Overview
- Harris County parent Mehdi Cherkaoui filed a federal lawsuit on March 3 alleging Texas officials have categorically barred Islamic private schools from the Texas Education Freedom Accounts program.
- The suit names acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock, Attorney General Ken Paxton, and Education Commissioner Mike Morath, asserting the school meets neutral eligibility rules but was blocked based on its Islamic identity.
- Court filings say no Islamic school had been approved when parent applications opened on February 4, and the complaint asks the court to require the same non-discriminatory processing afforded to non-Islamic schools.
- The complaint argues officials relied on Governor Greg Abbott’s November designation of CAIR as a terrorist organization and on Paxton’s January opinion asserting authority to exclude schools under TEFA’s “other relevant laws” clause.
- Applications remain open through March 17 for the $1 billion program offering roughly $10,500 per student, as CAIR separately challenges Abbott’s designation in court and the lawsuit proceeds in the Southern District of Texas.