Two Islamic schools approved for Texas school choice program after judge's order

The Texas Comptroller's Office has approved two Islamic private schools from North Texas to take part in the state's taxpayer‑funded school choice program. The move comes one day after Houston federal judge Alfred Bennett ordered the state to consider the schools' applications – a step the schools say Texas had previously refused to take.

Records from the comptroller's office, which oversees the Texas Education Freedom Accounts program, show Excellence Academy, a private Islamic school in McKinney, has now been approved to participate. By Wednesday afternoon, the school appeared on the state's website of participating schools.

Ehsan Sayed, a board member and graduate of Brighter Horizons Academy in Garland, told CBS News Texas on Wednesday afternoon that they had just learned the state had also approved their school.

"It's a big relief," Sayed said. "We were excited about the vouchers program when it was first even mentioned, years ago, by the governor, because it would really give our parents and families an opportunity to help with their private education."

Long‑standing school describes its mission

Sayed said his school has been around since 1989 and now has 1,200 students in its K‑12 program.

"It's a typical private school with all the subjects, all the wonderful recreational and after‑school activities, with the addition of the religious curriculum and classes. And so, as you mentioned, we've been around for over 30 years, graduated hundreds. I want to say almost 800 alumni from the school to date. Just normal and everyday Texans."

Lawsuit alleges religious discrimination

Sayed and other schools and parents sued the Texas Comptroller's Office. Their attorney, Maha Ghyas, told CBS News Texas that as many as 30 Islamic schools in Texas were blocked from taking part in the application process, which she said violated the Constitution and freedom of religion.

"We believe it was on the basis of the Islamic faith that the school teaches."

The state had said schools with ties to the Chinese Communist Party and CAIR, which Gov. Greg Abbott has designated as a foreign terrorist organization, could not be approved for the program.

"That did come up in the hearing, and the state's attorney confirmed there was no evidence that the comptroller had that either Brighter Horizons or Little Horizons was in any way affiliated with any organization that could be problematic here," Ghyas said. "And so that did come up in the hearing, and the state did concede that that was not an issue with either Brighter Horizons or Little Horizons."

CAIR has strongly denied that it is a foreign terrorist organization and has sued the state over the designation. The comptroller's office did not comment on the plaintiffs' assertion that their schools were initially denied because of their faith.

Deadline extension boosts interest

Sayed said he believes the judge's ruling to extend the state's filing deadline for parents until March 31 will attract more interest in the program.

"I think it will clear up a lot of confusion we were getting from parents, so we will have a lot more parents applying."

In a statement Tuesday afternoon, Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock said, "This two‑week extension will give families an additional opportunity to apply for the first year of school choice in Texas. We look forward to building on the record‑setting demand for educational options that we have seen over the first six weeks." 

Hancock was unavailable for an interview on Wednesday.

Applications surge after ruling

Since the federal judge issued the ruling Tuesday, a spokesman for the comptroller's office said nearly 900 additional students have applied for the program, bringing the total to about 230,000 applications so far.

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