At least four Muslim schools so far are eligible to receive taxpayer funding in the Lone Star State, with more expected to receive approval for tax money soon. The inclusion of Islamic institutions is prompting criticism of the state’s government-funded “school choice” model and some self-reflection by advocates of the program. But the threat to real choice is growing. 

The move follows similar controversies in other states. In Tennessee, for example, as documented by The Newman Report, multiple Islamic schools are now raking in large amounts of money from taxpayers. Several of them boast publicly of lobbying government while teaching Sharia law, jihad, and other core Islamic beliefs to K-12 students. Florida is dealing with similar issues.

Under the billion-dollar program Texas scheme, known as “Texas Education Freedom Accounts,” taxpayers pay over $10,000 of tuition for students at state-approved private schools. Meanwhile, homeschool students who meet eligibility criteria can receive up to $2,000 for eligible expenses. But there are conditions and restrictions on those who receive funds.

With public concern over the ongoing Islamization of Texas due to mass immigration, state officials initially tried to exclude Islamic schools from the new voucher program. Citing concerns about links to terrorism and a dubious accreditation agency, officials rejected most of the applications from Islamic schools and reversed the approvals that made it through the process. 

State officials were not shy about their concerns. “We don’t want school choice funds going to radical Islamic indoctrination with historic connections to terrorism,” explained Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican with well-documented connections to wealthy Muslim donors, in a post on social media.  

Indeed, many of the schools in question are connected to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a self-proclaimed Muslim civil rights group. Designated a foreign terrorist organization by Gov. Greg Abbott for links to the terror group Hamas, CAIR was also listed as an unindicted co-conspirator by the FBI in a major terror trial years ago. 

After conferring with Attorney General Ken Paxton, acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock, who oversees the state’s voucher program, cited those concerns in refusing to accept the Islamic schools. But CAIR and some of the schools connected to it, along with Islamic parents, fought back. One tactic: civil-rights lawsuits alleging discrimination on the basis of their religion. 

CAIR has been leading the charge. “I think groups that are being excluded must make it politically pricey for the comptroller, the attorney general and the governor,” said Imran Ghani, executive director of the Houston chapter CAIR. Multiple Islamic schools in the Houston area are embroiled in the ongoing battle.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Alfred Bennett ordered the application window for the voucher program to be extended until the end of the month. He also ordered the state to invite the Islamic schools to apply as the litigation plays out, something that happened quickly. And he granted a request for temporary restraining order as Muslim parents continue their lawsuits against the state.  

Already, four Muslim schools at least have been accepted to start receiving tax money. They include the Maryland-based virtual school “Bayaan Academy,” K-12 college prep school Brighter Horizons Academy in Garland; the “Excellence Academy” north of Dallas, and the K-12 Houston Quran Academy. Dozens of other Islamic schools are waiting to join, too, according to media reports. 

Lawyers for the schools celebrated the judge’s decision. “The sequence of events speaks for itself because it confirms what we’ve said all along: there were no accreditation issues with our schools or the accrediting body,” said Maria Kari, a spokesman for the plaintiffs’ attorneys. 

“It was about exclusion of Islamic schools and we are grateful that the court’s finding has resolved the issue for our school clients,” Kari continued. “However, we are still waiting to see if all eligible Islamic school applicants will be treated fairly and equally.” Whether all Islamic schools will eventually be eligible remains to be seen, but Islamic forces are expressing optimism.

The developments are leading to some difficult questions for proponents. After promising endlessly that government would not control or even regulate private education or homeschooling under a government-funded “choice” system, advocates of the program are now in an uncomfortable position. 

On one hand, they could support the inclusion of jihadist and sharia indoctrination camps along with any other outfit — Satanic, pagan, whatever — with no controls or accountability. Naturally, that would result in myriad problems, and would hardly be popular or even acceptable to taxpayers and voters. 

On the other, advocates of the program could support fresh restrictions on schools and families that take government money, thereby eliminating genuine “choice.” Many of those who supported the Texas measure and similar programs in other Republican states have already conceded that some controls will end up being necessary. 

Government-funded school choice advocate Neal McCluskey with the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute slammed Texas policymakers for seeking to exclude Islamic schools. Among other concerns, he said this “violates a fundamental purpose of school choice: enabling diverse people to access the education they think is best without having to pay once for public schools and a second time for the education they want.”

“Alas, discrimination in Texas doesn’t just kneecap freedom and equality in the state,” he said. “By sending the message that school choice means freedom for some but not all, this discrimination threatens educational freedom across the entire U.S. It enables choice opponents nationwide to convincingly declare that choice isn’t really for everyone – only the politically powerful.”

With education in states such as Florida and Texas moving toward a single-payer model where real private education is crowded out, the independence of once-private schools and parents is under growing pressure. The real solution is for families to take back the rights and responsibilities associated with educating their children — and for government to get out of the way.