Students at Little Rock Central High School demonstrate against the Arkansas LEARNS Act voucher system by staging a walkout

Little Rock, Arkansas – On Thursday, a large number of Little Rock Central High School students demonstrated against the Arkansas LEARNS Act by staging a walkout.

Rhone Kuta, a student and protest organizer, stated, “We are extremely concerned about the condition of our educational system.”

Protesters claimed that the purpose of the walkout was to express their disapproval of students attending private schools with money from the Education Freedom Account.

The Education Freedom Accounts program, which uses public tax dollars to pay for children to attend private schools in the name of school choice, cost the state more than $30 million for the 2023–2024 academic year.

“We strongly disagree with many of the laws that our state government has been passing,” Kuta stated.

According to the Arkansas Department of Education, compared to 6,495 applications in 2023–2024, over 20,000 EFA applications were filed for the 2024–2025 academic year.

Of the 5,548 pupils who received approval, 57% had impairments.

More than $6,000 would be given to qualified students to assist with the cost of tuition at private schools.

As a result, Kuta and the other students who joined him in protest start to worry about the future of the public school they have chosen.

“Our schools’ funding is a major concern,” Kuta stated.

The future of Arkansas isn’t the only thing that worries Kuta; he believes that the entire nation is headed toward “dark times.”

The students at Central High School “decided to walk out here to create a safe space and create a feeling of solidarity,” he said.

There were 97 private schools that used the EFA system in the 2023–2024 school year, as opposed to 128 in the 2024–2025 school year.

All Arkansas children will be eligible for vouchers by the 2025–2026 school year, subject to approval of eligibility standards.

To be eligible for an Education Freedom Account for the 2024–2025 academic year, eligible pupils must fulfill one of the following requirements:

• Students from the Succeed Scholarship Program
• Students with a disability (IDEA)
• Current or former foster care children
• Students experiencing homelessness
• Children of active-duty military personnel
• Children of a military reservist
• Children of a US military veteran under Title 38
• Children of a first responder or law enforcement officer
• Students from “D” or “F” public schools (2023-24 school year) or schools in “Level 5” districts
• Kindergartners (private school only)

In reaction to the Central High students’ protest, an Arkansas Department of Education official posted a statement.

“We are encouraged that students are engaged in education. Students need educational options, which LEARNS provides. We fully support local public schools and empowering parents to make the best choices for their child,” the statement read. “The Education Freedom Account program provides students of all races and economic statuses the opportunity to attend a quality school of their choice. More than 14,000 students and their families this year would agree. At the end of the day, everyone wins.”