CONWAY, AR — Today, Opportunity Arkansas (OA) released a new research report debunking common myths about Arkansas's Education Freedom Accounts (EFA) program.
The report includes a full audit of every transaction processed through the EFA program between August 2023 and August 2025—nearly 1 million lines of data—which OA obtained through a public records request. OA’s audit found that, consistent with two additional independent analyses of the program, not a single dollar has been lost to fraud.
Key findings from the report include:
Zero verified fraudulent spending in the EFA program;
Every single dollar spent by an Arkansas EFA family serves an educational purpose;
EFA families face significant—and increasing—restrictions on how they can spend EFA funds;
Every single transaction is subject to review and approval by state officials; and
The program is more popular than ever, with two-thirds of Arkansas voters and 81 percent of Arkansas parents supporting Education Freedom Accounts.
OA Founder & CEO Nic Horton says the findings expose the false narratives about the program promoted by opponents of education freedom:
“Without a doubt, Arkansas’s EFA program is the single most efficient and accountable program in state history. Nonetheless, its opponents are working overtime to dismantle this nation-leading program that is now helping nearly 50,000 Arkansas students and counting. Using eye-grabbing headlines and innuendo, they have tried to paint a picture based on the world as they see it: education freedom is ‘bad’ because it does not conform to their cookie-cutter vision for education, full of fraud, and families cannot be trusted to make wise decisions for their kids.
"But unsurprisingly, as this report unpacks in great detail, their version of reality is make believe. The EFA program is effective, efficient, and extremely accountable. Arkansans should be proud of it and stay engaged in the fight to preserve it.”
OA Policy Director J. Robertson says this new report puts to rest claims that the EFA program is rife with fraud and lacks accountability:
“Our team reviewed nearly 1 million lines of EFA transaction data. In the Spring 2025 period, about 5 percent of transactions were flagged, and 100% of these were rejected before a dime went out the door. This program is working exactly as designed, providing a great value for taxpayers and the next generation.”
The report also compares the EFA program's stellar record against Arkansas's other major government programs. Other key findings include:
Taxpayers paid out more than $1.5 billion in improper Medicaid payments in a single recent year—nearly five times the entire annual cost of the EFA program.
Arkansas public schools spend more than $6 billion a year with broad, virtually unchecked discretion. Unlike EFA families, who live under a microscope with every transaction reviewed, public schools face no comparable spending restrictions.
By contrast, recent Arkansas Legislative Audit findings found significant misspending in public school districts. One district spent $33,436 on a single staff party; another spent $2,958 on door prizes—including AirPods, a television, a griddle, and a frozen slushie machine.
