In the heart of Texas, a storm of controversy has been brewing around Islamic private schools and the state’s voucher program. The saga began nearly a decade ago with a libel case in London, involving a man named Sam Westrop, who was ordered to pay substantial damages for falsely accusing an individual of being a terrorist. Fast forward to the present, and Westrop’s name resurfaces in a complex web of allegations and investigations targeting Islamic schools in Texas.
The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts has found itself at the center of this storm, grappling with claims that certain schools have ties to extremist groups or the Chinese Communist government. The investigation, which began last fall, has far-reaching implications for the state’s voucher program and the schools involved.
Allegations and Investigations
The controversy kicked off when Westrop shared his research with the Texas Comptroller’s office, alleging that leaders of Islamic private schools had connections to extremist groups like Hamas. The comptroller, acting on these claims, sought legal advice from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who ruled that the agency could exclude schools with supposed ties to the Chinese government or those that had hosted events for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
The scope of the investigation was extensive, with the state using taxpayer money to contract investigators to dig into the histories of nearly 50 private schools across Texas. This number far exceeds what has been previously reported, highlighting the breadth of the state’s probe. The extent of the state’s involvement and Westrop’s role in the investigations are detailed in new legal filings, stemming from a lawsuit filed by four Islamic private school campuses against the state comptroller.
The Legal Battle
The lawsuit, filed in March, has brought to light an eight-hour deposition of Murl Miller, the comptroller’s chief counsel for general litigation. Miller’s testimony provides a glimpse into the state’s actions and the motivations behind them. Despite the comptroller’s office eventually accepting all investigated schools into the voucher program, the schools pursuing legal action are seeking a class-action lawsuit to ensure equal treatment in the future.
Eric Hudson, an attorney representing the Islamic schools, emphasized the importance of religious liberty, stating, “Religious liberty is not a temporary pass issued after a lawsuit. We’re pressing on so equal treatment is the rule — not an exception granted under pressure.” The comptroller’s office, however, has objected to certifying the lawsuit as a class action, arguing that it should not continue since the four Islamic campuses were ultimately allowed into the voucher program.
The Broader Context
The debate over the inclusion of Islamic schools in the voucher program comes amid a wave of anti-Muslim rhetoric among some elected officials and prominent political candidates in Texas and across the country. At the state Republican Party convention last month, members attempted to remove Muslims as delegates. Dr. Rick Scarborough, a former Southern Baptist pastor, told a Muslim attendee he wanted him to leave the event. In November, Texas Governor Greg Abbott designated CAIR a foreign terrorist organization, a move that has since been challenged in court.
Contradictions and Controversies
The comptroller’s office has maintained that its leaders did not purposefully single out certain schools. Instead, agency officials claimed that the Islamic schools were part of a wider review of some 700 private schools accredited by Cognia. However, Miller’s deposition contradicts this claim, revealing that the agency began receiving information identifying almost 50 schools with alleged links to the Chinese Communist Party or extremist groups as far back as last summer.
The deposition also highlighted the sources that prompted the comptroller’s investigations, including Westrop, a regional Homeland Security Task Force, congressional hearings, and the RAIR Foundation. Miller admitted that he did not verify Westrop’s credentials or the defamation judgment against him for falsely accusing someone of being a terrorist. Westrop, who could not be reached for comment, has continued to raise allegations about extremist groups taking advantage of the school voucher program funding.
The comptroller’s office ultimately allowed all of the schools alleged to have Islamic terrorist or Chinese Communist Party ties into the voucher program. However, the Islamic school plaintiffs have expressed concerns about the long-term guarantee of their inclusion and hope that a class-action suit could help change the comptroller’s processes that allowed the agency to delay their admission in the first place.
