Arkansas’s Education Freedom Accounts, sometimes known as vouchers, just received new regulations that take into consideration a new law that was approved this spring and restricts the uses of the money.
The new rule prohibits voucher participants from spending more than 25% of their voucher payments on transportation or more than 25% on extracurricular activities. Additionally, the Arkansas Department of Education released lists of expenses that are allowed and ineligible.
Throughout the school year, vouchers are distributed in quarterly payments and total $6,864 per student, or $7,627 for kids with impairments.
Due to public outcry over homeschool families utilizing voucher funding for ninja warrior training and horseback riding classes, state lawmakers strengthened restrictions on how this public money might be used.
There are just 16 items on the most recent ineligible list, which was last updated on July 18:
- After school care
- Lunch boxes
- Paper towels
- Ziploc bags
- Wet wipes
- Televisions
- Home theater or audio equipment
- Game consoles
- Smart watches
- Fitbits
- Alexa, Nest or Google Home devices
- Cell Phones
- Lunch or other food fees
- Caps, gowns and other graduation expenses
- Phone service fees
- Internet service fees
The longer eligible list starts off by acknowledging that it is not all-inclusive. 52 cents per mile will be compensated for transportation expenses, although this reimbursement cannot exceed 25% of voucher payments, or $1,716 for the majority of voucher students.
In a similar vein, costs for field excursions, physical education, and extracurricular activities cannot surpass 25% of voucher funding.
In a private Facebook group for homeschool families called Arkansas EDUCATION FREEDOM ACCOUNT Homeschool Families, Austin Sirles, an ADE education program coordinator, shared a list of 2025–2026 school year approved and ineligible things that can be purchased using voucher cash. More than 3,000 people have joined the group since its founding in August 2024.
The lists and an educational webinar that ADE recently held regarding Education Freedom Accounts were addressed by commenters on Sirles’ post. It seems that many of them were still unsure of what expenses were permitted and which were not.
According to one commentator, Austin, one of the speakers on the webinar today, stated that since dance and music are regarded as fine arts, there is no cap and they are not extracurricular. Field trips and physical education are among the other extracurricular activities that have a 25% cap.
The ability for homeschool families to use voucher monies with non-state-approved vendors and still receive reimbursement thrilled another commenter:
For me, the most exciting lesson learned today was that merchants are exempt from approval requirements! You can take the reimbursement route and use anyone in the area! Although I was aware that they were becoming more forgiving last year, I didn’t learn until the end of the year. This was a tremendous relief because we only have one local approved vendor!
It’s dragon-slaying time!
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