Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the comptroller can exclude private schools from the state’s new voucher program if they violate laws banning material support for foreign terrorist organizations or restricting certain foreign ownership.
The opinion comes in response to a question from Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock last month. Hancock asked whether schools that had hosted events for the Council on American-Islamic Relations or had alleged ties to the Chinese government could be barred from the program.
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Paxton said his office would not decide whether any schools should be excluded, leaving it to the comptroller to investigate schools and determine eligibility.
Attorney general opinions are not legally binding but are used as guidance by state agencies.
When Hancock sought the opinion, CAIR said the events they had hosted were “Know Your Rights” sessions meant to inform students about civil rights protections and that excluding schools on that basis would raise First Amendment concerns.
Gov. Greg Abbott designated CAIR as a terrorist organization in November, a move the Muslim civil rights group is challenging in court as defamatory and unsupported by law.
Abbott’s designation has already been cited by at least one North Texas school district in ending negotiations to host an event organized by a Muslim group, even as organizers disputed any connection to CAIR.
The comptroller’s office has not publicly named any schools under review nor did it respond Saturday when asked how many could ultimately be excluded from the program.
In a statement, Hancock said the opinion “makes clear that Texans will not tolerate taxpayer funds being diverted to bad actors.” He added that he wants to protect the long-term integrity of the program.
Edward Ahmed Mitchell, national deputy director of CAIR, took issue with the attorney general’s opinion.
“Ken Paxton might have a future as an NFL punter,” Mitchell said. “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.
“Nothing in the law permits Mr. Hancock to scrutinize private Muslim schools because of their religious identity,” Mitchell added, “nor can he punish them if they once hosted an educational lecture from a civil rights organization that Greg Abbott happens to dislike.”
CAIR said in a letter to the comptroller on Thursday that excluding or delaying the approval of Islamic schools into the program based on hosting CAIR events would amount to religious discrimination.
Lawmakers approved the voucher program last year after years of failed attempts and political infighting.
Families may begin applying for the voucher program Feb. 4.