Texas’s Austin (AP) Under revisions scheduled for a final vote Friday, Texas would permit Bible-infused instruction in elementary classrooms, potentially pushing the limits of the U.S.’s separation of religion and public education.
At the Texas State Board of Education, whose elected members heard hours of often passionate pleadings from both proponents and critics over the content that schools might start using next year, the proposed curriculum narrowly passed a preliminary vote this week.
Should the new Texas curriculum be approved, it would be in line with Republican-led initiatives to increase the role of religion in public education in nearby states. Louisiana wants to post the Ten Commandments in all public school classrooms starting next year, while Oklahoma’s education chief has mandated that every classroom have a copy of the Bible.
Although adopting the materials would be optional in Texas, schools who do so would be eligible for additional funds.
According to Matthew Patrick Shaw, an assistant professor of public policy and education at Vanderbilt University, Texas would be the first state to implement Bible studies in schools in this way if the board go forward with the curriculum.
Developing lessons that are infused with the Bible
In 2023, the GOP-controlled Legislature approved a bill requiring the Texas Education Agency, which is responsible for managing public education for approximately 5 million children throughout the state, to develop its own instructional materials. This spring, the lesson plans were made available to the general public.
The proposed reading and language arts modules for kindergarten through fifth grade mostly include Christian lessons, which critics claim would alienate pupils from diverse religious backgrounds and perhaps violate the First Amendment.
According to Amanda Tyler, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, the way these Bible stories are presented in this curriculum is not age- nor subject-appropriate.
According to her, children who read the content are just too young to distinguish between what is factual and what is a faith claim.
At a board hearing this week, over 100 witnesses gave moving testimonies from advocates, educators, and parents. The Bible is a key aspect of American history, according to curriculum proponents, and teaching it to kids will enhance their education.
According to Mary Castle, director of government relations for Texas Values, a right-leaning advocacy group, there are about 300 everyday expressions that are truly taken from the Bible. Students will therefore gain from being able to comprehend many of these literary allusions and having a method for doing so.
A close preliminary vote
There are four Democrats and eleven Republicans on the 15-member board. In an 8-7 preliminary vote on Wednesday, it indicated approval for the items.
Just weeks ago, Republican Governor Greg Abbott temporarily filled a vacancy on the board by appointing a Republican to one of the board positions. A Democrat who ran unchallenged was elected to take that same board seat beginning the following year, just days after that appointment.
Abbott has openly endorsed the teaching resources.
If the curriculum is approved, it will be unclear if the lesson plans would be deemed constitutional, Shaw added.
He asked how Texas would present the situation in order to sidestep or directly address the establishment concern.
Including religion in the classroom
The most recent attempt by Republican-controlled states to introduce religion into the classroom is Texas’s intention to include biblical lessons in its public school curricula.
Earlier this month, a federal judge in Louisiana halted a measure that would have required the Ten Commandments to be taught in all public schools. A group of Louisiana public school parents of various faiths filed a lawsuit after Republican Governor Jeff Landry signed the bill into law in June.
The top education official in Oklahoma has attempted to include biblical content in the curriculum for fifth- through twelfth-grade students. In an attempt to block the Republican state superintendent’s plan to spend $3 million on Bibles for public schools, a group of educators and parents has launched a lawsuit.
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Lathan is a member of the Statehouse News Initiative’s Associated Press/Report for America corps.A nonprofit national service initiative called Report for America places reporters in local newsrooms to explore topics that aren’t often covered.
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