1. Texas Deep Dive
TEFA Program — The April 24 Injunction Hearing Is the Next Major Gate
The Texas Education Freedom Accounts program — the nation's largest school voucher initiative at $1 billion — has produced the most constitutionally significant religious discrimination case in the current school-choice era. The facts are now largely undisputed: when the program launched in early 2026, more than 2,200 private schools were approved, the vast majority Christian, secular, or of other faiths. Not a single Islamic school made the list — despite roughly 30 meeting every objective statutory requirement.
Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock's office placed Islamic schools in indefinite "administrative review" or removed them from the approved list without explanation. The justification offered: a January 2026 legal opinion by Attorney General Ken Paxton affirming the Comptroller's authority to exclude any school providing "material support" to a designated terrorist organization. The predicate for that opinion was Governor Abbott's November 2025 designation of CAIR as a foreign terrorist organization — a designation with no federal legal basis and one that CAIR is actively challenging in federal court.
What the court has done so far: U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennett issued a temporary restraining order on March 17, extending the application deadline to March 31 and ordering the Comptroller to send registration links to Islamic schools that had not received them. Following partial compliance, some Islamic schools were accepted into the program. Judge Bennett described it as "troubling" that no Muslim schools had been approved. The permanent injunction hearing is set for April 24 — the next major legal gate in this case.
The Paxton-Hancock rift: The conflict escalated into open institutional warfare when Paxton called on Governor Abbott to fire Acting Comptroller Hancock — then withdrew his office entirely from representing the Comptroller in the federal litigation. On April 2–3, the court allowed Paxton's withdrawal. The Comptroller now proceeds in federal court without the AG's representation, in a case that will directly determine whether the government may use terrorism-designation pretexts to exclude religious communities from publicly funded programs.
The constitutional accountability framing: This case is not about Islamic schools specifically — it is about whether a state government can designate a civil liberties organization as a terrorist group and then use that designation to filter which religious communities receive public benefits. The same mechanism that excluded Islamic schools today could be applied to any religious community tomorrow. Several Christian schools were also excluded under different pretexts; the government is picking religious winners and losers, and the legal precedent at stake affects every faith.
Comptroller election timeline: The May 2026 primary produced Don Huffines as the Republican nominee; he self-funded to a dominant 57% win. Huffines defeated Abbott's favored candidate, Acting Comptroller Hancock. The general election will determine who administers TEFA beginning in January 2027. Democratic nominee Sarah Eckhardt has pledged an independent audit of the voucher program. The incoming Comptroller will set the administrative posture of the program for its critical second year — with the April 24 injunction ruling potentially establishing whether Islamic schools are entitled to equal access as a matter of federal constitutional law.
AG Paxton — Dual Campaigns Expanding the Scope
CAIR/Muslim Brotherhood lawsuit (filed February 5): Paxton sued CAIR, the Muslim Brotherhood, and CAIR's Austin, Houston, and DFW chapters in Collin County state court, seeking a judicial affirmation of Abbott's terrorist designation, prohibition on CAIR owning property or fundraising in Texas, and effective organizational dissolution. CAIR has already filed in federal court to block the Abbott designation itself — that federal challenge represents the upstream case on which the state lawsuit depends. The constitutional question: can a governor designate a domestic civil liberties organization as a foreign terrorist group without a federal legal predicate, and then use that designation to drive state enforcement?
Islamic Tribunal investigation (opened April 6): Paxton announced a "landmark investigation" into a Dallas-based Islamic mediation group — a private arbitration service that helps parties resolve civil disputes under mutually agreed-upon religious principles, a practice that is constitutionally protected and routinely used by Jewish, Christian, and secular arbitration bodies. The framing as "imposing Sharia law" collapses the distinction between voluntary religious dispute resolution and government-imposed law. The constitutional accountability question is identical to the one in the TEFA case: the state is applying scrutiny to Islamic institutions that it does not apply to equivalent non-Islamic institutions.
EPIC City / "The Meadow" (ongoing): The East Plano Islamic Center's 400-acre planned community near Josephine, Texas — rebranded "The Meadow" in January 2026 — continues to face a coordinated multi-agency campaign. Paxton filed a second lawsuit targeting the project in December 2025 and obtained a restraining order in March 2026 against the utility district that had provided services to the development. HUD Secretary Scott Turner opened a Fair Housing Act investigation in February, claiming the development may have violated the Fair Housing Act through "religious discrimination" — inverting the legal framework to use anti-discrimination law against the Muslim community's own development. Paxton explicitly referenced EPIC in official press materials, which the developer's spokesperson noted "confirms that this is not neutral or even-handed enforcement, but religious discrimination by the State."
Texas Key Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| November 2025 | Abbott designates CAIR as terrorist organization |
| January 2026 | Paxton opinion confirms Comptroller authority to exclude schools |
| February 5, 2026 | Paxton files CAIR/Muslim Brotherhood lawsuit in state court |
| February 13, 2026 | HUD opens Fair Housing Act investigation into EPIC/The Meadow |
| March 17, 2026 | Federal judge issues TRO, extends TEFA deadline |
| March 19, 2026 | Judge grants restraining order against utility district serving The Meadow |
| March 31, 2026 | Extended TEFA application deadline; some Islamic schools accepted |
| April 2–3, 2026 | Court allows Paxton to withdraw from Comptroller's TEFA representation |
| April 6, 2026 | Paxton announces investigation into Dallas Islamic mediation group |
| April 24, 2026 | TEFA permanent injunction hearing |
| May 2026 | Comptroller primary: Don Huffines wins Republican nomination |
| November 2026 | Comptroller general election |
| January 2027 | New Comptroller takes office — determines TEFA administrative posture |
2. State-by-State Alerts
Florida — 🟡 Monitor
The Florida Legislature is advancing HJR 583 / SJR 1104, a proposed constitutional amendment to protect religious expression in public schools. If passed by the Legislature and approved by 60% of voters in November, the measure would add religious expression protections to the state constitution, protect students from being penalized on assignments for expressing religious viewpoints, and allow students to form religious clubs on campus. Critics note the amendment could be used to introduce religious doctrine into science curriculum. The measure is facially neutral — and the question is whether its implementation will be applied evenhandedly across all faiths or administered selectively.
On immigration enforcement, Florida school districts are reinforcing protest guidelines amid student immigration demonstrations. The Florida Department of Education issued memos reaffirming that students have constitutional rights to peaceful protest while instructing schools to prevent disruption — a tension that will intensify as enforcement activity continues near school communities.
Tennessee — 🔴 Active Legislative Risk
House Bill 793 / HB 836 — Tennessee's student immigration status data collection bill — passed the House on March 16, 2026. The Senate vote has been delayed, with the session scheduled to end next month. The bill as amended requires schools to verify and collect data on students' citizenship or immigration status at enrollment, report anonymized data to the Department of Education and state immigration officials, but eliminates the earlier provisions that would have barred undocumented students from enrollment or charged them tuition. Those provisions were dropped because the sponsor could not obtain federal assurances that the bill would not jeopardize over $1 billion in federal education funding — an implicit acknowledgment that the original bill likely violated Plyler v. Doe.
The constitutional issue is clear: even anonymized status data collection creates a chilling effect on enrollment and conflicts with Plyler's guarantee of educational access regardless of status. Incompatible Senate and House versions must be reconciled before session ends — and amendments attaching immigration data collection to the school voucher bill have been introduced, creating a potential vehicle for passage.
Watch: The Nashville Banner reported on March 31 that amendments adding student immigration status provisions to the school voucher bill may create a combined legislative vehicle. This is the scenario to monitor closely.
Mississippi — 🟡 Monitor
HB 2, the Mississippi Educational Freedom Program Act of 2026, proposes the Magnolia Student Accounts ESA program, capped at 12,500 participants in year one (launching 2027–28). As written, the bill directs state funding to private and religious schools while explicitly prohibiting the state from regulating curriculum, religious instruction, or admissions policies at participating schools. This creates a constitutional vulnerability: state funds flowing to institutions that may discriminate in admissions, while the state explicitly disclaims oversight. The Senate has been resistant — favoring teacher raises over vouchers. The House-Senate tension has not been resolved as of this report.
California — 🟢 Counter-Legislation Active
California has enacted the most comprehensive state-level protections for students in immigration enforcement contexts. AB 49 prohibits school staff from allowing immigration enforcement officers on campus or sharing student/family information without a warrant. Schools were required to update comprehensive safety plans with immigration enforcement procedures by March 1, 2026. Attorney General Bonta issued updated guidance for California schools navigating enforcement on campuses. California Superintendent of Public Instruction co-sponsored additional protective legislation. The state-federal friction is explicit: California officials acknowledge they cannot block federal immigration enforcement, but have enacted maximum obstruction within constitutional bounds.
Minnesota — 🔴 Stalled But Active
HF 3409 / SF 3803, Minnesota's "Plyler Plus" Education Protection Bill, would codify Plyler v. Doe in state law and go further — prohibiting schools from disclosing or threatening to disclose immigration status information, and providing explicit guidance on responding to immigration enforcement at school sites. The bill advanced in the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee but stalled in the House with no Republican support. The Senate has "laid the bill over," keeping it technically alive. The bill represents the most comprehensive state-level Plyler codification in the country — and its defeat would leave Minnesota's immigrant students with only federal constitutional protections that the current administration is actively seeking to erode.
Georgia — 🔴 Active
Two groups of Georgia churches are suing the federal government over the rescission of the sensitive-locations policy. The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts has issued a preliminary injunction blocking warrantless enforcement actions inside houses of worship and within 100 feet of entrances, absent exigent circumstances. Georgia is one of the most aggressive state-level enforcement partners: Governor Kemp's House Bill 1105 (Georgia Criminal Alien Track and Report Act) requires local agencies to pursue 287(g) agreements, expands the sanctuary city ban, and criminalizes officials who fail to comply. Community advocates report immigrants are afraid to report crimes, access schools, or attend worship services. Georgia is a case study in what full-spectrum state enforcement cooperation looks like — and its impact on civil society institutions.
Arizona — 🟡 Monitor
Arizona's ESA program (over 100,000 participants) continues without the specific religious exclusion controversies seen in Texas, but federal guidance on religious expression in public schools is prompting mandatory policy reviews across Arizona school districts. On immigration enforcement, multiple bills from 2025 (including SB 1164, the Arizona ICE Act; SB 1610; HB 2099) laid groundwork for expansive enforcement cooperation. The Department of Homeland Security's rescission of sensitive-location guidelines applies in Arizona as in all states — and the state's proximity to the border means enforcement operations near religious institutions are a persistent concern.
3. Anti-Sharia / Model Legislation Tracker
The anti-Sharia legislative movement is in its most organized phase since 2011–2013. Activity is occurring simultaneously at the federal and state levels, coordinated through the Sharia-Free America Caucus launched in December 2025.
Federal Caucus: The Sharia-Free America Caucus, led by Reps. Chip Roy and Keith Self (Texas), reached 60 members from 25 states by late March 2026. The caucus has advanced seven bills, including:
- HR 5512 (No Sharia Act): Restricts American courts from enforcing judgments or arbitration decisions based on Islamic law or other "foreign legal systems" that purportedly violate constitutional rights
- HR 5722 (Preserving a Sharia-Free America Act): Would bar foreign nationals who "adhere to Sharia law" from entering or remaining in the United States
- S. 3009 (Senate companion): Sen. Tommy Tuberville's companion legislation
State-Level Activity — NEW INTRODUCTIONS:
| State | Bill | Summary | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | HB (Woolley) | Amend Oklahoma Constitution to ban Sharia/foreign legal codes from state courts | Introduced |
| Georgia | HB 1238 | Prohibits recognition of adjudicative rulings based on Sharia or foreign law | Introduced Feb. 3 (Rep. Billy Wesley) |
| New Hampshire | HR 34 | Prohibits government institutions from "deference to Sharia law" | Introduced Jan. 28 (Rep. Matt Sabourin) |
| Texas | State caucus | Rep. Brent Money announced a "Sharia-Free Texas Caucus" with legislative proposals pending | Announced early March |
Assessment: These bills follow the American Laws for American Courts (ALAC) model language developed by David Yerushalmi of the Center for Security Policy. The constitutional problem is that voluntary religious arbitration — used by Jewish Beth Din courts, Christian arbitration services, and Islamic mediation bodies — is a First Amendment-protected practice. Bills targeting "Sharia arbitration" specifically, while leaving Jewish and Christian religious arbitration untouched, face Equal Protection and Establishment Clause challenges. Paxton's April 6 investigation into the Dallas Islamic Tribunal is the executive enforcement analog to these legislative efforts.
4. Enforcement Map
Federal policy baseline: On January 20, 2025, the Trump administration rescinded the Biden-era sensitive-locations policy protecting churches, schools, and hospitals from immigration enforcement. The replacement directive gives ICE agents discretionary authority with no formal protected zones.
Judicial check: The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting warrantless enforcement actions inside houses of worship and within 100 feet of entrances absent exigent circumstances. This injunction provides partial protection nationally, but its scope and durability remain subject to appeal.
State-level positions:
| State | Posture | Key Action |
|---|---|---|
| California | Protective | AB 49 prohibits campus enforcement without warrant; AG guidance issued |
| Minnesota | Protective (stalled) | HF 3409 / SF 3803 would codify Plyler Plus protections |
| Massachusetts | Protective | Governor Healey executive order keeping ICE out of schools, hospitals, worship sites |
| Georgia | Enforcement cooperation | HB 1105 requires local 287(g) agreements; criminalizes sanctuary policies |
| Texas | Enforcement cooperation | Paxton actively investigating and suing Muslim organizations; CAIR designated terrorist |
| Florida | Enforcement cooperation | School districts reinforcing protest guidelines; state has no sanctuary protections |
| Tennessee | Emerging enforcement | HB 793 requiring immigration status data collection passed House |
Community impact reports: Georgia churches have documented congregants afraid to attend services. Community organizations report attendance declines at mosques in Texas. The Massachusetts injunction temporarily narrows the exposure at houses of worship nationally, but does not address school zones, hospital areas, or enforcement in the surrounding community that deters attendance.
5. Dark Money State Watch
Texas Comptroller race: The race to administer the $1 billion TEFA program attracted nearly $10 million in campaign contributions to the three Republican primary candidates. Governor Abbott poured millions from his own campaign cash to support Kelly Hancock; a Virginia-based dark money group, Preserve Texas Inc., was the second-largest donor to the Paxton-aligned candidacy. Don Huffines self-funded his way to the primary win. The school choice movement's infrastructure — Club for Growth Action, School Freedom Fund ($8.4M), and American Federation for Children Victory Fund ($4.5M) — demonstrated in the 2024 cycle that it can move primaries; similar infrastructure will be active in the general election.
Texas U.S. Senate primary: Dark money from undisclosed political nonprofits flooded the 2026 Texas Senate primaries, with a super PAC supporting one Democratic candidate reporting more than half its contributions from a dark money group. The pattern shows that Texas remains one of the highest-activity dark money states in the country.
School choice national infrastructure: The American Federation for Children is deploying resources nationwide to support state candidates prioritizing school choice — creating a financial ecosystem that benefits from TEFA's existence and expansion. The question of which religious communities are included in or excluded from these programs is, in part, determined by who controls the Comptroller's office — making the Comptroller race one of the highest-stakes dark money targets in 2026.
State donor disclosure: Multiple states — Arizona, Mississippi, Utah, Oklahoma, Virginia, Arkansas, Iowa, South Dakota, and Tennessee — have enacted laws prohibiting cooperation with federal donor disclosure requirements for political nonprofits, creating a disclosure-free corridor for dark money operation that is particularly relevant to religious-liberty-framed advocacy.
6. Timeline & Deadlines
| Date | State | Event |
|---|---|---|
| April 24, 2026 | Texas | TEFA permanent injunction hearing — U.S. District Court |
| April/May 2026 | Tennessee | Senate vote on HB 793 (student immigration status) — session ending |
| May 2026 | Texas | Comptroller primary runoff period (if needed) |
| May/June 2026 | Texas | CAIR federal lawsuit (against Abbott designation) — watch for hearing schedule |
| June 2026 | Mississippi | State legislative session conclusion — HB 2 ESA program fate determined |
| November 2026 | Texas | Comptroller general election (Don Huffines R vs. Sarah Eckhardt D) |
| November 2026 | Florida | HJR 583 ballot measure — religious expression in public schools (if legislature passes) |
| January 2027 | Texas | New Comptroller takes office — sets TEFA administrative posture for year two |
| Ongoing | Federal | Massachusetts injunction on house-of-worship enforcement — appeal timeline unclear |
| Ongoing | Federal | CAIR federal challenge to Abbott terrorist designation — upstream of all Texas actions |
7. Strategic Assessment
The state-level landscape in April 2026 reflects a coordinated policy architecture, not a series of isolated events. In Texas, the same constitutional mechanism — Governor Abbott's extra-legal CAIR designation — is simultaneously being used to exclude Islamic schools from a $1 billion public program, to seek organizational dissolution of a civil liberties group, to investigate religious dispute resolution bodies that are constitutionally equivalent to Jewish and Christian arbitration, and to block a Muslim housing development using federal fair housing law as a weapon. The April 24 injunction hearing on TEFA is the most immediate legal test of that architecture. A federal ruling affirming Islamic schools' equal access would not only protect participation in TEFA — it would establish a constitutional predicate that could unravel the entire designation-based enforcement strategy.
The broader trend is state-level fragmentation: California, Massachusetts, and Minnesota are building protective infrastructure; Texas, Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee are building enforcement infrastructure. The states in between are watching which model produces less federal friction. The most significant medium-term risk is the January 2027 Texas Comptroller transition — the incoming Comptroller will determine whether Islamic schools maintain equal access to TEFA or whether the next exclusion is engineered through administrative means that are harder to challenge in court. The dark money ecosystem funding the Comptroller race is directly invested in the outcome of that administrative power. The two variables to watch most closely between now and November: the April 24 TEFA ruling, and whether the Tennessee school voucher bill absorbs the immigration status data collection amendment — a combination that would create a new national template for conditioning educational access on immigration status disclosure.