Arkansas’ newest K-12 education voucher application that offered parents an option to tell the state they were applying to access “a different racial mix of students for my child,” triggered uproar and controversy on social media.
According to the Arkansas Times, the state’s Department of Education launched its online applications for state-funded school vouchers for the 2025-26 school year on March 3. The vouchers allocate $7,000 per student to help families finance private school tuition or homeschool expenses for children.
One multiple-choice question that asked parents why they were applying for the program included several answer options, but the “different racial mix” response set off a frenzy on social media.
Applicants notified state education officials, who removed the answer hours after the application was opened to the public.
By the time they removed the answer option, 110 applicants out of 129 had already selected it as one of the top three reasons they wanted a school voucher, the Times reported. Three other answer options on the subject of race, religious instruction, and mandatory retention were also removed from other survey questions. More than 16,000 applications were submitted that day.
Several states that implement voucher systems brand these programs as opportunities to help low-income families pay for their children’s education in private institutions with stronger academic programs and better resources. However, research shows that wealthy families with children already enrolled in private schools with religious instruction or racial segregation have historically been repeat applicants for these subsidy programs.
As screenshots of the application began circulating across social media, people chimed in with their opinions, many of whom believed the now-deleted “different racial mix” response was meant to engage parents who seek to access more segregated schools. Some also aimed backlash at Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
“The voucher program is a conservative attempt at resegregation, besides being a handout for wealthy Christian families,” one Facebook user wrote.
“The fact that this is even a question tells you everything you need to know about her vision for education. Spoiler alert: It’s not about learning—it’s about exclusion,” an X user commented.
Others thought the answer could be to engage families who sought schools with more diversity.
“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,” one person said.
