Arkansas Wins Federal Waiver Giving Schools More Control Over Education Dollars

A New Era for Arkansas Schools

Arkansas scored a significant victory for its education system last week when the federal government handed the state a sweeping new level of control over how it runs its public schools. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders joined U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon on July 7 to announce that the U.S. Department of Education approved Arkansas's "Returning Education to the States" waiver, along with the state's application for Ed-Flex authority and amendments to its federal accountability plan. The announcement was a headline-grabbing moment in a week packed with major Arkansas news.

Arkansas became only the fifth state granted this type of waiver, joining Vermont, Indiana, Iowa, and Louisiana. The approval is a direct extension of Governor Sanders's broader push to reshape education in the Natural State — and it comes with real, tangible changes for students and school districts across the state.

What the Waiver Actually Does

The approvals give Arkansas greater flexibility to reduce unnecessary federal bureaucracy, streamline education funding, strengthen accountability, and give local schools more authority to meet the needs of their students. In practical terms, that means less paperwork and more money flowing directly into classrooms rather than administrative overhead.

According to Secretary McMahon, the state can now merge four separate funding streams into one, consolidating over $8.8 million over the next four years. The waiver also expands Alternative Fund Use Authority to additional rural school districts, allowing more local leaders to determine how federal funds are best spent, and supports advanced students by simplifying accountability requirements for those who complete high school coursework before entering high school. For example, an 8th grader taking 9th grade math would now take the 9th grade assessment rather than both the 8th and 9th grade tests — a change Sanders says will help accelerate students and reduce unnecessary workload.

Building on the LEARNS Act

Sanders signed the LEARNS Act in 2023, and since then Arkansas has expanded school choice, raised teacher pay, deployed literacy coaches and high-impact tutoring, and strengthened accountability. Supporters point to measurable results: this year's ATLAS assessment showed student proficiency rising more than 20% statewide since 2024.

Not everyone is celebrating, however. 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, and also expressed worry that as more states receive similar waivers, it will become harder to compare academic performance across states. State officials, for their part, say the waiver does not eliminate federal oversight altogether, and that Arkansas did not request changes to civil rights protections for English-language learners, funding requirements for high-need students, or support for struggling schools.

A Blueprint Other States May Follow

The broader significance of this approval extends well beyond Arkansas's borders. Secretary 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. Arkansas, in other words, may be setting a template that dozens of other states will seek to replicate.

Obtaining Ed-Flex authority allows the Arkansas Department of Education to waive certain federal requirements for local education agencies without having to seek approval from the United States Department of Education — a shift that dramatically speeds up decision-making at the local level. Whether the changes ultimately deliver better outcomes for Arkansas students, especially those in rural communities and alternative learning environments, will be the real test of this landmark policy shift in the months and years ahead.