Education officials heard praise and condemnation of the Arkansas LEARNS Act, but little about proposed rules changes for one of its key sections, in a brief public comment hearing Thursday evening.

The hearing, which ended 16 minutes after it began, was held to give Arkansans an opportunity to weigh in on proposed revisions developed by the state Department of Education to its Educational Freedom Account program. It was the second one scheduled for the day. A similar hearing that morning drew no comments on the rules.

State leaders have worked for months on the revisions -- which include a ban on the accounts' use for team sports -- and have said they are meant to clarify the program's operations and limit the misuse of funds. The Arkansas Board of Education voted Nov. 16 to release the

See Full Page