Texas Board to Vote on Required Bible Stories for Public Schools

The Republican-controlled Texas State Board of Education is scheduled to vote Friday on a plan that would require Bible stories for more than 5 million public school students. The list would begin with picture-book stories for elementary students, including accounts of David and Goliath and Daniel and the Lion’s Den. By fourth grade, students would read passages about Jesus in the New Testament.

One proposed picture book about Noah’s Ark was removed from the first-grade list this week after a board member objected to its single page of text and descriptions of animals killed in the flood. By middle school, students would read several passages about Jesus, including selections from his most famous sermon and instructions to set aside earthly anxiety.

Another reading would link the Book of Lamentations and the destruction of Jerusalem with accounts of the Holocaust. In high school, students would read the parable of the prodigal son, portions of the Book of Job, and the story of Adam and Eve.

Last year Texas became the largest state to require every classroom to display the Ten Commandments, a measure upheld by a federal appeals court. The new reading list would take effect in 2030 if approved. Critics argue that the proposal violates the constitutional separation of church and state, lacks diversity, and favors Christianity over other religions.

Supporters say Judeo-Christian traditions were fundamental to the nation’s founding and should be reflected in the curriculum. >"We need to focus on what our nation was founded on and not apologize for that. " — Susan Perez, founder of Citizens for Education Reform, during testimony this week.

Texas has about 5.5 million public school students from kindergarten through high school. In 2023 the state became the first to allow the hiring of chaplains to counsel students, and the following year the board approved an optional Bible-infused curriculum for elementary schools.