Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is taking the unusual step of suing a state agency, arguing that three state-funded college work-study programs unconstitutionally discriminate against religious students.
In a lawsuit filed Friday in a Travis County district court, Paxton's office says the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board violates the First Amendment by barring work-study participants from engaging in "sectarian activities, including sectarian courses of study," reports The Texas Tribune.
The restrictions apply to the Texas College Work-Study Program, the Working Off-Campus: Reinforcing Knowledge and Skills Internship Program, and the Innovative Adult Career Education Grant Program, which provides financially needy students access to jobs that help them pay for their education.
Paxton argues the programs improperly exclude religious organizations whose employment opportunities are solely sectarian, and prevent seminary students from participating altogether.
He said this amounts to a "wholesale exclusion" which the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly rejected.
"These anti-Christian laws targeting religious students must be completely wiped off the books," Paxton said in a statement.
"Our nation was built by patriotic Americans who had the freedom to express their religious beliefs without fear of being targeted, and we will honor that heritage by upholding the First Amendment in Texas," he added.
The coordinating board allocated more than $8 million for work-study programs in fiscal year 2026.
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