Texas approves Bible-based lessons in public schools in latest win for Christian activists

The Texas State Board of Education has approved the use of Bible-based lessons in public elementary schools.

Officials voted 8-7 on the measure during a hearing in Austin on Friday. The new curriculum, developed by Bluebonnet Learning and the Texas Education Agency, pertains to reading and language arts lessons for kids in grades K-5 and math lessons for kids in grades K-8.

The teachings call into question the constitutionally of such tax-payer-funded instruction. It remains unclear if the curriculum would violate the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment, which prohibits the government from establishing a religion or providing official support for a religion.

The instruction includes lessons on Biblical beliefs, including the stories of Moses, the Good Samaritan, the Golden Rule and readings from the Book of Genesis.

The curriculum is optional but schools could get additional funding if they implement the teachings, set to be available to educators in August 2025.

Its approval is the latest development in a series of GOP efforts to bring Christianity into public school systems across the country. In Oklahoma, the state’s top educator, Ryan Walters, has ordered teachers to keep a copy of the Bible in classrooms. In Louisiana, officials hope to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms starting next year.

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Critics of the new Texas instruction raised concerns about how the lessons could inappropriately promote the Christian faith in classrooms, whether the materials are age-appropriate or will be effective. Those who support it, say the lessons could help develop students’ writing and reading skills.

Following the vote, the Texas American Federation of Teachers said in a written statement that the new teachings violate the state’s Code of Ethics by “infusing lessons with Bible-based references more appropriate for Sunday Schools than public schools.”

The group argues the new teachings come from idealogues instead of educational experts and is asking districts not to use them.

“At a moment of profound political division, this curriculum is a concerted effort to ‘other’ and exclude students of differing cultures and religions through state-sponsored instructional materials.

“It is the latest evidence that Christian nationalists have bought their way into every governing body of the state, including the state Board of Education... We can anticipate what will come next, whether that’s the erasure of contributions of marginalized populations in social studies or the minimalization of climate change in science.”

President-elect Donald Trump has called for the disbandment of the federal Department of Education, for a more conservative agenda in public schools and for banning educators from teaching on critical race theory.

In 2023, Governor Greg Abbott asked the Texas Education Agency to develop a new curriculum pending approval from the state Board of Education. Abbott has praised the materials and said they would help students “better understand the connection of history, art, community, literature, and religion on pivotal events like the signing of the US Constitution, the Civil Rights Movement, and the American Revolution.”