Starting in early February, eligible Texas families will be able to apply for the state’s new Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) program, which will provide $10,474 per child to help cover pre-approved private school tuition and related expenses for the 2025–26 school year. The program was created by Senate Bill 2 and funded with $1 billion as part of the Legislature’s broader school choice initiative.
As the application window approaches, the Comptroller of Public Accounts’ office is in the process of approving private schools that may enroll students using TEFA funds. However, Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock has raised questions about whether certain schools should be excluded from the program even if they meet the basic eligibility requirements outlined in state law.
In a Dec. 12 letter to Attorney General Ken Paxton, Hancock asked for legal guidance on whether his office should deny approval to schools affiliated with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) or to schools that may be connected to the Chinese government.
Under Senate Bill 2, private schools are eligible for mandatory pre-approval if they meet several criteria. Those include accreditation by an agency approved by either the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission or the Texas Education Agency, administration of annual nationally norm-referenced tests for grades three through 12, and maintaining a physical campus for at least two consecutive years.
Hancock’s letter asked whether a school could still be barred from the program if it otherwise qualifies but is “based at an address that have hosted publicly advertised events organized by the Council on American-Islamic Relations.” The request for clarification follows a November declaration by Gov. Greg Abbott, who has endorsed Hancock for re-election, labeling CAIR a “foreign terrorist organization” and a “transnational criminal organization.”
CAIR has strongly disputed that designation, saying at the time that the proclamation “has no basis in law or fact.” The organization’s Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin chapters have since sued Abbott and Paxton over the move.
Hancock also raised concerns about a separate applicant school that he said “may be owned or controlled by a holding group linked to foreign adversaries seeking influence over U.S. education,” specifically citing an adviser to the Chinese communist government. He asked Paxton whether the comptroller’s office should deny that application in light of another recently passed Texas law that restricts land ownership by foreign nationals from China, Iran, North Korea and Russia.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Hancock said, “The people of Texas deserve the highest assurance that no taxpayer dollars will be used, directly or indirectly, to support institutions with ties to a foreign terrorist organization, a transnational criminal network, or any adversarial foreign government.”
In his letter to Paxton, Hancock pointed to a provision in Senate Bill 2 that allows schools to be removed from the TEFA program if they violate “other relevant law.” Section 19.358 of the bill states that an education service provider approved for the program may continue participating until it no longer meets program requirements or violates the subchapter or other applicable laws.
Neither the comptroller’s office nor the attorney general’s office responded to requests for comment on the letter. However, in a statement to the Texas Tribune earlier this week, Hancock said, “This request does not prejudge any institution or presume any outcome… It simply reflects our obligation to safeguard personal data from foreign adversaries and ensure that no public funds are used, directly or indirectly, in a manner that conflicts with Texas law or undermines the security interests of our state.”
CAIR did not comment directly on Hancock’s letter but highlighted a press release related to Paxton’s response to its lawsuit challenging the terrorism designation. In the same Texas Tribune article, CAIR Texas said the events hosted at school addresses were “Know Your Rights” sessions and warned that “any attempt to penalize schools for learning about their civil rights from an organization Greg Abbott happens to dislike would raise serious First Amendment concerns.”
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