Texas Board Adopts Statewide Reading List With Bible Excerpts

Texas education officials approved a required reading list Friday that includes Bible excerpts for most grade levels. The list covers roughly 200 texts and will apply to more than 5 million public school students. The state board, which holds a 10-to-5 Republican majority, adopted the list under a 2023 law directing officials to select at least one literary work per grade.

The final version was edited until the afternoon vote and will be phased in over coming years.

” Middle- and high-school requirements feature two main books each year plus poems, speeches, and biblical passages. Tenth graders must read “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare and “The Inferno” by Dante Alighieri. Twelfth graders must read “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen alongside an excerpt from First Corinthians.

education officials said the Bible is essential literature for understanding American founding documents and culture. Rachel Laser, president of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said the government should not impose one religion on everyone.

Markesha Tisby, president of the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts, questioned whether teachers would have time to add texts suited to local classrooms. Jonna Perrillo, an English professor at the University of Texas at El Paso, noted the list contains few Texas or contemporary authors.