Little Rock, Arkansas
– Governor Sanders announced the next round of eligible participants for Education Foundation Accounts (EFAs) is open today. According to a March 27 report by Cynthia Howell (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette), 14,000 students will be eligible for this round of public funds to be accessed for privately-owned institutions. So far, 95% of those participating in the EFAs who enrolled in a privately-owned institution for the 2023-2024 school year had not attended a public school the previous year, thereby giving an instant financial windfall to parents already paying to a privately-owned institution. This data sharply contradicts the Governor’s and Secretary of Education’s claim that those in underserved communities would be able to take advantage of these financial resources in order to attend “better” schools. Those in underserved communities generally lack the means to attend one of those schools: an inability to close the tuition gap, pay for fees & incidentals, or have transportation to and from these for-profit entities.
“CAPES maintains its stance of no public dollars for privately-owned schools and we look forward to dissecting the Governor’s cost numbers that should be announced during the upcoming budgetary legislative session,” stated Nancy Fancyboy, External Communications Director for CAPES.
CAPES saynotolearns.org is a grassroots organization dedicated to advocating for the rights and well-being of Arkansas students. Through community engagement, advocacy, and collaboration, CAPES works to ensure that every child in Arkansas has access to a high-quality education that prepares them for success in school and beyond. CAPES is committed to making positive changes in Arkansas's education policy.
