LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — In 2023, Arkansas experienced many changes in state government, especially in the education system.
"I am proud to announce that the EFA enrollment period for next school year opens and starts today," Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.
On April 1, Sanders announced that the application for school choice vouchers is now in full effect. Since this system is new for most people and there's still a little more than a month to apply, it didn't hurt to check with private schools about how they're adjusting.
"We're always anticipating the notion that we're going to be adding new students," said Gregg Ledbetter, senior head of enrollment at Pulaski Academy. "We're looking and working hard to make sure that we get to a number and have an enrollment body that basically helps us function better as an institution."
Ledbetter said Arkansas LEARNS didn't affect how their institution usually handles enrollment, but they have constantly seen growth over the last few years.
"We're always encouraging new families to put their applications in as soon as possible," Ledbetter said. "It just helps the institution better plan and prepare for the student body for the upcoming school year."
Ledbetter said that although most of their enrollment is from families already attending the school, they don't shy away from new ones wanting to come.
"We see more families in the younger grades, particularly in our two-and-a-half-year-old through kindergarten program," Ledbetter said. "That's just where more families are looking to where they're going to start their educational journey, but we want families to have a choice and what's best for their family."
Arkansas Education Secretary Jacob Oliva also announced in early April that the voucher program has served over 5,400 students since it opened.
"We served just over 5,400 students in year one and had over 100 schools... sign up to participate," Oliva said. "That's not an easy process or commitment for these private schools because we want to make sure that when we're creating choice options for families, that they're of quality, and we set some pretty rigorous expectations that we expect the private schools to meet for these families to make sure that when they enroll their students and children there, they're going to get the proper education that they deserve."
The Department of Education tells us while the deadline to apply is around June 1, it will likely open back up after it goes over the first wave of applications.
This is the second year for the voucher program. It's being phased in by the state, and only a certain number of people qualify right now. The law opens education freedom accounts to everyone by the 2025-2026 school year.