Texas leaders advance plan for biblical lessons in public schools

Driving the news: The State Board of Education voted 8-7 to include Bluebonnet Learning in a draft list of approved curricula for Texas school districts to use starting in the 2025-26 school year.

• Bluebonnet's offerings include several lessons from the Christian Bible interspersed in elementary school reading and language arts courses.
• A fifth grade lesson about Juneteenth, for example, has students compare the biblical book of Daniel to Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail."
• Another asks them to contrast biblical figures to the characters and events and in C.S. Lewis' "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."

Catch up quick: In 2023, legislators tasked the Texas Education Agency with vetting and offering a complete curriculum that meets the state's education standards, known as the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

• The curriculum is optional for districts, but the TEA will give districts up to $60 per student if they choose to use it.
• The state previously only offered piecemeal resources for teachers and school districts, leaving a majority to teach with materials that don't conform to TEKS standards.
• Lawmakers were responding to recommendations from Gov. Greg Abbott's Teacher Vacancy Task Force that called for universal access to high-quality instructional materials.

What happened: Several education publishers, including Bluebonnet Learning, submitted course material for consideration earlier this year.

• The State Board of Education is meeting this week in Austin to finalize the list of curricula it will offer.

What they're saying: Parents and education leaders across the state spoke out against including the biblical references in Bluebonnet's courses.

• The Bluebonnet Learning coursework "verges on Christian proselytism insofar as its extensive, lopsided coverage of Christianity and the Bible suggests that this is the only religious tradition of any importance," David R. Brockman, a religious scholar, said on behalf of the Texas AFT, a large teacher union.

• "That is not a message that Texas public schools, which are called to serve a religiously diverse population, have any business conveying."

The other side: Proponents of the curriculum said including Bible passages will enhance cultural literacy and understanding of American values.

• "It has always been understood that religion has a place in American civic society," Jonathan Covey, director of policy at the Judeo-Christian organization Texas Values, told board members Monday.
• In responding to official complaints, Bluebonnet pointed to a 2007 state law requiring schools to offer courses on "religious literature, including the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and New Testament, and its impact on history and literature."

Reality check: The law, which passed with bipartisan support, centered on religious studies as an elective course and not core curriculum.

What's next: The board is slated to cast a final vote approving the curriculum on Friday.