Texas Education Board Signals Support for Adding Biblical Lessons to Public School Curricula

A majority of the Texas State Board of Education is expressing support for a proposed state-wide curriculum that would include lessons from the Bible in reading and language arts classes in kindergarten through fifth grade. Eight of the 15 board members approved the “Bluebonnet Learning” curriculum in a preliminary vote Tuesday. Revisions to the curriculum will be allowed until Wednesday evening, and a final vote will take place on Friday.The proposed curriculum has been debated for months, and members of the education board heard more than 8 hours of testimony from supporters and critics. If approved, the curriculum would not be required for schools to teach. However, the state would offer an incentive of additional funding of $60 per student to use the curriculum. It would be available for schools to use beginning in August 2025. Supporters of the new teaching plan argue it would give students a greater understanding of some of the most famous works of art and historical moments.Governor Abbott said it would “allow our students to better understand the connection of history, art, community, literature, and religion on pivotal events like the signing of the U.S. Constitution, the Civil Rights Movement, and the American Revolution.”The curriculum would teach students in kindergarten the story of the Good Samaritan to teach the Golden Rule. One of the Republicans on the education board, Will Hickman, said, “In my view, these stories are on the education side and are establishing cultural literacy.”“And there’s religious concepts like the Good Samaritan and the Golden Rule and Moses that all students should be exposed to,” Mr. Hickman added. For fifth graders, lessons on Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” would include passages from the Gospel of Matthew about the meal Jesus shared with his disciples.Opponents of the curriculum say it focuses too much on lessons from the Bible at the exclusion of other religions and could violate the Constitution’s Establishment Clause, which prevents the government from creating laws to promote one religion over another.The Texas Education Agency, which designed the curriculum, defended the inclusion of biblical lessons, telling NBC 5, “Religious source material comprises just a small part of the product and includes information from multiple faith traditions.”Texas is one of several conservative states trying to add biblical content to classrooms. The Oklahoma State Department of Education ordered more than 500 Bibles for use in public high schools. Specifically, the department ordered the God Bless the USA Bible, which was promoted by President-elect Trump earlier this year. That version includes the Pledge of Allegiance, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution. The Bibles will reportedly be used in Advance Placement Government classes throughout Oklahoma. The state superintendent, Ryan Walters, said in a statement about the purchase, “We are focused on ensuring we get Bibles available in every classroom in our state as quickly as we can.”“By acting now, Oklahoma is leading the country on a path toward greater focus on academic excellence by providing critical historical, cultural, and literary context for our students. We are not going to change our history, and the Bible is a major part of that,” he added.Earlier this year, Louisiana passed a law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public classrooms. However, a federal judge, John W. deGravelles, said the law has an “overtly religious” purpose and was “unconstitutional on its face” and blocked the state from enforcing it. Louisiana’s attorney general, Elizabeth Murrill, said she will appeal the decision to the Fifth Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals.

Texas Education Board Signals Support for Adding Biblical Lessons to Public School Curricula

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