Arkansas

4 file suit seeking to halt school voucher program, calling LEARNS provision unconstitutional | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

Published

2 years ago

June 10, 2024

4 file suit seeking to halt school voucher program, calling LEARNS provision unconstitutional | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

A group of Arkansas citizens has asked a Pulaski County circuit judge to stop what they say is the state’s unconstitutional Educational Freedom Account that provides taxpayer funding for tuition and other private and home school costs.

The four plaintiffs — Gwen Faulkenberry, Special Renee Sanders, Anika Whitfield and Kimberly Crutchfield, who are represented by Richard H. Mays — filed suit late Friday against Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the Arkansas Department of Education, the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, Education Secretary Jacob Oliva, secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration Jim Hudson and eight of the nine-member state Board of Education. One board position is vacant.

The plaintiffs argued to Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Morgan Welch that the voucher program is unconstitutional and void. The plaintiffs seek an injunction from the court to prohibit state defendants from further implementing the voucher program and a declaration from the court that state officials have acted beyond their constitutional authority.

If the court finds that the funding and payment provisions of the LEARNS Act relative to the voucher program are unconstitutional, the plaintiffs in the 37-page lawsuit ask to “be allowed to add all recipients of the Voucher Program funds as Defendants for purposes of recovery all such funds illegally expended.”

The lawsuit notes that the Arkansas Revenue Stabilization Act allocates $97,487,318 for the voucher program for the coming 2024-25 school year, a 300% increase of the allocation for the past year.

State education leaders anticipate that more than 14,000 students will participate in the Educational Freedom Account program this coming year.

An effort to reach Kimberly Mundell, spokesperson for the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, by text message about the lawsuit late Monday afternoon was not successful.

The plaintiffs in the case are three educators/parents of school-age children and a guardian of a school-age child.

Faulkenberry, who lives in the Ozark School District, is a university teacher and has been a Sunday columnist for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Sanders, who resides in Drew County, is a public school teacher. Crutchfield is a Little Rock School District teacher. Whitfield, of Pulaski County, is a legal guardian and longtime community activist.

The lawsuit over the vouchers is the latest in a series of lawsuits challenging different aspects of the LEARNS Act. The most recent case is pending in federal court and centers on prohibitions in the law against indoctrination of students. An earlier case challenged the validity of the emergency clause that was attached last year to the LEARNS Act.

The Educational Freedom Account program was enacted last year by lawmakers as one component of the 145-page Arkansas LEARNS Act, or Act 237, that was initiated and championed by the governor to overhaul education in the state. The Educational Freedom Account program greatly expanded a smaller Succeed Scholarship voucher program that had been for students with special education needs.

The taxpayer-funded Educational Freedom Account program that started this just-ended school year based on emergency rules provided at least $6,672 for about 5,000 students who met eligibility requirements to use the taxpayer-funded accounts at some 94 private schools.

The accounts will provide at least $6,856 per student for this coming school year. The dollar amount is 90% of the minimum state and local funding per public school student. As of last month, 106 private schools had been approved for receiving the state funding with 13 more awaiting approval.

To qualify for the taxpayer-funded accounts in the first year, students had to be kindergartners, recipients of the previous Succeed Scholarships, attend an F-graded public school, be the child of an active military service member or experience foster care or homelessness.

In this coming school year, the eligibility requirements have expanded to include students who attended a D- or F-graded public school or be the child of military veterans or emergency responders.

While there are student eligibility requirements in place for the first two years of the vouchers, all Arkansas students will be eligible to access Educational Freedom Accounts for tuition and other private and home school costs beginning with the 2025-26 school year, according to the LEARNS Act.

Mays, the plaintiffs’ attorney, argued in the lawsuit that Article 14 of the Arkansas Constitution directs that no money or property belonging to the public school fund or to the state for the benefit of schools and universities “shall ever be used for any other respective purpose to which it belongs.”

Article 14 further reserves certain property taxes to local school districts and Article 16 states that no money arising from a tax levied for any purpose shall be used for any other purpose.

“The LEARNS Act violates these constitutional principles,” Mays wrote. “The LEARNS Act transfers from taxes belonging to the state for the use and benefit of public schools the amount of money calculated by the State as the cost of that student’s education to the private school, home school or other private provider.”

The lawsuit also states that the Arkansas Supreme Court “has consistently upheld the constitutional requirement that public school funds may not be used for non-public school purposes.”

The LEARNS Act is not the state’s first attempt at funding of private schools, according to the lawsuit. Mays cites unsuccessful efforts by the state to provide public money to private schools in response to the court-ordered racial desegregation of Little Rock schools in 1958.

“The LEARNS Act represents a radical and unconstitutional departure from a public school system that endured since the establishment of the state of Arkansas,” the suit also states.

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

Mays, the attorney, noted that no tax or other revenue source was created by lawmakers to support the Educational Freedom Accounts.

He called the voucher program “a shell game.”

“The funding mechanisms and incentives for vouchers reduce the number of students in traditional public schools, and effectively fund the state vouchers in part with funds which formerly were distributed to traditional public schools,” he wrote in the lawsuit.

“This scheme results in the local school tax funds generated by the 25-mill uniform rate of taxation being shuffled to the state, and then used to fund school vouchers,” he said.

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Arkansas

No. 20 Lady Vols Basketball vs. Arkansas: How to Watch, Prediction, More | Rocky Top Insider

Published

9 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

No. 20 Lady Vols Basketball vs. Arkansas: How to Watch, Prediction, More | Rocky Top Insider

KNOXVILLE, TN – January 16, 2025 – “We Back Pat” on jersey during the game between the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Tennessee Lady Volunteers at Food City Center in Knoxville, TN. Photo By Kate Luffman/Tennessee Athletics

Lady Vols basketball is back in Knoxville for a matchup with Arkansas after a two-game road stand. Tennessee is not only looking to stay perfect in SEC play, but is hosting its annual ‘We Back Pat’ game.

Here’s everything to know about the matchup, from broadcast details to a prediction.

More From RTI: Everything Lady Vols HC Kim Caldwell, PG Mia Pauldo Said After Road Win At Mississippi State

How to Watch — No. 20 Lady Vols (11-3, 3-0 SEC) vs. Arkansas (11-7, 0-3 SEC)

Start Time: 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT
Location: Food City Center (Knoxville, Tenn.)
Watch: SECN+ | PxP: Andy Brock, Analyst: Kamera Harris
Online Streaming: Watch ESPN
Radio (Knoxville): The Vol Network/The Vol Network App
Vol Network radio crew: PxP: Brian Rice, Studio Host: Jay Lifford

Betting Odds

None listed yet

ESPN Matchup Predictor

Lady Vols – 98.3%

Arkansas – 1.7%

What Kim Caldwell Said After Mississippi State

“Good to get a win on the road. We know it’s a tough environment and we know that we got to win on the road in the SEC. It was good to do that. I wasn’t really proud of the rebounding, but I thought we looked a lot better in a couple different categories so that was good.”

Last Five Games

Lady Vols:

at Mississippi State, 90-90 W
at Auburn, 73-56 W
vs. Florida, 76-65 W
vs. Southern Indiana, 89-44 W
vs. Louisville (Brooklyn), 89-65 L

Arkansas:

vs. South Carolina, 93-58 L
at Alabama, 77-48 L
vs. Vanderbilt, 88-71 L
vs. Arkansas State, 81-72 L
vs. Stephen F. Austin, 82-73 W

Where They Land In Rankings

Lady Vols:

AP Poll – No. 20

Coaches Poll – No. 22

Bart Torvik – No. 13

Arkansas:

AP Poll – Unranked

Coaches Poll – Unranked

Bart Torvik – No. 107

Stat Leaders

Lady Vols:

Points: Talaysia Cooper – 14.9
Rebounds: Zee Spearman – 7.3
Assists: Talaysia Cooper – 4.3

Arkansas:

Points: Taleyah Jones – 16.9
Rebounds: Bonnie Deas – 9.7
Assists: Bonnie Deas – 2.6

Prediction

It’s been a rough start for Arkansas’ new coach, Kelsi Musick. The team is 0-3 in SEC games, and though it’s been against three good teams, the Razorbacks haven’t been competitive in any.

While neither side has been strong, Arkansas’ defense has been the weakest point. Not only is it coming off a game in which it gave up 93 points to South Carolina, but Arkansas State hung 81 in its win over the Razorbacks on the road.

If the Lady Vols don’t get in their own way, then they should be fine. It hasn’t been perfect, and against three teams not necessarily in the mix to win the league, but Tennessee has looked much improved in the SEC slate compared to the lumps it took in the out-of-conference schedule.

I’d think UT jumps on Arkansas in the first quarter and takes a comfortable lead into the second quarter. From there, the lead should continue to grow behind forced turnovers in the press and easy baskets on the other end.

Lady Vols 85, Arkansas 61

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Arkansas

Arkansas State defeats Texas State 83-82

Published

21 hours ago

January 10, 2026

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Arkansas

One more list of wishes for Arkansas in 2026 | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

Published

1 day ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

One more list of wishes for Arkansas in 2026 | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

Rex Nelson

rnelson@adgnewsroom.com

Rex Nelson has been senior editor and columnist at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette since 2017, and he has a biweekly podcast called “Southern Fried.”

After graduating from Ouachita Baptist University in 1981, he was a sportswriter for the Arkansas Democrat for a year before becoming editor of Arkadelphia’s Daily Siftings Herald. He was the youngest editor of a daily in Arkansas at age 23. Rex was then news and sports director at KVRC-KDEL from 1983-1985.

He returned to the Democrat as assistant sports editor in 1985. From 1986-1989, he was its Washington correspondent. He left to be Jackson T. Stephens’ consultant.

Rex became the Democrat-Gazette’s first political editor in 1992, but left in 1996 to join then-Gov. Mike Huckabee’s office. He also served from 2005-09 in the administration of President George W. Bush.

From 2009-2018, he worked stints at the Communications Group, Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities, and Simmons First National Corp.

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