Not a surprise, at least to me.
Texas families now have two more weeks to apply to the state’s new voucher program after a federal judge the deadline extended to March 31, citing concerns that no Islamic schools have been approved for the program while thousands of others have.
The application period was set to close Tuesday before the ruling. But U.S. District Judge Alfred Bennett issued a temporary restraining order that same day, calling the disparity “troubling.”
“If you were to roll dice in a game of chance … you would not come up with those numbers,” Bennett said. “The appearance of this reeks.”
Two groups of Islamic schools and parents have sued acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock, arguing the state effectively blocked Islamic schools from the $1 billion private school voucher program based on religion. The cases were consolidated this week.
[…]
State attorneys argued that accreditation delays — not religion — slowed approvals. In particular, they said schools accredited by Cognia need additional verification, such as in-person site visits. Zachary Rhines, the lead attorney for Hancock, said they have a small administrative staff running the school voucher program, so the process has been slow, regardless of religious affiliation.
When asked by the judge Tuesday, Rhines said that 600 Cognia-accredited schools have been approved so far — none of which are Islamic schools — and around 90 to 100 are still on the waiting list. About 30 of those pending are Islamic schools.
Bennett said while there was no direct evidence of Islamic schools were specifically being blocked, he said it was troubling that the Texas Comptroller’s office cited accreditation by Cognia as an issue for Islamic schools when hundreds of other Cognia-affiliated schools have been approved.
Before the judge’s decision, Rhines said an injunction or pause on the state voucher program would disrupt the tight timeline for the lottery system and funding distribution. He said it also would favor the few families who have not yet applied as they wait for their preferred school to be approved and could prejudice families who have already applied.
In December, Hancock sought legal approval to block Islamic schools from accessing the program due to potential terrorism ties. Hearst Newspapers reported in early February that no Islamic schools had been approved for the program except for three. Those were then removed from the state’s map of approved campuses.
In the hearing Tuesday, attorneys for the plaintiffs argued that some parents were deterred from applying for vouchers, since no Islamic schools were on the state’s approved list. They also said that two Islamic schools — including Excellence Academy, which they represent — have not been able to apply to participate, despite contacting the comptroller’s office.
Bennett ordered the comptroller’s office to send voucher program applications to schools that haven’t received them. The emergency court order will give time for both parties to gather evidence prior to the preliminary injunction hearing set for April.
One of the schools involved in the lawsuit was an Islamic virtual school in Galveston County. It was initially approved for state-funded vouchers. The lawsuit states that after the Chronicle named Bayaan as one of only three Islamic schools admitted to the program, it was immediately removed from the state’s website.
Attorneys for Hancock, however, said that four other non-Islamic schools were initially approved but later dropped.
Rhines repeated arguments from a hearing Friday that Hancock is not blocking Islamic schools from participating but is keeping schools with ties to radical Islamic organizations out of the program. When asked if any school applicants or any Islamic schools were found to have ties to terrorist organizations, Rhines said no.
“The appearance suggests otherwise of a fair and equitable system,” Bennett said.
See here and here for the background. Also not a surprise that the two lawsuits were consolidated. It’s really hard to take any of the state’s claims seriously when they just have no evidence for any of them. I deplore the voucher program, which is the cash grab for private school parents that everyone predicted it would be, but if we have to have it then this exclusion of Islamic schools is clearly discriminatory. A shame the remedy won’t be to scrap the whole thing, but this is where we are. The Trib and the CATO Institute have more.