The Arkansas Department of Education is under fire over a particular question asked on their applications for school vouchers for the 2025-2026 school year. However, some people seem to think that it isn’t all bad.
On March 3, online applications opened up for state-funded school vouchers for the 2025-2026 school year. These vouchers can give families up to $7,000 that can be used for homeschooling or private school tuition. Labeled the LEARNS Act, it was created by former White House press secretary and current Governor of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, according to the Arkansas Times.
Shortly after online applications went live, people noticed a multiple-choice question that asked families while they were applying. Of the nine options, one particular drew the ire of critics; “to access a different racial mix of students for my child.”
The frustration over the question on social media caused the Arkansas Department of Education to delete that option from the application entirely just hours after the application went live.
More from the Arkansas Times:
In the roughly six hours the original response options were available, 110 applicants representing 129 students clicked to indicate that accessing “a different racial mix of students for my child” was among the top three reasons they wanted a school voucher.
No one who filled out the survey on the first day indicated their students qualified for a voucher in the current school year but declined to use it to avoid religious instruction or being held back a grade, or because the student didn’t pass an admission test to a private school.
Several people on social media said it was an attempt by Gov. Sanders to segregate schools once again.
One user commented on Facebook, “The voucher program is a conservative attempt at resegregation, besides being a handout for wealthy Christian families.”
@McDuB126 commented on X, “It’s amazing how she [Gov. Sanders] tries to spin segregation into a freedom thing.”
Shelley Smith wrote on Facebook, “What??? ‘Access a different racial mix’? Is this a new politically correct way to say ‘blatant racism’?
However, others did not think the question was harmful at all and is a good question for parents who want their children around a diverse group of students.
Rachel Barber wrote on Facebook, “I assume it means you want your child to experience people who are different from themselves see diversity.”
Shannon Fields commented on Facebook, “My child is Asian so I want him to be around a good mix of cultures, not just white, so I think the question could be looked at multiple ways.”