Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock has asked Attorney General Ken Paxton whether schools that have hosted events by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) or that have ties to the Chinese government can be excluded from the new TEFA school-choice program. TEFA, created by Senate Bill 2 with a $1 billion appropriation, will provide $10,474 per child for the 2025–26 school year; eligible private schools must meet accreditation, testing and two-year campus requirements. Hancock cited national-security and foreign-influence concerns, referenced Section 19.358 of SB2 and a law restricting land ownership by nationals of certain countries, while CAIR warned of potential First Amendment issues.
Acting Texas Comptroller Seeks Legal Guidance On Barring Schools With CAIR Or China Ties From $1B School-Choice Program
Acting Texas comptroller asks if schools with ties to CAIR, China can be barred from school choice program
AUSTIN — Beginning in early February, eligible Texas families will be able to apply for the new Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) program, which allocates $10,474 per child to cover pre-approved private school tuition and related expenses for the 2025–26 school year.
As the application window approaches, the Comptroller of Public Accounts’ office is processing approvals for private schools that could accept TEFA funds. Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock has asked Attorney General Ken Paxton for legal guidance on whether some schools should be disqualified from the program based on ties to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) or to the Chinese government.
What The Law Requires
Senate Bill 2, which created TEFA with a $1 billion appropriation, sets out mandatory pre-approval criteria for private schools. To qualify for mandatory pre-approval, a school must:
- Be accredited by an agency approved by the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission or the Texas Education Agency;
- Administer annual, nationally norm-referenced tests for grades 3–12; and
- Have maintained a physical campus for two consecutive years.
Hancock's Questions To The Attorney General
In a Dec. 12 letter to AG Ken Paxton, Hancock asked whether the comptroller’s office may refuse to approve a school "based at an address that have hosted publicly advertised events organized by the Council on American-Islamic Relations," even if the school otherwise meets statutory eligibility requirements.
Hancock also raised national security and foreign-influence concerns, telling Paxton that an accredited applicant "may be owned or controlled by a holding group linked to foreign adversaries seeking influence over U.S. education, specifically, an adviser to the Chinese communist government." He asked whether that application could be denied and cited a separate Texas law that restricts land ownership in the state by foreign nationals from China, Iran, North Korea and Russia.
"The people of Texas deserve the highest assurance that no taxpayer dollars will be used, directly or indirectly, to support institutions with ties to a foreign terrorist organization, a transnational criminal network, or any adversarial foreign government," Hancock wrote on X.
Legal Context And Responses
Hancock pointed to Section 19.358 of SB2, which allows an approved education service provider or vendor to participate in the program until the earliest date on which it either no longer meets the statutory requirements or violates the subchapter or "other relevant law." Hancock asked whether affiliations or activities tied to CAIR or foreign governments fall under that "other relevant law" provision.
Governor Greg Abbott in November issued a proclamation labeling CAIR a "foreign terrorist organization" and a "transnational criminal organization." CAIR has said the proclamation "has no basis in law or fact," and its Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin chapters have sued Abbott and Paxton challenging the declaration.
When Nexstar sought comment from the comptroller’s office and the attorney general’s office, neither had responded by the morning of Christmas Eve. Hancock told the Texas Tribune the request for guidance "does not prejudge any institution or presume any outcome... It simply reflects our obligation to safeguard personal data from foreign adversaries and ensure that no public funds are used, directly or indirectly, in a manner that conflicts with Texas law or undermines the security interests of our state."
CAIR did not comment directly on Hancock's letter to Nexstar; it emphasized its ongoing legal challenge to the proclamation and told the Texas Tribune that events its chapters hosted were "Know Your Rights" sessions. CAIR Texas warned that penalizing schools for hosting civil-rights education could raise "serious First Amendment concerns."
TEFA applications are scheduled to open in early February, and the comptroller's office continues to review school applications under the law’s approval criteria while awaiting legal guidance.
Reporting includes details from Nexstar and the Texas Tribune. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc.
