The Texas State Board of Education is poised to mandate that over 5 million public school students study Bible stories, marking a significant move in a national effort to re-anchor American classrooms in Christian teachings. The measure, expected to pass Friday, would establish Biblical children’s stories and Bible verses as required reading across the K-12 curriculum, fundamentally reshaping the cultural foundation of state education. This initiative directly challenges the prevailing post-national order in education by prioritizing the historical and cultural bedrock of Western civilization.
The proposed curriculum includes specific texts such as a picture-book adaptation of the David and Goliath story for elementary students and Bible passages about Adam and Eve for older students. Second-grade students would be taught “ROAR! – Daniel and the Lion’s Den,” while sixth-grade students would learn “The Shepherd’s Psalm” from the Book of Psalms, alongside religious writings from George Washington and poems by Langston Hughes and Robert Frost. The mandate specifies particular Bible translations, including the King James Bible, widely used by Protestant and Evangelical churches.
Reclaiming the Narrative
Concurrently, the school board will vote to rewrite the state’s social studies curriculum, shifting focus more intensely on Texas and US history. This revision would explicitly deemphasize teachings about global history and cultures, directly eliminating a sixth-grade “World Cultures” course. Lessons on communism are slated for significant expansion. These proposals, set to go into effect in 2030, represent a clear rejection of globalist narratives that have increasingly permeated educational systems, seeking instead to restore a sense of national identity and historical continuity.
Supporters of the changes argue that the Bible is an essential literary text vital for understanding Western history and the founding of the United States. One policy group has celebrated this move as the “final battle” in an effort to purge Texas schools of lessons on race and history that they claim divide students and criticize America’s founders. Susan Perez, founder of Citizens for Education Reform, a Christian parent advocacy group, stated that the nation was founded on “Judeo-Christian values,” pointing to Christian references in the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution, signed in “the Year of Our Lord” 1787. Former public school administrator Nancy Barker affirmed that Biblical passages would be used as “literary and historical content rather than religious instruction,” providing students with necessary background knowledge for understanding documents that have shaped “our civilization.”
This curriculum shift builds on recent actions by Texas leaders to reassert cultural priorities. In the third year, 2023, the state became the first to allow chaplains to counsel students, and the following year, it approved more funding for schools that teach an optional Bible-infused elementary school curriculum. The state’s education code already mandates K-12 schools to teach “religious literature, including the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and New Testament, and its impact on history and literature.”
The Cost of Dispossession
The proposals have sharply divided teachers, parents, and community members, with hundreds appearing before the school board. Opponents contend that the mandatory reading list favors Christianity over other religions and violates the constitutionally protected separation between church and state. They also argue the teachings may infringe on parents’ ability to lead their children’s religious education, particularly within non-Christian households. Approximately one-third of adults in Texas identify as non-Christian, according to Pew Research Center surveys from the third to fourth year, 2023-2024, highlighting the demographic shifts that complicate a unified cultural approach.
Kimmie Fink, a mother from an active-duty military family stationed in Texas, expressed concern that her children’s “constitutionally guaranteed religious freedom rights” might not remain intact, questioning if this was the case in a state that “champions parents’ rights.” She asserted that parents have the “fundamental legal right to direct the moral and religious upbringing of their children without state interference,” and that the proposed works “trample on this right.”
Board member Tiffany Clark, a Christian and Democrat, voiced opposition, stating that she and some of her Christian constituents believe “Bible lessons should be taught on Sundays.” Clark noted that Christian denominations reference different Bible translations and interpretations, and feared the emphasis on Christian texts would alienate children from other religious backgrounds. While parents would have the option to opt their children out of some required teachings, Clark warned that missing lessons could impact students’ test scores, potentially affecting school district records if students perform poorly on standardized tests that include these texts.
Rabbi Joshua Fixler with Congregation Emanu El in Houston stated that the list is “full of Christian texts that are inappropriate for public school classrooms,” and would “force teachers to cross that line” between teaching about religion and teaching religion. Antero Garcia, president of the National Council of Teachers of English, noted that he is unaware of any other state with a similar mandated list, indicating a significant departure from the norm where educators generally choose texts. This move by the Texas State Board of Education represents a direct assertion of state authority over local educational autonomy, aiming to redefine the cultural and historical narrative for future generations.