This Texas State Board of Education Voted 8-7 on Friday to approve Optional Bible Lessons in Public Primary Schools. The new curriculum, which could be used as early as next year, has sparked debate Separation of church and state.
The board, with a Republican majority, approved the content despite concerns that it would promote Christianity and exclude other religions. Proponents argued that the Bible was important to American history and could enhance education.
Lessons, funded by the state, will be available for kindergarten through fifth grade. However, schools are not required to use them.
A lesson plan for kindergarten discusses the Golden Rule using examples from the Bible. Another third grade lesson about Thanksgiving has teachers explain how the governor of Plymouth included references to the book of Psalms in his speech.
“This curriculum is not age-appropriate or content-appropriate in the way it presents these Bible stories,” said Amanda Taylor, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty.
According to experts, Texas is the first state to introduce Bible lessons in this way. The legality of the course remains uncertain.
This Texas Education Agency The content was developed following the 2023 legislation passed by the Republican-led Legislature.
The vote comes amid a broader push by Republican-controlled states to include religion in public schools. Louisiana recently saw mandatory legislation The Ten Commandments In classrooms blocked by a federal judge, Oklahoma faces a lawsuit over its efforts to include the Bible in lesson plans.