(AP) – A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Texas to extend the application deadline for private school vouchers until March 31 due to the state’s exclusion of Islamic schools from the program.
The extension comes after four Muslim parents and three Islamic private schools sued Texas leaders earlier this month, arguing state leaders discriminated against their religion by excluding them from the program. A lawyer representing plaintiffs in one of the lawsuits confirmed the ruling to The Texas Tribune.
Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock — Texas’ chief financial officer who manages the voucher program — has prevented Islamic schools from participating in the program over claims that some are associated with foreign terrorist organizations.
Hancock has said schools accredited by the company Cognia hosted events organized by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights group that Gov. Greg Abbott recently designated a terrorist organization. CAIR has sued Abbott over the label, calling it defamatory and false. The U.S. State Department has not designated the organization a terrorist group.
The comptroller’s office did not immediately provide comment after the court order.
Before the court order, the application window for Texas’ school voucher program was set to close at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday for families who want to use public funds to pay for private school or home-school during the 2026-27 academic year.
As of Monday afternoon, families had submitte …