Education funding in Arkansas
4 programs in Arkansas, 1 open to homeschoolers. Each links to the program’s official sources.
Education Freedom Accounts (LEARNS Act)
Homeschoolers can qualify Last updated October 9, 2026 Track it in My Homeschool
Yes. Home school families can participate; the parent must file the Arkansas Notice of Intent to homeschool, and funds can pay for homeschool curriculum, textbooks, online programs, tutoring and enrichment classes. The rules set the account at 90% of the prior year's statewide foundation funding per student, with no separate homeschool amount. For 2026-27 the amount is $7,208 a year ($1,802 a quarter) for students not from the Succeed program.
Federal Scholarship Tax Credit (Education Freedom Tax Credit) - Arkansas participation
Program doesn’t say whether homeschoolers qualify From official sources October 7, 2026 Not open yet
Not settled yet. IRS guidance defines covered expenses by reference to a public, private or religious school, with 'school' as determined under State law, and does not mention homeschooling; no Arkansas page on this was found.
Dates and status: The IRS lists Arkansas among states that made an advance election to participate for 2027 (as of Sept 14, 2026); donations and credits begin in 2027.
Philanthropic Investment in Arkansas Kids Program (tax-credit scholarship)
Not open to homeschoolers From official sources October 7, 2026
No. The law defines the scholarship as a grant covering all or part of tuition and fees at a private school, so it does not pay for home education. Students must also be from families at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines.
Dates and status: The Department of Finance and Administration posts the program's donor tax credit application (posted March 23, 2026), which scholarship-granting organizations email to DFA. Act 237 of 2023 raised the statewide credit cap from $2,000,000 to $6,000,000 per calendar year, and the law lets the cap grow 5% a year under conditions it sets; DFA does not post the current-year cap. Families apply for scholarships through a scholarship-granting organization, not the state.
Succeed Scholarship Program (students with disabilities)
Not open to homeschoolers From official sources October 7, 2026
This program no longer exists. It paid for students with disabilities to attend an approved private school, not home education. Former Succeed students can use Arkansas Education Freedom Accounts instead, which homeschool families can use; those who were in Succeed in 2022-23 continue to receive 100% of the prior year's statewide foundation funding amount.
Dates and status: The LEARNS Act (Act 237 of 2023, approved March 8, 2023) repealed the Succeed Scholarship law effective on approval. Students in the program in 2022-23 kept their scholarship amount for 2023-24, and Succeed recipients are a priority group for Education Freedom Accounts. Out-of-state private schools approved under Succeed may keep serving existing Succeed students but may not admit new students or join the EFA program.