Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board seeking to end three state work-study programs, alleging their nonsectarian employment and seminary-exclusion rules violate the First Amendment. Paxton argues the programs deny need-based benefits to students “based solely on the religious character of their course of study,” and asked a state judge to stop the board from administering the programs. The suit targets the Texas College Work-Study Program, the TXWORKS internship and the ACE Grant Program — programs that fund low-income students and workforce training. The case raises immediate questions for faith-based institutions and religious students in Texas and could force program rewrites or broader changes to eligibility rules nationwide if courts accept Paxton’s argument.