AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas public schools could use teachings from the Bible in lessons as an option for students in kindergarten through fifth grade, under a proposal that drew hours of testimony Monday and Republican-led efforts in other states follow to increase religious teaching in classrooms.
Teachers and parents gave passionate testimony for and against the curriculum plan at a meeting of the Texas State Board of Education, which is expected to take a final vote on the measure later this week.
The curriculum — designed by the state’s public education agency — would bring teachings from the Bible, such as the Golden Rule, and lessons from books like Genesis into classrooms. Under the plan, it would be optional for schools to adopt the curriculum, although they would receive additional funding.
Some complained that the proposal conflicts with the public school mission.
“This curriculum does not meet the standard of an equitable, secular curriculum,” said educator Megan Tessler. “Public schools are meant to educate, not indoctrinate.”
Others strongly supported the idea.
“Parents and teachers want a return to excellence,” Cindy Asmussen, one of the witnesses, told the panel. “Stories and concepts in the Bible have been common for hundreds of years,” and that, she said, is a core part of classical learning.
Education officials were expected to vote Friday on whether public schools would be given the option to teach the curriculum.
The proposal to include religious education in Texas public schools reflects a similar trend elsewhere in the country. In Oklahoma, state officials are trying to include the Bible in public school curriculums. In Louisiana, a federal judge recently struck down a requirement to display the Ten Commandments in all public classrooms.
Educators, parents and advocates weighed in at the State Board of Education’s final meeting of the year, where many opponents argued that the proposal’s emphasis on Christian teachings would alienate students from other faith backgrounds. Its proponents testified that it will give students a more holistic educational foundation.
Religious experts and the Texas Freedom Network, a left-wing watchdog group that oversees the state’s board of education, said the curriculum proposal focuses too much on Christianity and dances around the history of slavery.
The program was designed by the Texas Education Agency earlier this year after a law was passed that mandated it to create its own free textbook. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has publicly supported the new materials.
Republican lawmakers in Texas have also proposed posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms and are likely to revisit the issue next year.
