Judge extends Texas school voucher deadline after lawsuits over exclusion of Islamic schools from TEFA program

A federal judge has ordered Texas to extend the application deadline to March 31 for its school voucher program after lawsuits alleged the state improperly excluded Islamic private schools from participating.

Two lawsuits argue that Texas is preventing Islamic private schools from participating in the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) program. One parent's lawsuit argues that excluding Islamic private schools violates four constitutional rights: freedom of religion (Free Exercise Clause), separation of church and state (the Establishment Clause), equal protection, and due process.

In late January, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the Acting Comptroller, Kelly Hancock, has the right to exclude schools from participating in the program, using the example, "any educational institution violating laws barring it from providing material support to a designated terrorist organization would be ineligible for the program under the 'other relevant law[s]' provision."

Gov. Greg Abbott designated the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a terrorist organization in November, a move the Muslim civil rights group has challenged in court as defamatory and unsupported by law. CAIR has denied the allegations and filed a suit challenging the designation.

"Let me be crystal clear: Texans' tax dollars should never fund Islamic terrorists or America's enemies," Paxton said in the January statement. "The Comptroller's Office has always possessed exclusive authority under the TEFA framework to stop any school illegally tied to terrorists or foreign adversaries from accessing taxpayer dollars, and this opinion affirms that authority. There is no question that the Comptroller's Office is statutorily charged with ensuring that our school choice program is protected from abuse by terrorists or the Chinese Communist Party."  

One parent's lawsuit argues that the designation is being used as a "pretext to exclude Islamic schools from TEFA based on broad, guilt-by-association theories that treat hosting community events, facilitating civic education, or being located at addresses where Islamic organizations have met as disqualifying 'ties' to terrorism."

CAIR released the following statement after the judge's order:

"We welcome the court's decision to extend the application deadline and recognize the serious concerns raised about the exclusion of Islamic schools from Texas' voucher program. All families, regardless of their faith, deserve equal access to educational opportunities supported by public programs.
The lack of approved Islamic schools raises important questions about whether the program is being implemented in a fair, inclusive and nondiscriminatory manner. We urge state officials to take immediate steps to ensure that faith-based schools, including Islamic institutions, are given a fair opportunity to participate."

Judge orders TEFA deadline update 

The court order mandates that the TEFA website must be updated within 24 hours to reflect the new deadline, and that the comptroller must ensure that two schools, Excellence Academy and Katy Houston Qur'an Academy, receive registration links to submit applications within 24 hours.

The court also ordered limited discovery, including the deposition of a corporate representative of the comptroller's office, and set the permanent injunction hearing for April 24. 

What is TEFA?

The TEFA is a $1 billion taxpayer-funded program passed by the Texas Legislature last year. It allocates vouchers to qualifying families to help pay for private school expenses like tuition, textbooks and uniforms.

The average student can receive $10,474 per year. A student with disabilities and a completed IEP can receive up to $30,000 a year. A homeschooled student can receive $2,000.

• To see which private schools in North Texas are participating, click here.

In the period from when applications opened on Feb. 4 through Monday, March 17, over 200,000 student applications had been received, the acting Texas Comptroller said. 

Who's using the funds?

According to data from the Comptroller's Office, 79% of the applicants for TEFA are using the funds for private-school-related expenses. Lawmakers who advocated for the program said it was designed to give public school and homeschooled students an opportunity to switch to private education.

After applications close, the Comptroller's Office will allocate funding to eligible families through a lottery that prioritizes students with disabilities first. Eleven percent of all applicants, about 18,000, are students with disabilities from families at or below 500% of the Federal Poverty Level.

Next on the priority list is students from low- and middle-income families. Just 35% of applicants are from households that earn 200% or less of the Federal Poverty Level:

• 200% or less of the Federal Poverty Level ($66,000 or less for a family of 4): 35%
• Between 200% and 500% of the Federal Poverty Level ($66,001-$164,999 for a family of 4): 36%
• 500% or more of the Federal Poverty Level ($165,000 or more for a family of 4): 29%

The Comptroller's Office will report the waitlist to the Texas Legislature to determine funding for future years.

What happens next?

The Comptroller's office will review submissions and begin determining funding eligibility in accordance with state law. Before the court order, families were told they could expect the first award notifications in April and would have until mid-July to finalize their education selections for the upcoming school year. New dates have not yet been announced.

As the family application period does not operate on a first-come, first-served basis, families applying in the final hours of the application window will receive equal consideration for funding eligibility as those who have already completed applications, the Comptroller's office said in a statement.

CBS News Texas has reached out to the Attorney General, the Texas Education Agency and the Comptroller's Office for comment.