A federal judge in Houston has forced the state of Texas to reopen its new taxpayer-funded school voucher program to Islamic schools, extending a critical application deadline and prompting the quick approval of multiple Muslim-run institutions that had been shut out for weeks.
U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennett issued the temporary restraining order on March 17, 2026, hours before the original deadline was set to close, in response to two lawsuits alleging religious discrimination by the Texas Comptroller’s Office.
The ruling has already led to the approval of at least two (and reports indicate up to four) Islamic private schools, including Excellence Academy in McKinney and Houston Quran Academy in Katy. It has also triggered nearly 900 additional family applications to the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) program.
For most Texans, this story flew under the radar. The massive new school-choice initiative launched quietly in early 2026 and was already oversubscribed with more than 230,000 family applications and over 2,200 approved private schools, the vast majority Christian, secular or of other faiths. Almost no one noticed that not a single Islamic school had made the list.
Until now.
The Program: Texas’s Largest-Ever School Choice Experiment
Passed by the Republican-led Legislature in 2025 and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, TEFA is one of the biggest education savings account (ESA) programs in the nation. Families receive roughly $10,400 per child, up to $30,000 for students with disabilities, that can be spent on private school tuition, homeschool materials, tutoring or other approved educational expenses.
The program is administered by the Texas Comptroller’s Office under Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock. Applications opened in February 2026 with a hard March 18 cutoff. Schools had to meet basic statutory requirements: accreditation, financial stability, background checks and compliance with state law. Once approved, families could select them in the online portal.
By mid-March, more than 2,200 schools were greenlit. Islamic schools were not among them.
Why Islamic Schools Were Originally Left Out
State officials were blunt about their reasons.
In November 2025, Governor Abbott issued a formal proclamation designating the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim Brotherhood as “foreign terrorist organizations” and “transnational criminal organizations” under Texas law. The move prohibits those groups from buying land in the state and triggers heightened enforcement.
CAIR, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights organization, immediately sued Abbott, calling the designation “defamatory,” “provably false” and a political smear. The group denies any terrorist ties and points to its three-decade record of condemning terrorism and defending civil rights.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton backed the governor and issued a legal opinion in January 2026 confirming that the Comptroller’s Office has authority to exclude any school that might provide “material support” to a designated terrorist organization.
Comptroller Hancock and her staff raised specific red flags about Islamic schools. Several were accredited by Cognia, an organization whose address had hosted events organized by CAIR. One school had hosted CAIR events on its campus. Others were flagged for vague “Islamic ties” or addresses linked to Muslim organizations. Officials applied what plaintiffs called “guilt-by-association” screening.
As a result, roughly 30 Islamic private schools across Texas, despite meeting every objective statutory requirement, were either denied registration links, stuck in indefinite “administrative review,” or removed from the approved list without explanation. Muslim families were effectively locked out of using their TEFA funds at faith-based schools that aligned with their values.
Plaintiffs’ attorneys argued this was textbook religious discrimination. One lawsuit stated: “Defendants have refused to let K through 12 Islamic schools through the door to TEFA participation, while holding the door open to thousands of other similarly situated private schools across Texas.”
The Lawsuits and the Emergency Hearing
In early March 2026, four Muslim parents and three Islamic school providers filed two separate federal lawsuits in Houston. Named plaintiffs included Excellence Academy (a Montessori-style school in McKinney) and Houston Quran Academy in Katy. The suits accused Hancock, the Comptroller’s Office and the state of violating the First Amendment’s Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses and the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection guarantee.
During an emergency hearing on March 17, Judge Bennett, an Obama appointee confirmed unanimously by the Senate in 2015, made his views clear. He called the complete absence of approved Islamic schools “troubling.” According to multiple news outlets present in the courtroom, Bennett remarked: “If you were to roll dice in a game of chance … you would not come up with those numbers. The appearance of this reeks.”
He granted the temporary restraining order that same day.
What the Judge Actually Ordered
The TRO does not force permanent approval of every Islamic school. Instead, it:
- Extended the family application deadline from March 18 to March 31, 2026.
- Ordered the Comptroller’s Office to immediately send registration links to the plaintiff schools (Excellence Academy and Houston Quran Academy) within 24 hours.
- Required the state to update its public website with the new deadline and notify families.
- Blocked the state from finalizing which families receive funding until after March 31.
- Consolidated the two lawsuits and scheduled a full preliminary injunction hearing for April 24, 2026.
The order explicitly preserves the state’s right to reject schools for legitimate, non-religious reasons after proper review.
Immediate Aftermath: Schools Approved, Applications Surge
Within 24 to 48 hours of the ruling, the Comptroller’s Office began approving Islamic schools. Excellence Academy in McKinney appeared on the official list by March 18. Houston Quran Academy followed. Reports from CBS Texas and Houston Public Media indicate at least two to four Islamic schools are now participating, including Brighter Horizons Academy in the Dallas area and Bayaan Academy.
School leaders described the turnaround as “near instantaneous” once they received the registration links they had been denied for weeks. Muslim families can now select these schools in the parent portal. The extended deadline has already brought in nearly 900 new applications.
CAIR-Texas welcomed the ruling, calling it a victory for fairness. Plaintiffs’ attorney Eric Hudson said the decision ensures Muslim families are not “categorically barred” from the program.
The Comptroller’s Office has not issued a detailed public statement on the approvals, citing the ongoing litigation. The Attorney General’s Office, which is defending the state, also declined immediate comment.
What This Means for Texas Families and the Future of School Choice
This case extends far beyond a single deadline extension or the approval of a few schools. It tests whether a state can launch a large-scale public-funded education program open to private and religious schools and then effectively bar participation by one specific faith group based on security concerns tied to associations with organizations the state has designated as threats.
Supporters of the ruling, including plaintiffs, civil rights groups like CAIR-Texas, and some legal experts, view Judge Bennett’s temporary restraining order as upholding core constitutional protections. They argue that once Texas created the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) program under Senate Bill 2, a neutral, faith-inclusive initiative allowing families to use taxpayer funds for private education, the state cannot discriminate on the basis of religion. The First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause and the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection guarantee demand equal treatment for all faiths. For thousands of Muslim families, the order provides immediate practical relief. They can now access the same opportunities as others to direct state funds toward schools aligning with their values, culture, and faith. One plaintiff parent described it as finally achieving “equal access to educational freedom.”
Opponents of the ruling, including Gov. Greg Abbott, Attorney General Ken Paxton, and many conservative voices, see the decision as potentially compromising public safety and taxpayer protections. They maintain that the initial scrutiny and delays for Islamic schools were justified by legitimate national security concerns, not religious bias. In November 2025, Abbott designated the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights organization, as a foreign terrorist organization and transnational criminal organization under Texas law. CAIR denies these characterizations and has sued over the label, noting it is not federally designated as a terrorist group. Paxton’s January 2026 legal opinion (KP-0509) affirmed the Comptroller’s authority to exclude schools with potential ties to such groups or foreign adversaries (for example, via accreditation links or event hosting), stating clearly: “Texans’ tax dollars should never fund Islamic terrorists or America’s enemies.” Abbott reinforced this stance publicly, posting that he opposes funds going to “radical Islamic indoctrination with historic connections to terrorism” and highlighting laws against Sharia-influenced entities. Critics of the judge’s intervention argue it risks forcing taxpayer dollars into schools with alleged indirect links to designated threats, undermining the program’s safeguards. Some conservative commentators and social media reactions have expressed alarm that the ruling could lead to funding “radical” or insecure education options, prioritizing inclusion over rigorous vetting.
For the state, the order serves as a caution. Officials retain the right, and many insist the duty, to vet schools stringently for accreditation, curriculum quality, safety, and genuine security risks. However, they must avoid actions that appear to target one religion broadly. The April 24, 2026, preliminary injunction hearing will clarify the boundaries: how much scrutiny is permissible before it crosses into unconstitutional discrimination?
Broader implications reach across the U.S. Over 30 states now operate voucher or education savings account (ESA) programs, often expanded under Republican leadership. This dispute highlights that such initiatives must remain genuinely neutral toward all faiths to avoid federal court challenges. It also exposes tensions between religious liberty (ensuring equal access for families of all beliefs) and national security priorities (especially amid state-level designations of domestic groups as threats). Critics of school choice overall, including some Democrats, public school advocates, and teachers’ unions, have long argued that diverting public funds to religious or private institutions raises church-state separation issues and harms underfunded public schools. Supporters counter that true parental choice empowers families, regardless of faith, as long as basic safeguards apply.
The TEFA program continues rolling out successfully and enjoys strong support from most participating families, with over 230,000 applications and thousands of approved schools. This episode is a narrow but notable adjustment: a federal court intervening to enforce the program’s promise of educational freedom for every Texas child, while state leaders defend their authority to protect public dollars from potential risks.
The matter remains active. The April 24 hearing could lead to a longer-term injunction, additional approvals, modified exclusions, or escalated appeals. Court documents, including the TRO, are accessible via the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas or outlets like The Texas Tribune.
Ultimately, the bench’s message and the ongoing debate is clear: Texas’s billion-dollar school choice experiment must balance inclusive access with robust protections, ensuring no faith is unfairly sidelined while safeguarding taxpayer interests and security.
