Ken Paxton Confirms Comptroller May Block Terrorist Linked Schools From TEFA Accounts

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued a formal legal opinion clarifying the authority of the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) administrator and reinforcing safeguards to ensure taxpayer dollars are not misused.

The opinion responds to a request concerning whether the TEFA administrator, Comptroller Kelly Hancock, has the authority to determine which private schools are eligible to participate in the program.

"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," wrote Comptroller Hancock.

AG Paxton's opinion directly addresses that concern by confirming that the Comptroller's Office holds full and exclusive statutory authority to prohibit schools from participating in TEFA under the "other relevant law[s]" provision of Senate Bill 2.

Under that authority, any educational institution that violates laws prohibiting material support to a designated terrorist organization would be categorically ineligible to receive TEFA funds. The opinion makes it clear that these determinations fall squarely within the Comptroller's jurisdiction, not the Attorney General's Office.

"Let me be crystal clear: Texans' tax dollars should never fund Islamic terrorists or America's enemies," said Paxton. "The Comptroller's Office has always possessed exclusive authority under the TEFA framework to stop any school illegally tied to terrorist or foreign adversaries from accessing taxpayer dollars, and this opinion affirms that authority."

Paxton further emphasized that there is "no question" the Comptroller is statutorily responsible for protecting the school choice program from abuse by terrorist organizations or adversarial governments, including the Chinese Communist Party.

Paxton's office reiterated that they remain ready to defend any lawful action taken to prevent terrorists or foreign adversaries from exploiting the TEFA program.