More than $1 of every $8 allotted for Arkansas’ student accounts last year go unused

A Jonesboro mother set to receive nearly $14,000 total in Educational Freedom Account funds this school year said that more than half of that money is likely to remain unspent and will roll over into next year.

She is not alone. Roughly $12.3 million in Educational Freedom Accounts money went unused in the 2024-25 school year and rolled over into student accounts for the current school year, according to a list provided by the Arkansas Department of Education. The amount equals roughly 13.1% of the $93.8 million lawmakers allotted to the program for use in the 2024-25 school year.

Even if account holders have no plans to ever spend all of the money allotted to them, those funds will sit in their accounts, untouched, until those accounts are terminated. That could take years under the pro