AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas would allow Bible-infused lessons in elementary schools under changes set for a final vote Friday, and could test the boundaries between religion and public education in the U.S.
The proposed curriculum narrowly secured a preliminary vote this week at the Texas State Board of Education, whose elected members heard hours of, sometimes impassioned, pleas from supporters and critics alike about the materials schools could start using next year.
If adopted, the new Texas curriculum would follow Republican-led efforts in neighboring states to give religion a greater presence in public schools. In Oklahoma, the state’s education chief has ordered a copy of the Bible in every classroom, while Louisiana wants to stock all of the state’s public school classrooms with the Ten Commandments starting next year.
In Texas, it would be optional for schools to adopt the materials, but they would receive additional funding if they do.
If the board moves the curriculum forward, Texas would be the first state to introduce Bible lessons in schools in this way, said Matthew Patrick Shaw, an assistant professor of public policy and education at Vanderbilt University.
Creating Bible-infused lessons
The Texas Education Agency, which oversees public education for more than 5 million students statewide, created its own instructional materials after a law passed by the Republican Party-controlled Legislature in 2023 required the agency to do so . The lesson plans were released publicly this spring.
The material draws on lessons from Christianity more than any other religion in the proposed reading and language arts modules for kindergarten through fifth grade, which critics say would alienate students from different faith backgrounds and potentially violate the First Amendment.
“This curriculum is not age appropriate and subject appropriate in the way it presents these Bible stories,” said Amanda Tyler, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Freedom.
Children who would read the material, she said, “are simply too young to see the difference between what is a claim of faith and what is a fact.”
More than 100 people testified this week at a board meeting that was filled with emotion from parents, teachers and advocates. Proponents of the curriculum argued that the Bible is a core feature of American history and that teaching it will enrich student learning.
“It is said that there are almost 300 commonplace statements that actually come from the Bible,” said Mary Castle, government relations director for Texas Values, a right-wing advocacy group. “So students will benefit from being able to understand a lot of these references in the literature and having a way to understand them.”
A close early vote
The fifteen-member board consists of eleven Republicans and four Democrats. On Wednesday, a preliminary vote of 8-7 expressed support for the materials.
One of the board members is a Republican who was appointed to the board several weeks ago by Republican Governor Greg Abbott to temporarily fill a vacant seat. Days after that appointment, an unopposed Democrat was elected to fill the same board seat starting next year.
Abbott has publicly supported the instructional materials.
Whether the lesson plans will be considered constitutional depends on whether the curriculum is successful, Shaw said.
“The question is how Texas is going to frame what is being done here to avoid or directly address the incumbency issue,” he said.
Bringing religion to schools
Texas’ plans to implement Biblical teachings into public school lesson plans are the latest attempt by Republican-controlled states to bring religion into the classroom.
In Louisiana, a law that would impose the Ten Commandments in all public classrooms was blocked earlier this month. Republican Governor Jeff Landry signed the bill into law in June, prompting a group of Louisiana public school parents of different faiths to file a lawsuit.
In Oklahoma, the state’s top education official has tried to include the Bible in lesson plans for children in fifth through 12th grades. A group of teachers and parents recently filed a lawsuit to block the Republican state superintendent’s plan and his efforts to spend $3 million to purchase Bibles for public schools.
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Lathan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
