The Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) approved an optional Bible-centered curriculum for elementary schools on Friday. The curriculum passed with an 8-7 Republican majority.
The board approved the Bluebonnet Learning material, which provides a curriculum for teaching mathematics for students in kindergarten through eighth grade and teaching language arts for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The Biblical material is found in the language arts teaching material.
Director of government relations for the group Texas Values, Mary Elizabeth Castle, stated in support of the decision:
I am pleased with the SBOE’s decision today to respect students’ First Amendment rights to learn Bible references that will deepen their understanding of history and literature in the Western world. These materials were attacked for no other reason but to completely erase any mention of religion or the Bible from the classroom, which would create a hostile environment for free speech.
The Texas chapter of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), however, condemned the board’s approval, calling the material “inappropriate.” Texas AFT president Zeph Capo stated:
It is the latest evidence that Christian nationalists have bought their way into every governing body of the state, including the SBOE. And they will not stop with inserting Biblical content in English textbooks. We can anticipate what will come next, whether that’s the erasure of contributions of marginalized populations in social studies or the minimalization of climate change in science.
The approval of the curriculum followed Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s signing of House Bill (HB) 1605 into law. The law provides that while school districts are not required to use state-approved educational material, school districts that do use the material are entitled to additional state funding.
Texas is participating in the wider trend of incorporating more Christian-focused educational materials in public schools, along with their neighboring states Louisiana and Oklahoma. Earlier this month, a US judge temporarily blocked a Louisiana law that would require all public schools to display the Ten Commandments in their classrooms. A federal appeals court then temporarily lifted that blocking, ensuring that the lower court’s order only applies to the schools of the school board defendants. In October, a coalition of parents, teachers, faith leaders, and civil rights advocacy groups filed a lawsuit in the Oklahoma Supreme Court against Oklahoma state officials to block a Bible curriculum mandate.