Abbott Defends Excluding Islamic Schools as Lawsuit Claims Religious Bias against Muslims
Texas governor says school‑choice funds shouldn’t support “radical Islamic indoctrination,” while Muslims argue the state is acting unlawfully
In federal court, Muslim parents and schools say they meet accreditation standards and are being discriminated against.
But Texas Governor Abbott is adamant the stance is correct, breaking his silence online with a post on X, linking his stance to past actions targeting extremist organizations.
Abbott says the voucher system should not support “radical Islamic indoctrination,” while three Islamic schools and parents argue the state is unlawfully shutting them out of the voucher program.
The governor responded to reports of Islamic schools being shut out of the program on social media Thursday, writing on X:
“We don’t want school choice funds going to radical Islamic indoctrination with historic connections to terrorism.
I signed laws banning Sharia cities.
I designated CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations.
And I will pass another law that completely bans Sharia Law in Texas.”
Three schools and three parents are suing Texas officials in federal court, claiming religious discrimination in the state’s school voucher selection process.
Court documents state that the three schools named in the lawsuit all have boards of directors composed of American citizens in Texas. Two of the three schools are accredited by Cognia, a school accreditation agency approved by the Texas Education Association and the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission. Cognia also issues accreditation to schools affiliated with other religions.
On 5 March 2026, Harris County parent Mehdi Cherkaoui said his children are being denied equal access to Texas’s new school voucher program, not because their school fails to meet state standards, but because it is Islamic.
Cherkaoui, whose two children attend Houston Qur’an Academy Spring, has filed a federal lawsuit accusing top Texas officials of categorically excluding Islamic private schools from the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) program based on religious identity.
The lawsuit, according to Fox26 Houston, calls the alleged practice “impermissible religious gerrymandering” and claims it violates constitutional protections against religious discrimination.
“My children’s school meets every neutral requirement of the program,” Cherkaoui argues in court filings. “Yet it has been blocked solely because it is Muslim.”
According to the filing, no Islamic school had been approved for the voucher program when applications opened to parents on Feb. 4, despite multiple schools applying.
Another federal lawsuit from a coalition of Islamic schools and Texas parents has also been filed against the State of Texas, calling for the looming March 17,2026, parent-application deadline as a critical barrier for families hoping to secure funding for faith-based education.
The group argue that the exclusion of Islamic institutions from the Texas Education Freedom Account (TEFA) program violates constitutional protections.
Bayaan Academy Inc., the Islamic Services Foundation, the Eagle Institute, and several families are seeking immediate relief from the courts.
The plaintiffs claim that while TEFA allows parents to direct state funds toward private and religious schools, no Islamic schools have been approved, despite meeting the program’s requirements.