Group sues to stop Arkansas' school voucher program

A lawsuit filed Friday challenges the constitutionality of Arkansas' school voucher program and asks that it be blocked, the Arkansas Advocate reports .

State of play: Part of the LEARNS Act of 2023 — the Educational Freedom Account (EFA) — allows taxpayer money to be used for educational expenses, including private-school tuition and homeschooling.

What they're saying: "The LEARNS Act represents a radical and unconstitutional departure from a public school system that has endured since the establishment of the State of Arkansas," the complaint states.

• "If implemented, the LEARNS Act will drain valuable and necessary resources from the public school system and create a separate and unequal school system that discriminates between children based on economic, racial and physical characteristics and capabilities."

Four parents or guardians of public-school students filed the lawsuit against the state Department and Board of Education, the Department of Finance and Administration, and Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Context: EFA is being phased in over three years. More than 5,400 students participated in the first year, and it will be capped at about 14,000 students for the 2024-25 school year.

• All Arkansas students will be eligible to participate in the 2025-26 school year.

Follow the money: More than $97 million was appropriated by lawmakers for the voucher program for fiscal 2025.

• A DFA official told lawmakers last year that the program could cost $175 million in its third year .

The other side: The Partnership for Educational Choice — a joint project of the Institute for Justice and EdChoice — said Tuesday it plans to defend the EFA program.

• "The Education Freedom Accounts program directly benefits families by giving parents the means to provide their children with the best education to fit their unique needs," said Institute for Justice lawyer Joe Gay.