Texas Board Debates Bible in School Reading Lists

The Texas State Board of Education began a series of meetings in Austin on Tuesday to consider proposals for new required reading lists in English and social studies curricula, including passages from the Bible for middle and high school students, amid concerns over the separation of church and state. The changes, which would affect the state's 5.4 million public school students, also aim to emphasize U.S. and Texas history while reducing focus on world history and global cultures. Preliminary votes are expected later this week, with final approval slated for June and implementation not until the 2030-31 school year.

The proposed reading list, drafted by the Texas Education Agency, comprises more than 200 texts spanning kindergarten through eighth grade, featuring classics such as "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" for young learners, "A Wrinkle in Time" for seventh graders, and Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech for eighth graders. For older students, it incorporates specific Bible stories and passages, including Jonah and the Whale, David and Goliath, the Tower of Babel, the Road to Damascus, the Book of Job, and selections from Psalms, Lamentations, and 1...