In Close Vote, Texas Approves Reading Program Laden With Bible Lessons

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The Texas State Board of Education approved a controversial K-5 curriculum Tuesday that uses Bible stories to teach reading, capping off months of debate over the rising influence of religion in the nation’s classrooms.

The vote was eight to seven, with one member recently appointed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to fill a vacant seat breaking the tie. 

Those who decided to put the program on a list of approved curricula said they don’t think the lessons push Christianity.

“There’s a line between indoctrination or evangelism and education,” said Will Hickman, a Republican board member from Houston. “In my view, these stories are on the education side.”

But Democrat Staci Childs, who also represents the Houston area, pointed to Louisiana, where a federal court has blocked a state law requiring public school classrooms to display the 10 Commandments, as a sign of the potential legal battles ahead.

That ruling is “closely aligned to what will happen if some kindergarten or first grade student’s parents were upset about what they were learning in class,” she said. 

The vote came after a day of public comments over the proper role of the Bible in curriculum at a time when evangelical Christians are gaining political strength. Conservative Christians also see the incoming Trump administration as a chance to further advance their faith in the realms of education and public policy. Supporters of the state-developed curriculum, first unveiled in May, say it’s culturally relevant and presents Jesus and other biblical figures in their historical context. As an added incentive, the state will pay districts up to $60 per student to adopt the materials.

Critics, however, maintain that even with recent revisions, the lessons remain biased toward Christianity, are sometimes misleading and teach complex topics better suited for older children. Others warn that the materials overstep parents’ rights to make decisions about the role of religion in their kids’ lives. 

“All those controversies are gonna bubble up at the local level,” said Eve Myers, a consultant for HillCo Partners, a lobbying and government relations firm whose clients include publishers. Districts with conservative board majorities, she said, would likely favor the program, called Bluebonnet Learning, “because it’s aligned with their values,” and those with diverse student populations would see resistance. 

Tuesday’s action was technically preliminary, but board members are not expected to change their positions before a final vote Friday. While Leslie Recine, appointed by Abbott just two-and-a-half weeks ago, had nothing to say during the board’s discussion, her vote proved crucial to the curriculum’s passage.

Democrat Aicha Davis, who expressed opposition to the curriculum earlier this year, vacated the seat Aug. 1 after winning election to the state House in the primary. Abbott could have appointed a replacement then, but waited until Nov. 1.

Tiffany Clark, also a Democrat, ran unopposed to fill Davis’ seat. She sought to have Secretary of State Jane Nelson, also an Abbott appointee, certify the results in time for her to join the board for Tuesday’s vote. But Nelson didn’t complete the process in time.

Clark, who will represent Dallas and starts in January, told The 74 that she should have cast the deciding vote and would have opted to remove Bluebonnet from the list.

“It’s disappointing that just days before the election, the governor chose to appoint someone else to serve temporarily in this seat,” she said. “It would have made a lot more sense to appoint the person who clearly was going to be elected by the voters in the district.” 

The governor’s office did not respond to questions about the appointment.

She attended the public hearing in Austin Monday, but didn’t get a chance to speak. The comments stretched over eight hours, with passionate arguments on either side.

Compared to a September public hearing on the program, when testimony was overwhelmingly negative, Monday’s statements were more evenly split between opponents and those who say the curriculum will bolster students’ reading skills and teach students the Bible’s important place in Western civilization.

The First Amendment “does not demand strict governmental neutrality towards religion,” Jonathan Covey, director of policy for Texas Values, said during his two minutes to speak to the board. “There is nothing the U.S. Supreme Court has laid down requiring equal time or equal treatment among religious sects.”

His group, which promotes biblical principles in public policy, recruited proponents of the curriculum to sign up to speak. Other supporters, blowing a shofar and shouting “Hallelujah,” turned their demonstration outside the board’s chambers into a worship session. 

But critics called the program a politically motivated curriculum that would leave young children confused about complex matters of faith. Barbara Baruch, a member of the National Council of Jewish Women, San Antonio, urged board members to vote against the program by quoting from their biographies.

“Mr. [Tom]Maynard, you believe in a parent’s right to direct the education of their children. You also work very hard for your denomination. Please don’t let the government direct my children and grandchildren away from their denomination,” she said. “Ms. [Audrey] Young. I know you are married to a pastor. Ask him if he wants the government to teach religion to his congregants, starting at age 5.”

Both Young and Maynard voted to keep Bluebonnet on the list. Maynard, a retired teacher and minister, said he was impressed by what he’s observed in districts that have piloted some of the lessons.

But Evelyn Brooks, a Republican opposed to the program, said there’s not yet enough evidence that the lessons improve reading outcomes.

“We want children to learn how to read and write well and do math without experimenting on them,” she said. “They deserve that.” 

Over the summer, the state made numerous edits based on input from the public, correcting factual errors, adding a few more mentions of other world religions and removing content that some members of the public, especially Jewish parents, found offensive. But a third grade unit on Ancient Rome still includes a lengthy passage on Jesus’ life, ministry and the Resurrection. And lessons on the nation’s founding still emphasize the evangelism of the colonists more than the separation between church and state. 

Other critics Monday said the authors of the curriculum did a poor job of using biblical material to teach both history and language arts. 

“Lessons still make numerous claims that are erroneous, made-up or just plain strange,” Mark Chancey, a religious studies professor at Southern Methodist University, told the board. The state, he said. “contracted with people to write lessons about religion who did not know the material and did not treat it responsibly.”

While the state originally contracted with Amplify, a leading curriculum provider, for its Core Knowledge Language Arts program, it hired a variety of curriculum companies and subject matter experts to further revise the program. Two of them worked for the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation, which advocated for the program’s approval. The think tank also supports a 10 Commandments requirement for Texas classrooms, which failed last year in the legislature, but is a top priority for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick next year.

Brian Phillips, a spokesman for the foundation declined to comment until the final vote later this week. But in a foundation video posted on X, former Gov. Rick Perry said he has high expectations of Bluebonnet. 

“Passing that curriculum will have every bit as positive [an] effect as what we did back in the early 2000s that took Texas from 28th in the nation to 2nd in the nation in high school graduation rates,” he said.

Because the biblical material — from the parable of the Prodigal Son to the Last Supper — is interwoven into larger language arts lessons, some said it might be hard for parents to request alternate lessons when they object to aspects of the curriculum.

“I do not think that many parents are aware of the nuances of these lessons,” said Kristi Giemza, a parent and advocate in the Lubbock district, which piloted the materials in a few schools. She expects the district to adopt it. “Because the state is dangling money in front of desperate districts, my guess is they are going to do what it takes to get funding.”

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