Texas’ education board voted Friday to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools, joining other Republican-led states that pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms.
The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which elected Republicans control, is optional for schools to adopt, but they will receive additional funding if they do so. The materials could appear in the classroom as early as next school year.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has voiced support for the lesson plans, which were provided by the state’s education agency that oversees the more than five million students in Texas public schools.
Parents and teachers who opposed the curriculum said the lessons would alienate students of other faith backgrounds.
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"Our public schools should be focused on equipping students with the education and skills they need to succeed beyond grade school whether it's pursuing a higher education or entering the workforce," Texas Democrats said after the vote. "The teaching of religious doctrine should stay in our places of worship where it belongs.”
Supporters argued the Bible is a core feature of American history and that teaching it will enrich students’ learning.
The new Texas curriculum follows Republican-led efforts in neighboring states to give religion more presence in public schools. In Oklahoma, the state’s education chief has ordered a copy of the Bible in every classroom. At the same time, Louisiana wants to make all of the state’s public school classrooms post the Ten Commandments beginning next year.
According to Matthew Patrick Shaw, an assistant professor of public policy and education at Vanderbilt University, Texas would be the first state to introduce Bible lessons in schools in this manner with the new curriculum.
Creating Bible-infused lessons
The Texas Education Agency, which oversees public education for more than 5 million students statewide, created its instruction materials after a law passed in 2023 by the GOP-controlled Legislature required the agency to do so. The lesson plans were publicly released 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 or subject matter appropriate in the way that it presents these Bible stories,” said Amanda Tyler, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty.
Children who would read the material, she said, “are simply too young to tell the difference between what is a faith claim and what is a matter of fact.”
More than 100 people testified at a board meeting this week that rang with emotion from parents, teachers and advocates. Supporters of the curriculum argued that the Bible is a core feature of American history and teaching it will enrich students’ learning.
“It is said that there are close to 300 common-day phrases that actually come from the Bible,” said Mary Castle, director of government relations for Texas Values, a right-leaning advocacy group. "So students will benefit from being able to understand a lot of these references that are in literature and have a way to be able to comprehend them.”
A narrow early vote
The 15-member board consists of 11 Republicans and four Democrats. On Wednesday, it signaled support for the materials in an 8-7 preliminary vote.
One of the board members is a Republican who was appointed just weeks ago by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to temporarily fill a vacant seat. Days after that appointment, a Democrat who ran unopposed was elected to fill that same board seat starting next year.
Abbott has publicly supported the instruction materials.
Shaw said it is unclear whether the lesson plans will be considered constitutional if the curriculum passes.
“The question is how is Texas going to frame what is done here to avoid the establishment question or tackle it head-on,” he said.
Bringing religion into schools
Texas' plans to implement Biblical teachings in public school lesson plans is the latest effort by Republican-controlled states to bring religion into the classroom.
In Louisiana, a federal judge earlier this month blocked a law to place the Ten Commandments in all public classrooms. Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed the bill into law in June, prompting a group of Louisiana public school parents of different faiths to sue.
In Oklahoma, the state's top education official has tried to incorporate the Bible into lesson plans for children in fifth through 12th grades. A group of teachers and parents recently filed a lawsuit to stop the Republican state superintendent's plan and his efforts to spend $3 million to purchase Bibles for public schools.
