Report finds no evidence of fraud in Arkansas’s universal school choice program

Arkansas’s universal school choice program has been declared fraud-free, refuting allegations it is filled with “rampant fraud, waste, and abuse.”

A brand-new analysis, published by conservative think tank Opportunity Arkansas, found the state’s Education Freedom Account Program had no instances of parents misusing funds.

“After nearly three years of operation, opponents have failed to deliver any evidence of any fraudulent spending whatsoever,” wrote the report authors. “Now, after two independent analyses of the program’s transaction data, it is apparent why: because there has been zero documented fraudulent spending in the EFA program.”

Upon reviewing every EFA transaction between August 2023 and August 2025, only 5% of transactions were flagged as improper, and 100% of flagged transactions were denied, meaning zero public dollars were misspent.

Furthermore, 93% of funding goes directly to private school tuition, school supplies and curriculum. Just 7% goes to more nebulous categories such as extracurricular activities, tutoring, therapy and transportation.

But this hasn’t stopped opponents of school choice from slandering the program.

“The absence of public accountability for voucher funds has contributed to rampant fraud, waste, and abuse in current voucher programs,” accused the Arkansas teachers’ union.

Others questioned EFA funds being used to purchase ergonomic desk chairs, marketed as “gaming office chairs.”

But if public schools can spend their public dollars on desks and laptops for students, why can’t EFA accounts be used to buy an ergonomic desk chair, the report asks.

“Apparently the state media would prefer they sit on milk crates,” the authors wrote.

Plus, the EFA program enjoys strong public support among Arkansas voters.

Recent polling by Opportunity Arkansas found two-thirds of voters support education freedom, including a whopping 81% of parents with school-aged children.

Arkansas isn’t the only state with an exemplary school choice program – or one that has faced similar attacks.

Arizona – one of the pioneers of universal school choice – recently reported a fraud rate much lower than other government programs.

The Arizona Education Department reported “actual fraud and egregious purchases” at a meager 0.3% and “unallowed spending” at 2%. This in a program with more than 100,000 participants.

In comparison, Arizona’s unemployment insurance program has an improper payment rate of 22%, and the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program 10%. Still, opponents claim the program is full of fraud and are pursuing ballot initiatives to restrict it.

Nationwide, Medicaid fraud occurs at a rate of over 6.5%. Some estimates claim various forms of welfare fraud could be costing American taxpayers as much as $187 billion every year.

Colyn Ritter, a researcher with EdChoice, told The Lion there’s a predictable cycle of attacks used by school choice opponents.

“It’s like clockwork,” Ritter said. “The next time a state enacts a choice program like this, you’ll see, ‘Oh, it’s only white kids, it’s only private school kids.’ Then it becomes, ‘Look how much this program is costing.’

“After that, it’s, ‘How do we know these kids are learning?’ Then, ‘There’s fraud. You can go to Arizona and find your taxpayer dollars going to diamond rings and lingerie.’

“No, 1%, the tiniest sliver of bad actors, are spending that money, and they are going to get punished.” he said.

Despite broad public support, and studies such as the ones in Arkansas and Arizona, the opposition never seems to fade.

“I don’t know how people are missing the fact that these opponents are not arguing in good faith,” Ritter said.