Arkansas EFA for Tutoring and Co-Ops: What's Covered and How to Pay

Tutoring and curriculum are core approved expenses under the Arkansas EFA. Co-ops are more complicated. Here's how each one works through ClassWallet and where the restrictions actually sit.

Tutoring

Individualized or small-group academic instruction from an ADE-approved tutor is a fully approved, uncapped expense. There's no dollar limit beyond your total annual allocation — tutoring falls under core educational spending, not the 25% extracurricular cap.

The catch: the tutor must complete ADE and ClassWallet vendor approval before accepting EFA payments. Unapproved providers, parents, legal guardians, and immediate household members acting as paid tutors are explicitly prohibited.

How to pay a tutor with EFA funds:

1. Confirm the tutor has completed ADE and ClassWallet vendor approval (or have them complete the vendor application)
2. The tutor submits an invoice through ClassWallet
3. You review and authorize payment from your EFA balance
4. Funds go directly to the tutor through ClassWallet, without an out-of-pocket reimbursement wait

If the tutor isn't in ClassWallet, they'll need to complete the ADE and ClassWallet vendor approval process first. This takes time, so start the conversation early.

Curriculum and Instructional Materials

Core curriculum packages, textbooks, workbooks, digital learning subscriptions, and supplementary instructional kits are all approved under the uncapped educational materials category.

The restriction that matters: curricula containing explicit biblical worldview integration or direct religious instruction cannot be purchased with EFA funds. Secular academic materials from any publisher are fine. See our religious curriculum guide for the full breakdown.

You can purchase curriculum through the ClassWallet marketplace (instant, no reimbursement wait), through a vendor's direct invoice in ClassWallet, or out of pocket with a reimbursement submission. The marketplace route is fastest and least likely to hit rejection issues.

Homeschool Co-Ops

This is the grey area. Vendor approval is required before a co-op can accept EFA payments, but approval does not establish that every co-op fee is eligible. Confirm the specific fee with ADE before using EFA funds.

If the co-op is an approved ADE and ClassWallet vendor: It can accept EFA payments, subject to ADE's rules for the specific expense.

If the co-op isn't approved: It must complete vendor approval before accepting EFA payments. Reimbursement requests need an itemized receipt and educational justification; claims for services from unapproved vendors are routinely rejected.

The extracurricular line: The available guidance lists extracurricular activities among categories subject to a 25% cap, but does not specify how co-op fees are classified. Ask ADE how it classifies the specific activity and fee before using EFA funds.

Co-ops that want to accept EFA payments need vendor approval. If your co-op hasn't done this yet, the conversation is worth starting — it benefits every EFA family in the group.

The Arkansas EFA Parent Guide covers the vendor approval process, co-op billing structures, and how to document co-op expenses for ADE audit compliance.

See more Arkansas guides →