Overview

Education Freedom Accounts may be used by eligible families to cover private school tuition, fees, uniforms, and some other required expenses.  Education Freedom Accounts provide funding up to 90% of the State’s prior year per-student foundation funding amount, up to around $6,600 for the 2023-2024 school year.

Application Timeline and School Eligibility Requirements

Private School Application

Private School Applications (2022-2023 School Year Succeed Scholarship Program Participants)

Arkansas private schools must meet several up-front eligibility requirements to be deemed eligible to receive Education Freedom Account funds:

Accreditation:

• Meet accreditation requirements established by the State Board of Education, the Arkansas Nonpublic School Accrediting Association, or another accrediting associate recognized by the state board, or
• Be an associate member of, or be in the process of applying to, the Arkansas Nonpublic School Accrediting Association or another accrediting association recognized by the state board   

Financial:

• Be in operation for at least one (1) year, or provide ADE with a note from a certified public accountant verifying that the school is insured and has sufficient capital to operate, or file a surety bond or letter of credit with ADE equal to funds needed in any quarter

Employees:

• Employ or contract with only teachers who have a baccalaureate degree or equivalent experience
• Complete background checks and fingerprinting for any school employee and maintain a database of these records

Administrative:

• Comply with state laws governing private schools and applicable health and safety laws
• Adhere to school’s published disciplinary procedures before expelling a participating student
• Hold valid occupancy of buildings as required by the school’s municipality

Testing:

• Administer a nationally norm-referenced test approved by the ADE to participating students on an annual basis
• Prepare a portfolio on student progress for those exempt from testing through an IEP
• Provide student testing results for state reporting
• A complete list of ADE approved tests can be found in the school handbook

If your Arkansas private school meets the criteria to receive Education Freedom Account funds but has not yet applied, it is not too late! Completed applications are reviewed by ADE on a rolling basis.

Eligible Expenses

For the 2023-2024 school year, eligible expenses for families include tuition / fees, uniforms, testing, and other educational expenses that are deemed to be required by a student’s participating private school, up to the awarded amount of approximately $6,600.

Tuition / Fees: Payments of tuition and accompanying fees

Uniforms: Cost of uniforms 

Other Required Expenses: Other educational expenses (e.g., supplies, books) that may be required by participating private schools. 

As part of your school’s application this year, ADE is requesting that you state the required expenses and typical vendors used by your students to purchase these items. In order to enable these purchases for families, ADE will be reviewing and approving a limited set of service providers and vendors for the 2023-2024 school year. Families will be able to make all payments and purchases this year through ClassWallet, the digital marketplace and wallet service, for the 2023-2024 school year.

Participating School Administrative Responsibilities

Participating schools are asked to comply with three ongoing responsibilities that are designed to facilitate the secure and effective administration of Education Freedom Account funds:

ADE Communication:

• Participating schools are responsible for verifying the initial enrollment of a participating student through an ADE portal.
• Schools must also re-verify each participating students’ enrollment status before the State’s quarterly disbursement dates.

Testing:

• Participating schools are responsible for annually administering a nationally norm-referenced test that has been approved by ADE; a complete list of approved tests may be found in the school handbook.
• Participating schools must submit participating student test results to ADE, as well as submit a list of students who qualified for testing exceptions (and include those students’ portfolios).
• Participating schools are only required to provide and report on testing for participating students.

Audit Compliance:

• Participating schools must comply with financial audit requests if selected to participate in ADE’s random annual audit of participating schools.

Payment Through ClassWallet

To facilitate an efficient, timely, and secure transfer of Education Freedom Account funds, ADE has contracted with ClassWallet, a leading digital wallet and accounts payable platform, for the 2023-2024 school year. ClassWallet has a proven track record of serving families, states, and districts, including Arkansas. Through ClassWallet’s platform, families can track and execute eligible EFA fund transfers to participating schools or service providers. Upon acceptance to receive EFA funds, ADE will provide schools with a comprehensive set-up guide that navigates participating private schools through the ClassWallet registration process.

Upon acceptance to EFA, schools register as approved vendors through the ClassWallet portal. Schools invoice parents quarterly for tuition, fees, and other required expenses by August 9th, and quarterly thereafter. Once parents receive an invoice or bill from their participating private school, they may upload that document to the ClassWallet portal and elect to use EFA funds towards the eligible expense. ADE then reviews parent fund designations, at which point approved spending requires no further action from participating private schools or families. Approved payments will be processed and disbursed to schools on a quarterly basis.

For more information, please contact: