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The Arkansas Education Freedom Account (EFA) is the state's education savings account program, providing about $7,200 per student for the 2026-27 school year toward private school tuition, homeschool curriculum, tutoring, therapies, and other approved expenses. Created by the LEARNS Act in 2023 and signed by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the program reached universal K-12 eligibility in 2025-26, so every Arkansas student now qualifies regardless of income. The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) administers it through the ClassWallet platform. The 2026-27 application window has closed, but understanding how the EFA works prepares families for the next cycle.
Here is who qualifies, how the money works, and how to apply.
The EFA is the centerpiece of the LEARNS Act, a sweeping law that also raised first-year teacher salaries and reshaped academic expectations across the state. It phased in over three years and became available to all K-12 students in 2025-26. For 2026-27, its second universal year and fourth year overall, any Arkansas resident who is eligible to enroll in a public school can apply, with students needing to be age 5 by August 1, 2026. There is no income test.
Because the program is funded through the state's education funding formula, the state has said it intends to fund every eligible student, and Governor Sanders has reinforced that goal publicly. Still, if applications ever exceed available funding, priority categories govern the order. Continuing participants are served first. Students with specialized needs come next, including students with disabilities, students experiencing homelessness, students in foster care, and prior Succeed Scholarship recipients. Students coming from schools rated D or F follow, then children of military members, law enforcement officers, and first responders. Remaining eligible students join a rolling waitlist ordered by priority and approval date.
An EFA is funded at up to 90 percent of the student's assigned state education funding. For 2025-26, that came to $6,864 for students who did not participate in the state's earlier voucher program and $7,627 for those who did. For 2026-27, the figure rises to roughly $7,200 to reflect an increase in state foundation funding, with the exact amount set when the state finalizes its budget.
Funds move through ClassWallet, so families pay approved schools and vendors directly or submit reimbursement requests rather than receiving cash. Approved uses include private school tuition and fees, homeschool curriculum and materials, tutoring, educational therapies such as speech and occupational therapy, testing fees, and transportation up to 25 percent of the account. Public school tuition and charter fees funded by the state are excluded. Each child receives a separate account, so a family with three students can direct three separate awards, which for many households adds up to more than $20,000 in combined funding.
Families should also plan around timing, since some purchases run as direct payments through ClassWallet and others as reimbursements deposited after a request is approved. Keeping receipts and matching each purchase to an approved category keeps an account in good standing, because the program office reviews spending and can request documentation. The flexibility to mix a full curriculum with tutoring and supplements is one of the program's strengths, but it works best when a family maps out a full year of spending before the window opens rather than deciding purchase by purchase.
Arkansas processes applications in timed priority windows, which rewards families who move early.
Step 1: Start the right application. New families create an account and apply at arkansasefa.com through the FACTS portal, while returning families renew through ClassWallet.
Step 2: Upload documents. Have proof of Arkansas residency and required identification ready before the window opens.
Step 3: Apply as early as possible. For 2026-27, the window ran March 9 to June 1, 2026, divided into four three-week priority windows. Because applications are approved on a rolling basis within those windows, applying early improves the chance of funding.
Step 4: Renew each year. Families must apply or renew annually for every participating student. The next window is expected in early spring, so gather documents ahead of time.
An EFA lets a family assemble a program, and one instructional model worth understanding is mastery learning, where a student demonstrates command of one unit before moving to the next. A review by Winget and Persky (2022) summarized the evidence on mastery learning and reported that it is associated with improved student achievement and less variation in performance across students, in part because frequent feedback and corrective activities catch gaps early. For a family building a plan with EFA dollars, that points toward choosing a curriculum or school that checks for understanding along the way rather than pushing a child forward on a fixed timeline whether they are ready or not.
Score Academy Online is a Cognia-accredited, NCAA-approved online private school serving grades K-12, with live certified teachers, individualized education plans, and synchronous classes capped at six students in middle and high school and four in elementary. The K-12 curriculum page shows how the program is built, and the accreditation page documents the school's credentials.
Because EFA funds flow to participating schools and approved vendors through ClassWallet, families should confirm the current participating list with the Arkansas Department of Education before directing funds; Score Academy Online is pursuing approved-provider status across active school choice states and is already an approved provider for the Alabama CHOOSE Act next door. The school's per-course tuition runs from $415 for self-paced courses to $2,500 for live small-group high school courses, so a roughly $7,200 award could fund a full self-paced year with money for tutoring, or a large share of a live schedule. The online middle school program offers small-group classes for students who need more structure, rolling enrollment lets students start any time, and the school choice hub compares Arkansas's program with options elsewhere.
Program rules, award amounts, and timelines change. Confirm current requirements with the Arkansas Department of Education before making final enrollment decisions.
How much is the Arkansas Education Freedom Account worth? For 2026-27, awards are about $7,200 per student, based on up to 90 percent of the student's assigned state funding. The exact figure is finalized when the state sets its budget.
Is there an income limit? No. The program reached universal K-12 eligibility in 2025-26, so any Arkansas resident eligible to enroll in a public school can apply regardless of income.
What can EFA funds pay for? Approved uses include:
When can I apply? The 2026-27 window ran March 9 to June 1, 2026, and is closed. Applications are expected to reopen in early spring, so prepare documents and apply as soon as the window opens.
Does every eligible student get funded? The state has said it intends to fund every eligible student. If applications ever exceed funding, priority categories are served first and remaining students join a rolling waitlist.
How are funds managed? Funds move through the ClassWallet platform, where families pay schools and vendors directly or submit reimbursement requests. Each child has a separate account.
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