AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas State Board of Education approved a new statewide reading curriculum that requires public school students to study selected Bible passages beginning in 2030, prompting debate over religious freedom and the separation of church and state.
The Republican-controlled board approved the curriculum in a 9-5 vote, with one Republican joining Democratic members in opposing the measure. The requirements will apply to about 5 million public school students across Texas.
The mandatory reading list includes passages about Adam and Eve, the story of Moses and the burning bush from the Book of Exodus, accounts of Jesus in the New Testament and the Parable of the Prodigal Son.
The curriculum also requires students to read literary works including Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations and William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Other required readings include Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech and a eulogy for former U.S. President Ronald Reagan delivered by former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Republican board member Brandon Hall said the action restores Bible instruction in Texas public schools.
“We are bringing the Bible back into schools this week for the first time in 60 years,” Hall said.
Supporters of the curriculum said students should learn about Judeo-Christian traditions because they influenced the founding of the United States.
Opponents argued the curriculum gives Christianity preferential treatment and limits religious diversity.
Felicia Martin, executive director of the Texas Freedom Network, said the reading list “centres Christianity above all other religious faiths and traditions.”
She also said the curriculum presents a Western-centered view of history that omits the contributions of Black, Brown and Indigenous communities and other religious traditions.
The Texas Classroom Teachers Association also criticized the curriculum. Spokesperson Clare Haefner said teachers raised concerns about the length of the required reading list and the loss of flexibility to choose classroom materials.
The board reduced the number of required readings before the final vote, but the association said the list remains too extensive.
The decision marks the latest effort from Texas conservatives to expand the role of Christianity in public education. Last year, Texas required public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments, and a federal appeals court upheld the law in April after a legal challenge.
President Donald Trump also praised the increased visibility of religion in the United States during a religious freedom event in Washington on Friday.
“Religion is back in our country, bigger and stronger than it has been in many, many years,” Trump said.
