“The most callused aspect of the current education monopoly in Arkansas is that it willingly and deliberately forces children–except those whose parents have wealth–to attend bad schools.”Arkansas Policy Foundation, 1998
The niche school choice market has grown from 66,627 students (2013)(1) to 121,421 in the 2024-25 school year. Factors contributing to growth include dissatisfaction with public schools deemed ‘failing’ in letter-grade surveys, technology that makes distance learning feasible, and religious affiliations.
The latest Arkansas school choice count is an all-time record. Enrollment increased by 7,414 students from 114,007 in the last school year (2023-24).
Charters Are Largest Group
School choice has advanced since Policy Foundation analysts Allyson Tucker and Donna Watson wrote their landmark 1996 study (2) recommending charters as an education reform. Students enrolled in charters total 45,764, an increase from the 2023-24 school year when 42,261 students were enrolled.
Education department records show 29,602 students enrolled in public open-enrollment charters in the current school year. An open-enrollment charter is operated by “a governmental entity, an institution of higher learning or a tax-exempt non-sectarian organization,” according to the education department.
Another 16,162 students are enrolled in public district conversion charters this year. A conversion school “is a public school converted to a public charter school. Conversion schools can only draw students from within the school district’s boundaries,” the department explains on its site.(3)
Home Schools Are Second Largest Group
Students attending home schools are the second largest group. Educational research shows 27,528 students were enrolled in the 2023-24 school year. (4)
Public School Choice
Another 25,346 “are currently enrolled in a traditional public school district via school choice “this school year, a department communication explains.(5) The program allows students to transfer to another public school district.
Private Schools: Slight Increase
Private school enrollment increased to 22,783 in the current school year, data from the non-profit Arkansas Nonpublic School Accrediting Association shows.(6) There were 21,240 students enrolled in private schools last year.
— Greg Kaza
Sources
(1) “Arkansas School Choice Market Expands” (Policy Foundation Research memo) February 2014
(2) Tucker, Allyson and Donna Watson. Arkansas’ Weak Charter School Law: Failing The Grade (Policy Foundation study) 1996
(3) https://adedata.arkansas.gov/statewide/ReportList/Schools/CharterSchools.aspx
https://adedata.arkansas.gov/statewide/ReportList/Schools/EnrollmentCount.aspx
(4) Home school enrollment for the 2023-24 school year. The education department releases data with a lag, and has not released its report for the 2024-25 school year.
https://education.jhu.edu/edpolicy/policy-research-initiatives/homeschool-hub/states/arkansas (Homeschool Hub State Data spreadsheet)
(5) https://adedate.arkansas.gov/Statewide/ReportList/State/SchoolChoice.aspx
(6) Howell, Cynthia. “School vouchers’ enrollment rises 158% in past year; nearly half of Arkansas’ private schools see majority usage.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. November 30, 2024
Appendix
Open Enrollment Charter Schools (29,602 students)
Academies of Math and Science School 486; Arkansas Arts Academy Elementary School 523; Arkansas Arts Academy High School 422; Arkansas Connections Academy 4,575; Arkansas Military & First Responders Academy 176; Arkansas Virtual Academy Elementary School 1,387; Arkansas Virtual Academy Middle School 1,315; Arkansas Virtual Academy High School 2,567; eSTEM East Village Elementary School 609; eSTEM Elementary School 672; eSTEM Junior High Public Charter School 401; eSTEM High School 676; Exalt Academy of Southwest Little Rock 754; Founders Classical Academies of Arkansas Bentonville 787; Founders Classical Academies of Arkansas Rogers High School 207; Founders Classical Academies of Arkansas Rogers 521; Founders Classical Academies of Arkansas West Little Rock 56; Founders Classical Academies of Arkansas West Little Rock Elementary School 61; Friendship Academy Little Rock Elementary School 200; Friendship Aspire Academy Downtown Pine Bluff 245; Friendship Aspire Academy Hazel Street Pine Bluff 469; Friendship Aspire Academy Little Rock Middle School 62; Friendship Aspire Academy North Little Rock Elementary School 62; Friendship Aspire Academy Southeast Middle School Pine Bluff 236; Friendship Aspire Academy Southeast Pine Bluff 76; Future School of Fort Smith 235; Graduate Arkansas High School 557; Haas Hall Academy 499; Haas Hall Academy Bentonville 433; Haas Hall Academy Fort Smith 101; Haas Hall Academy Jones Center 164; Haas Hall Academy Rogers 230; Hope Academy of NWA Elementary School 25; Hope Academy of Public Service 217; Imboden Area Charter School 70; Institute for the Creative Arts School (Fort Smith) 49; ISchool Virtual Academy 16; Ivy Hill Preparatory Academy 306; Jacksonville Lighthouse Elementary School 210; Jacksonville Lighthouse Flightline Academy 156; Jacksonville Lighthouse High School 60; KIPP Blytheville College Preparatory 292; KIPP Blytheville Collegiate High School 132; KIPP Delta College Prep School 163; KIPP Delta Collegiate High School 181; KIPP Delta Elementary Literacy Academy 422; LISA Academy Arkansas Hybrid School 236; LISA Academy Fayetteville 377; LISA Academy Fayetteville Middle School 31; LISA Academy North Elementary School 654; LISA Academy North Middle School 353; LISA Academy North High School 292; LISA Academy Rogers-Bentonville Elementary School 393; LISA Academy Rogers-Bentonville Middle School 95; LISA Academy Rogers-Bentonville High School 12; LISA Academy Springdale 450; LISA Academy West Elementary School 575; LISA Academy West Middle School 430; LISA Academy West High School 394; Maumelle Charter Elementary School 614; Maumelle Charter Middle School 664; Maumelle Charter High School 508; Premier High School of Fayetteville 14; Premier High School of Fort Smith 99; Premier High School of Little Rock 78; Premier High School of North Little Rock 76; Premier High School of Russellville 31; Premier High School of Texarkana 67; Premier High School Online 292; School for Advanced Studies-NW Arkansas 87; Scott Charter School 207; The Excel Center 348; The Excel Center Springdale 76; and Westwind School for Performing Arts 86.
Conversion Charter Schools (16,162 students)
Academies at Rivercrest High School 351; Adventure Online Academy (Waldron) 35; Batesville Charter High School 986; Batesville Charter Junior High School 690; Cabot Panther Academy 318; Caddo Academy 237; Cave City Middle School Career & Collegiate Preparatory 259; Cave City High Career & Collegiate Prep School 375; Centerpoint Academy of Agricultural & Skilled Trades 4; Cross County Elementary Technology Academy 361; Cross County High School, A New Tech School 315; Don Tyson School of Innovation (Springdale) 1,976; Fayetteville Virtual Academy 165; Fort Smith Virtual Academy 106; Fountain Lake Charter High School 368; Guy Berry College & Career Academy (Mountain Home) 52; Hot Springs Junior Academy 803; Hot Springs World Class High School 759; Lincoln High School 338; Mountain Home High School Career Academies 1,523; Mountainburg Middle School Brain Academy 132; Mountainburg High School 185; North Little Rock Center of Excellence 472; Polk County Virtual Academy (Mena) 12; Prairie Grove High School 620; Responsive Ed Solutions Premier High School of Springdale 102; River Valley Virtual Academy (Van Buren) 79; Rivercrest Junior High Prep Academy 179; Rogers New Technology High School 640; Siloam Springs High School Conversion Charter 1,475; Southside Charter High School (Independence County) 464; Southside Junior High (Independence County) 427; The Academies at Newport High School 394; Vilonia Pathways Academy 69; and The Academies of West Memphis 897.
