Federal Judge Extends Texas School Voucher Deadline After Islamic Schools Sue

Hours before Texas' school voucher application window was set to close, U.S. District Judge Alfred Bennett called it "troubling" that Islamic schools had been shut out of the program and ordered a two-week extension, giving Muslim families until 11:59 p.m. on March 31 to apply.

Bennett, of the Southern District of Texas, issued the temporary restraining order Tuesday in response to two civil rights lawsuits filed by four Muslim parents and three Islamic private schools. The suits accused state officials of building a program that made it functionally impossible for Muslim families to participate. "Defendants have created a system where Muslim families cannot even select their schools in the application portal," court documents filed March 11 read. "Islamic schools and students are denied the same opportunity afforded to their religious and secular peers."

The Texas Education Freedom Accounts program, a $1 billion voucher-style initiative created last year by state lawmakers and administered by the Texas Comptroller's office, had already drawn more than 200,000 student applications as of Monday afternoon, exceeding what the available funding can cover for the 2026-27 school year. More than 2,200 private schools have opted in to accept voucher students.

Beyond extending the deadline, Bennett ordered the comptroller's office to provide registration links to two named plaintiff schools, Excellence Academy and Houston Quran Academy in Katy, within 24 hours so they could submit applications. The comptroller's office was also ordered to publicly announce the deadline change within that same window. Bennett additionally consolidated the two lawsuits and scheduled a permanent injunction hearing for April 24, according to plaintiffs' attorney Eric Hudson.

The two suits name a broad set of state defendants. One lawsuit targets Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock and Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath. The second was filed against Hancock and Mary Katherine Stout, who manages the TEFA program.

Hancock framed the extension as a benefit to all applicants. "This two-week extension will give families an additional opportunity to apply for the first year of school choice in Texas," he said in a statement. "We look forward to building on the record-setting demand for educational options that we have seen over the first six weeks." The comptroller's office confirmed it received the court order and updated the TEFA website to reflect the new deadline.

The lawsuits emerged against a backdrop of questions Hancock himself raised last December, when he asked Paxton whether schools could be excluded from the program if linked to a "foreign terrorist organization," "transnational criminal network," or "adversarial foreign government."

The Council on American-Islamic Relations-Texas welcomed the ruling. "All families, regardless of their faith, deserve equal access to educational opportunities supported by public programs," the organization said in a statement.

The case is not the only complication facing TEFA's rollout. Some families of children with disabilities discovered they would not qualify for additional special education funding because they had not obtained a required evaluation from a public school before applying. That documentation can take months to secure, while the original application window ran only 41 calendar days. The comptroller's office has since clarified that it believes those families can still apply for the funding boost next year.

The April 24 permanent injunction hearing will determine whether Islamic schools remain eligible participants going forward.