Public hearings happening now in Austin over ‘Bible-inspired' lesson proposal for public schools

Bible-inspired lessons could enter a classroom near you if the state accepts a proposal by Texas lawmakers.

Starting Tuesday, the State Board of Education will hold a series of public hearings in Austin before making a final decision.

Before the hearing, about 20 North Texans from various groups, including Christians Against Christian Nationalism and Anti-Defamation League Texas, boarded a bus in Dallas to make the road trip to Austin to speak out against the curriculum as part of the public comment.

The curriculum comes from House Bill (HB) 1605, the sweeping instructional materials bill from the 88th legislative session.

After a months-long review process by the SBOE and the Texas Education Agency, the new curriculum was first unveiled to the public in May to continue the approval process.

The proposed curriculum focuses on instructional updates in the classroom for kindergarten through 5th graders. When the instructional material was revealed in May, Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statement in support of it.

"Last year, the Texas Legislature passed and I signed a law that directed the Texas Education Agency to purchase and develop instructional materials that will bring students back to the basics of education and provide the necessary fundamentals in math, reading, science, and other core subjects," Gov. Abbott said. "The materials will also allow our students to better understand the connection of history, art, community, literature, and religion on pivotal events like the signing of the U.S. Constitution, the Civil Rights Movement, and the American Revolution. I thank the TEA for their work to ensure our students receive a robust educational foundation to succeed so that we can build a brighter Texas for generations to come.”

However, some of the materials worked into the curriculum that have raised some eyebrows include a number of religious references in the English Language Arts side of the curriculum.

The references range from biblical stories of King David and King Solomon for kindergartners and the Last Supper and Bible verses for 5th graders.

According to the American Federation of Teachers Texas chapter, the largest teachers union in the state, the bill "blurs the separation of church and state".

“Look, there’s nothing wrong with classical education as a concept nor is there anything wrong with learning about religion and its impact on society. It is impossible to teach history without understanding the impact of religion on historical figures such as Martin Luther or Martin Luther King, Jr., for that matter,” said Zeph Capo, president of Texas AFT in a statement. “There is something wrong, though, with using ‘classical education’ as a cover for the creep of Christian Nationalist philosophy into our classrooms.”      

The religious references in question still made it past reviewers hired by the SBOE, according to Texas AFT.

The SBOE is set to make a final vote in November on the proposal. As part of the approval process, the public hearings taking place this week are giving families, educators, and community groups a chance to learn more about the curriculum and offer their opinions to the board.

"I hope they come with an open mind and with listening ears ready to do what's best for all Texans when it comes to this curriculum,” said Amanda Tyler, lead organizer of Christians Against Christian Nationalism and executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty.

Her group has spent the last few weeks leading up to the hearing to inform families about the proposed curriculum. Tyler is also among those planning to speak out at the hearing this week.

"I think if this curriculum is implemented, it will be very divisive for Texas public schools and it harms religious freedom rights of all Texans, including Christians, people from other faith traditions, and people who don't claim a faith tradition at all," she said.

Sharyn Vane, an Austin-based writer, parent and member of the Jewish faith, spoke to the board about the harm it can cause for religious outside of Christianity.

"It overwhelmingly favors Christianity, erasing other religions, or relegating them to token status. It is also wildly problematic in its depictions of Jews and Judaism," she said during Tuesday's hearing. "Let's take the Queen Esther story, one of the few mentions of Jewish people. The version of the story in this curriculum characterizes Jews as odd and disloyal, fueling anti-Semitic tropes and depicting us as the other."

Vane also spoke about some of the listed actvities in the proposed materials including elementary school students taking part in a story from the Bible.

"Rolling dice just like Haman in the story who is deciding the dates on when to kill Jews. This is shocking, offensive, and just plain wrong. Do we ask elementary schoolers to pretend to be Hitler? We do not," she said. "Elsewhere, the curriculum asks students to glowingly imagine being a crusader, glossing over the crusaders' murder of Jews and Muslims."

Vane added, "I urge you to amend this curriculum to correct inaccuracies and eliminate role-playing activities that hinge on hatred of Jews."

The proposal also includes a financial incentive for districts to adopt this curriculum, as much as $40 per student. It comes at a time when districts are already strapped for cash and hoping for more funding from the state. The legislature came to a stalemate last year on giving additional funding for districts struggling with inflation and post-pandemic costs.

"It puts school districts in a really difficult place of having to choose between funding their education and adopting what is a really harmful curriculum,” Tyler said. "We know from the public comment period that those opposing this curriculum outnumbered those supporting it 10 to 1 and I expect that we will also have many Texans of all faiths and none coming to the State Board of Education this week to express their concerns."

The public meetings will run all week in Austin starting Tuesday through Friday. You can also watch them live online by clicking here.

Both Dallas ISD and Fort Worth ISD schools boards shared a statement regarding the proposed materials.

"Dallas ISD currently uses the state adopted Amplify Reading Language Arts high quality instructional material. In November of 2024, TEA will adopt new Texas Open Resource Materials for the 2025-2026 school year. After reviewing those materials in the current TEA portal, the district will continue to use the English and Spanish version we have already purchased and trained our teachers over the past two years," the board president said in an emailed statement to NBC 5.

Michael Ryan, 2nd Vice President on the Fort Worth ISD Board of Trustees, said in an email to NBC 5 that context is key.

"There are places where the Bible could absolutely be utilized as a supportive text. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his 'Letters from the Birmingham Jail' talks about Shadrack, Meshach and Abednego, so referencing that part of the book of Daniel while studying Dr. King's writings would certainly be appropriate. Teaching the Bible, the Quran, or the Torah as a class especially focused on contextual meanings is not something I would support," he said.