Governor Sanders Announces Education Freedom Accounts are Available for Every Family in Arkansas

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.— Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders today announced that for the first time in history, education freedom is available to every family in Arkansas. Education Freedom Account (EFA) applications for the 2025-2026 school year are now open to every child in the state.

Created by the LEARNS Act in 2023, the EFA program provides funding for students to attend a school that best meets their needs whether it be public, private, parochial, or homeschool. EFAs were phased in over three years with limited eligibility during the first two years.

“There is an education freedom revolution sweeping America and Arkansas is proud to lead the way by offering universal education freedom for every single child in the state,” said Governor Sanders. “The EFA program has been enormously successful over the past two years, helping thousands of Arkansas kids go to the school that meets their needs, and I look forward to thousands of others joining the program.”

“We know that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t meet the needs of all students and families,” Arkansas Secretary of Education Jacob Oliva said. “Families deserve the opportunity to choose the best school for their child, no matter their zip code, and through the EFA program, they have that opportunity. For the 2024-2025 school year, the EFA program assisted more than 14,200 students with finding their school of choice, and we are excited to expand that opportunity to all families for the next school year.”

In 2017 when President Trump first took office, zero states had universal education freedom. Today, 12 states do – and that number is continuing to grow. President Trump issued an Executive Order to prioritize and free up federal funding for school choice in his first days in the White House. In recognition of National School Choice Week this year, Governor Sanders joined a roundtable at the White House with the President and a couple of other Republican Governors, addressing the education revolution happening across America.

To be eligible for an EFA, students must be eligible to enroll in a public school and be a resident of Arkansas.

A recent poll in Arkansas found that 72% of parents support universal education freedom. A total of 5,548 students and 97 schools participated in the EFA program during the 2023-2024 school year. In the 2024-2025 school year, participation increased to 14,297 students and 128 schools.