes said.
Of the nearly 3,400 students who have applied to participate, about 2,000 have been approved, according to Rhodes.
“If every student that has been approved utilizes all the funds allotted to their EFA’s, we can expect the fiscal impact to be just over $30 million,” Rhodes said.
The rules only allow certain students to receive EFA accounts for the first year. They include students who are disabled, homeless, in foster care, have a parent on active military duty, or are enrolling in kindergarten for the first time.
Other students, including homeschooled students, will be eligible to participate beginning in the 2024-2025 school year.
When asked about a lawsuit the Marvell-Elaine School District filed over a separate part of the bill, Rhodes said it did not apply to what the committee was voting on.
“The order that was placed on a separate lawsuit that was only challenging a school district was a declaratory order and only applies to the department and that school district,” said Rhodes, later adding, “The lawsuit you’ve referenced did not have any injunction placed on the department, again it was just a declaratory order that stated the LEARNS Act was effective Aug. 1, period.”
A Pulaski County Judge ruled the education bill was not effective until Aug. 1 because lawmakers did not pass a separate motion declaring the bill an emergency. The attorney general appealed the case to the Arkansas Supreme Court. The Court agreed last week to expedite the case. Briefs are due July 28.
The emergency rules approved Monday would go into effect on Aug. 1. The recommendation to review and approve the emergency rules goes to the Arkansas Legislative Counsel Executive Subcommittee on Thursday.
