All students who live in the state of Arkansas and are eligible for public schooling in this state are eligible to sign up and participate in the Education Freedom Accounts. You must opt out of public school and choose private or homeschooling to receive the funding. These accounts provide funding for curricula, co-ops, co-curricular classes, extra curricular (at a 25% of funding spending cap) and therapies and testing needed for special needs students.

Each student enrolled for the 2025-2026 school year will receive $6,864 per school year. This is dispersed into your student’s CLASSWALLET account quarterly at $1,716 per deposit. It is important to note that if approved for this fall, you can NOT spend money before July 1st of this year and use those receipts for reimbursement this fall. The fiscal year of the 2025-2026 school year begins on July 1, 2025.

If your child is already funded for the 2024-2025 school year and you still have funds in your wallet, those funds can be used at any time, even during summer months, to purchase school needs. Any funds not used when the new school year starts, new funds will be added, but your existing funds will remain available for use. The office will be closed July 1- July 7 to update the system and add the incoming students for the new school year so no processing will be done on orders that week. Otherwise you can manage reimbursement and marketplace and direct pay orders throughout the year.

Technology purchases will no longer have a hard limit, but we will monitor spending in this category and will reach out if we need justification for technology purchases. Computers, tablets, printers, headphones, and all tech-related accessories will go into the same "technology" category. Please make sure to select that category for all technology purchases.

With revisions to the LEARNS Act, there are also new spending limits on some categories. You may spend no more than 25% of your annual disbursement on travel, and no more than 25% on extra-curriculars, PE, and field trips. We will have more information on all of this in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, please pay attention to the purchase categories in ClassWallet and make sure to select the correct one.

But for reference a Co-Curricular course will include Art, Music, Wood Working, Metal Working, Driving Courses, Cooking courses, Sewing Classes ect.

Extra curricular includes Dance, Ballet, Gymnastics, Karate, Jujitzu, Taekwondo, Boxing, Tumbling, bascially ALL your PE replacements. and Riding.

Yes, you can buy a student desk and chair, and you can buy a bookshelf for each student for storage of their books and supplies. There is no exact set limit, but the ADE will NOT approve a matching office furniture set for your home. Do not expect approval for something from Ashley Furniture or Pottery Barn. But the IKEA billy shelves ( and if you need all the storage possible, the stackable unit that makes it ceiling height) are very reasonably priced. Many bookcases under $300 will more than hold your student’s needs. Same with desks, $200 and under would be considered a reasonable student desk. $100-$150 would be a reasonable chair. The ADE acknowledges that having a set workspace is beneficial to students but in the same this program is here to help you EDUCATE your student not redecorate.

There are items prohibited in the program.

Backpacks

Lunchboxes

Paper towels

Ziploc bags

Wet wipes

Equipment for extracurricular activites

Musical instruments

Cameras

Televisions

Sound equipment

Gaming consoles

Smart watches

Fit bits

Alexa, Nest or google home devices

Cell Phones

Subsciptions purchased on a phone

These items are not reimbursable under any circumstances.

Curriculum from ANY store of your choice is ALWAYS reimbursable. There are many options available through the classwallet market because obviously paying ahead and waiting for reimbursement is not an option every family has the means to utilize.

But if you have a preferred coursework that is not signed up with classwallet you are absolutely able to buy it and submit it for reimbursement. I personally order mine that way even though it is available in the Market because AOP if you order over the phone offers a 25% discount to active duty and veteran families. Many other companies offer the same.

This is an important part of this program. You have 100% freedom of choice when it comes to curriculum. No other state is giving this much freedom. It becomes a big factor for families who prefer a religious-based company. Many of those will not participate directly in any state programs. But if you can do reimbursement, that will not matter.

A list of eligible expenses is here.

For CURRENT EFA students who ARE returning next year:

IMPORTANT UPDATE: You will still be allowed to submit reimbursements in July and later for purchases made in the previous school year. We will be shutting down the system from July 1-9 to transition accounts to the new school year. Other than that, you do not need to worry about ANY deadlines or date restrictions. You will also be able to continue to use the direct pay system.

For NEW EFA students beginning in the 2025-26 school year:

Families who will be NEW in 2025 – 2026 CANNOT be reimbursed for items purchased prior to July 1, 2025 (the first day of the 25 – 26 fiscal year for EFA)

UPDATE FOR ALL FAMILIES:

The Department has decided to continue its policy of universal reimbursement. That means that all products and services that are eligible for payment with EFA funds are also eligible for reimbursement.

The first distribution of funds for 2025 – 2026 will be on or after August 21, 2025.

If you used vouchers to private school last year and have now decided to homeschool, go into your FACTS account and change from private school to homeschool, then file a notice of intent online.

If you applied and did your NOI and never received a confirmation email from FACTS that said CONGRADULATIONS that does NOT necessarily mean your application was not fully completed and awarded funding. Some are not getting the emails. But you CAN check yourself to see if it is there. Click HERE to see how.