The Texas State Board of Education has approved a proposal that will establish lists of required reading — including biblical stories and Bible verses — for its K-12 English and literature curriculum.
The plan will impact more than 5 million public school students, as Texas emerges as a leader in a national conservative effort to infuse Christian teachings into American classrooms.
Going beyond a 2023 law that required at least one Texas State Board of Education approved literary work be taught in each grade level, the new proposal will require multiple titles for each grade, and that each one be read “in its entirety.”
Required literature lists in general, two experts told The Associated Press, may be a first for any state.
Many Texas students are already familiar with at least some Christian teachings: The state last year became the largest state to require classrooms to display the Ten Commandments, a law recently upheld in federal court.
The new list of required titles will include a picture-book adaptation of the David and Goliath story for elementary students and Bible passages about Adam and Eve for older students, among other references, according to a proposed list online.
At the same meeting, the school board will also take up a vote to rewrite the state’s social studies curriculum, focusing more on Texas and US history and deemphasizing some teachings about global history and cultures. The change would eliminate a sixth grade “World Cultures” course and significantly expand lessons on communism.
The proposals, which would go into effect in 2030, have sharply divided teachers, parents and community members — hundreds of whom appeared before the school board this week to voice their concern and enthusiasm.
Supporters argue the Bible should be studied as an essential literary text that can help students understand Western history and the founding of the US. One policy group has celebrated it as the “final battle” in an effort to purge Texas schools of lessons on race and history that they say divides students and criticizes America’s founders.
However, those who oppose the changes say the mandatory reading list favors Christianity over other religions and violates the constitutionally protected separation between church and state. The teachings may also infringe on parents’ ability to lead their children’s religious education, they say, particularly in non-Christian households.
