From left: U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders today in Little Rock.
Arkansas schools will soon have more flexibility over how they spend federal dollars after the U.S. Department of Education approved the state’s request to loosen federal funding and accountability requirements, state and federal officials announced Tuesday.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon made the announcement during a visit to Hot Springs Junior Academy, alongside Arkansas Education Secretary Jacob Oliva. The approval covers Arkansas’ Returning Education to the States waiver, the state’s application for Ed-Flex authority, and amendments to its federal accountability plan under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
According to the governor’s office, the waiver allows Arkansas to consolidate four separate federal funding streams, expand flexibility for rural school districts, simplify accountability requirements for advanced students who complete high school coursework early, and let students in alternative learning environments be counted with their home school for accountability purposes.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports McMahon said the waiver allows the state to merge the funding streams into one, consolidating more than $8.8 million over the next four years. The newspaper also reports Arkansas is the fifth state to receive approval for this type of waiver, following Iowa in January, Louisiana in February, and Indiana and Vermont in June.
Sanders credited the state’s 2023 LEARNS Act, saying the flexibility builds on reforms that have expanded school choice and raised teachFeaer pay. The governor’s office says this year’s ATLAS assessment showed student proficiency rising more than 20% statewide since 2024.
Not everyone is on board. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports Bill Kopsky, director of the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, raised concerns that the state’s track record on serving vulnerable students isn’t strong enough to justify reduced federal oversight. Kopsky also told the newspaper he’s concerned that as more states receive similar waivers, it will become harder to compare academic performance across states.
State officials say the waiver does not eliminate federal oversight altogether. According to the Democrat-Gazette, Arkansas did not request changes to civil rights protections for English-language learners, funding requirements for high-need students, or support for struggling schools. Sanders said the state will continue to prioritize low-income, minority and special-needs students while cutting administrative costs.
McMahon said she expects to approve more state waivers in the future as part of the Trump administration’s push to reduce the federal Education Department’s role.
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