Texas Approves Required Reading List Including Bible Stories

The state education board in Texas approved a required reading list for K-12 students on Friday that includes several Bible passages — part of a wider state push from the right to include Christian teachings in the classroom.

The Republican-controlled Texas Board of Education approved the list, which ranges from works like “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens and excerpts from the New Testament. Rollout of the new programming will be staggered, starting with elementary schools in 2030.

Biblical content has been included in Texas public school classrooms in the past: Last year, the state required all classrooms to display the Ten Commandments — the largest state to do so, with more than 5 million public school students. The law was challenged and upheld in federal court.

Now, the Bible will be even more ingrained into Texas education, as students read excerpts ranging from Adam and Eve to David and Goliath, according to a proposed list in the board’s June agenda.

Critics of the board’s decision have said it goes against the separation of church and state and lacks diversity. Supporters say teaching the Bible is a fundamental part of education, as Judeo-Christian traditions were a large part of the nation’s founding.

“Students win when Republicans stand with Texans,” board Chair Aaron Kinsey recently posted. “The next generation deserves history standards that teach the truth about Texas, America’s founding ideals, and the civilization that made our freedoms possible.”

Also on Friday, Dan Patrick, chair of President Donald Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission, presented the group’s draft report and recommendations in the Oval Office. The Texas lieutenant governor highlighted what he contended was misuse of the phrase “separation of church and state” in his remarks to the president.

“Separation of church and state is not in the Constitution,” Patrick said, adding that if challenged, public officials would not be able to prove it is. “From this day forward, that phrase should have no power over people of all faiths ever again in America.”