All posts tagged: voucher

Texas accepts some Islamic schools into voucher program after lawsuits

Texas accepts some Islamic schools into voucher program after lawsuits

Published by Sam Flores

(AP) – The Texas comptroller has accepted several Islamic private schools into the state’s voucher program after the institutions sued to gain admittance. Four Muslim parents and three Islamic private school providers that operate four campuses had sued Texas leaders for excluding the schools while accepting hundreds of other non-Islamic schools. The two federal lawsuits asked the court to block the private school voucher program from discriminating on the basis of religion. As part of the dispute, U.S. District Judge Alfred Bennett has extended the voucher application deadline to March 31 and ordered the state to consider the schools’ request to join the voucher program. The next hearing is set for April 24. The first lawsuit, filed March 1 by a parent acting on behalf of two children who attend a Houston private school, names Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock and Education Commissioner Mike Morath as defendants. A second suit filed March 11 by three parents and three schools names Hancock and Mary Katherine Stout, the voucher program director, as defendants. The two cases are now consolidated into …

Judge orders Texas to extend school voucher deadline in response to lawsuit from Islamic schools

Judge orders Texas to extend school voucher deadline in response to lawsuit from Islamic schools

Published by Sam Flores

(AP) – A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Texas to extend the application deadline for private school vouchers until March 31 due to the state’s exclusion of Islamic schools from the program. The extension comes after four Muslim parents and three Islamic private schools sued Texas leaders earlier this month, arguing state leaders discriminated against their religion by excluding them from the program. A lawyer representing plaintiffs in one of the lawsuits confirmed the ruling to The Texas Tribune. Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock — Texas’ chief financial officer who manages the voucher program — has prevented Islamic schools from participating in the program over claims that some are associated with foreign terrorist organizations. Hancock has said schools accredited by the company Cognia hosted events organized by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights group that Gov. Greg Abbott recently designated a terrorist organization. CAIR has sued Abbott over the label, calling it defamatory and false. The U.S. State Department has not designated the organization a terrorist group. The comptroller’s office did not immediately provide comment …

Texas accepts some Islamic schools into voucher program after lawsuits

Islamic schools, more parents sue Texas over exclusion from voucher program

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — Three Texas Islamic schools and a group of parents are suing state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Comptroller Kelly Hancock, marking the second legal challenge this month alleging that schools for Muslim students have been excluded from the new state voucher program.  The second lawsuit, filed on Wednesday (March 11) in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, says state officials and the voucher program director, Mary Katherine Stout, have been “unlawfully refusing to approve otherwise qualified Islamic schools for participation” in the school funding program and that it constitutes religious discrimination. The Texas Education Freedom Accounts program, introduced by the state’s Legislature in 2025, created a $1 billion fund for private school financial aid. An online platform for parents to start applying opened on Feb. 4 (open through March 17), but none of the state’s accredited private Islamic schools have been listed as eligible for reimbursement through the program. Farhana Querishi, a plaintiff whose children attend Houston Quran Academy, said in a news release that the comptroller’s decision to …

Muslim father sues over exclusion of Islamic schools from Texas voucher program

Muslim father sues over exclusion of Islamic schools from Texas voucher program

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — A Texan whose children attend an Islamic school in Houston sued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Comptroller Kelly Hancock, alleging that schools for Muslim students are being excluded from the state’s new voucher program. The program, introduced by the state’s Legislature in 2025, created a $1 billion fund for private school financial aid. But since Texas Education Freedom Accounts opened for applications on Feb. 4, 2026, none of the state’s accredited private Islamic schools has been listed among those eligible for reimbursement through the program.  The “blanket exclusion of a group of private schools on the basis of their religious affiliation is a clear violation of the U.S. Constitution,” said Mehdi Cherkaoui, a father of two whose children are enrolled at the Houston Qu’ran Academy Spring, a private and accredited school excluded from the program. Cherkaoui, a lawyer who represents himself, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court on March 1.  The suit says the state unjustly targeted these schools, which Cherkaoui noted are “not schools where kids go to memorize the …

Attention cyclists and exercise bike riders—complete our survey for a chance to win a 0 Amazon voucher

Attention cyclists and exercise bike riders—complete our survey for a chance to win a $300 Amazon voucher

Published by Jenni Sidey

Here at Fit&Well, we’re on a mission to inspire you to try activities that could improve your wellbeing. In this case, I’d like to inspire bike owners (including those who own an indoor exercise bikes) to complete our survey about cycling. And how could that improve your wellbeing? Well, agree to share your name and email and you’ll be in with a chance of winning a $300 Amazon voucher (or £250 if you’re based in the UK or Ireland). Hopefully that covers the inspiration bit, too. The survey should take between 10 and 20 minutes to complete and will ask about how often you cycle and why, the equipment you own and where you buy it from, and where you get your information about cycling, among other things. You may like The survey is open until March 26, 2026, with full T&Cs available to review before you begin the survey. Start your week with achievable workout ideas, health tips and wellbeing advice in your inbox. Source link

Eurostar sent a £120 voucher instead of the £1,744 it owes me | Money

Eurostar sent a £120 voucher instead of the £1,744 it owes me | Money

Published by Sam Flores

Eurostar is refusing to honour expenses claims after a power failure in the tunnel stranded thousands of passengers last month. Our party of four was stuck at Brussels station when all trains to and from London were cancelled for 24 hours. Eurostar staff told us to find a hotel and handed out leaflets promising that accommodation, food and transport costs would be refunded. It directed us to an online rebooking page that showed no availability for two days. Its normal booking site showed seats on offer for the following day, which suggests it was prioritising new passengers over those who were stranded. We used the latter site to buy tickets at a cost of €1,230 (£1,072). I submitted my expenses claim and all I’ve received is a £120 voucher to offset against future travel on Eurostar. CD, London Others are reporting similar rebuffs on social media platforms after the power outage left thousands struggling to get home before New Year’s Eve. EU rail passenger rights regulations oblige rail operators to cover reasonable expenses in situations …

Trump’s national school voucher program could mean a boom in Christian education

Trump’s national school voucher program could mean a boom in Christian education

Published by Sam Flores

LACONIA, N.H. (The Hechinger Report) — Three dozen 4- and 5-year-olds trooped out onto the stage of the ornate, century-old Colonial Theatre of Laconia in this central New Hampshire town. Dressed in plaid, red, green and sparkles, some were grinning and waving, some looked a bit shell-shocked; a tiny blond girl sobbed with stage fright in her teacher’s arms. No sooner did the children open their mouths to sing, “Merry Christmas! … This is the day that the Lord was born!” than the house lights came up and a fire alarm went off. It was an unusually eventful annual Christmas concert for Laconia Christian Academy. Then again, it’s been an unusually eventful year. In a small, aging state, where overall school enrollment has been dropping for more than two decades, Laconia reported a 130% increase in enrollment in its elementary school since 2020 — and began a three-quarter-million-dollar campus expansion on its 140 acres outside town.  “We are in a season of incredible growth,” the school’s website reads. One reason for the season: Almost every …