Forcing Private Schools to Report to the State: HB1144

February 2, 2025, in Little Rock, Arkansas.

NEWS. HB1144 was filed a few weeks ago by the Joe Biden of the Arkansas House of Representatives, Jim Wooten. The bill, which seems likely to pass, requires any school participating under the Arkansas Children’s Education Freedom Account Program to report to the State Department of Education just like any public school.

The bill itself is vague.  However, further research indicated that private schools receiving these funds would have to make the following reports:

• Report criminal acts by students (Ark. Code. Ann. § 6-17-113);
• Athletic costs and revenues (Ark. Code. Ann. § 6-62-106);
• Annual gifts (Ark. Code. Ann. § 6-17-113);
• Salaries of administrators (Ark. Code. Ann. § 6-17-113); and
• Financial Condition (Ark. Code. Ann. § 6-61-222).

ANALYSIS. This article was written at the behest of a reader who homeschools her children. Concern has been generated that this bill will be a “gateway bill” for the State to require standards and reports of homeschool parents who receive the funds.  I don’t really see that happening, but you never know what you are going to get when kitty puts on its thinking cap.

It is possible that the State could decide to regulate homeschoolers using funds from the program.  Generally, the government can attach any conditions it wants to free money, and this is why welfare recipients hate the notion of mandatory work to receive welfare.  No entity is better at this practice than the federal government.

In 2009, the federal government discovered that you are really too impaired to drive when your blood alcohol concentration is .08.  Previously, it had been .10.  The fed asked every state to lower their BACs to .08 in the DWI/DUI laws.  Every state did but one—Wyoming.

The federal government said “fine, can’t make you, but we are not going to give you any federal money to build or maintain roads until you do.”  Wyoming called a special session and lowered the BAC. Nothing illegal there.

The State could do the same thing but you always have two options.  First, don’t take the money.  Second, tie your educational system to your religion and SCOTUS has already held that you are exempt (thank the Amish, Quakers, and Mennonites who litigated that issue on their religious reasons for ending formal education at 8 years of age).

Clinton W. Lancaster

Attorney. America First. Sued Hunter Biden for child support. Represented President Trump in the 2020 Wisconsin election challenge. Former attorney for the Wisconsin Special Counsel. An official “Tough Cookie” per President Trump.