Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the state comptroller may exclude private schools from Texas’ new school voucher program if they violate laws banning material support for foreign terrorist organizations or restricting certain foreign ownership, according to an opinion released this week.
The opinion was issued in response to a request from Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock, who asked whether schools that had hosted events for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) or had alleged ties to the Chinese government could be barred from participating in the program.
Paxton did not make determinations about any specific schools. Instead, he said his office would not decide which schools should be excluded, leaving it to the comptroller to investigate schools and determine whether they meet eligibility requirements. While attorney general opinions are not legally binding, state agencies often rely on them for guidance.
Hancock said in a statement that the opinion “makes clear that Texans will not tolerate taxpayer funds being diverted to bad actors,” adding that he wants to protect the long-term integrity of the voucher program.
The opinion comes amid heightened scrutiny of CAIR following Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision in November to designate the organization as a terrorist group. CAIR is challenging the designation in court, arguing it is defamatory and unsupported by law.
When Hancock initially requested the opinion, CAIR said the events it had hosted at schools were “Know Your Rights” sessions intended to educate students about civil rights protections. The organization said excluding schools on that basis would raise First Amendment concerns.
Abbott’s designation has already been cited by at least one North Texas school district as justification for ending negotiations to host an event organized by a Muslim group, even though organizers disputed any connection to CAIR.
The comptroller’s office has not publicly identified any schools under review and did not respond when asked how many schools could ultimately be excluded from the program.
CAIR officials criticized Paxton’s opinion, saying it failed to clearly answer the comptroller’s question. Edward Ahmed Mitchell, CAIR’s national deputy director, said, “Ken Paxton might have a future as an NFL punter. Instead of answering the simple question that Comptroller Hancock posed, the attorney general has responded with a confusing, evasive letter that kicks the issue back to Mr. Hancock to decide.”
Mitchell added, “Nothing in the law permits Mr. Hancock to scrutinize private Muslim schools because of their religious identity, nor can he punish them if they once hosted an educational lecture from a civil rights organization that Greg Abbott happens to dislike.”
In a letter sent Thursday to the comptroller, CAIR said excluding or delaying Islamic schools from the voucher program based on hosting CAIR events would amount to religious discrimination.
