Texas To Include The Bible As Part Of K-12 Required Reading

The Texas Board of Education approved a new reading list June 26 that will require public school students in the state to read excerpts from the Bible. The list passed the Republican-run board in a 9-5 vote and will officially go into effect in 2030, starting with elementary school students.

The required Biblical readings include stories about Moses from the book of Exodus, the parable of the prodigal son from the book of Luke, and excerpts from the Adam and Eve story in the book of Genesis, as well as others, according to a proposed list. This list also emphasizes other classic and historical texts, like The Inferno by Dante Alighieri, Hamlet by William Shakespeare, and the Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln. The state has created a literary canon that will be universal across public schools, although teachers can choose to add additional readings to “supplement the list,” according to the Houston Chronicle.

Proponents of the new requirements argue that the Bible is integral to understanding Western civilization and American history. Along with the reading list, the board also adopted social studies standards emphasizing American and Texas history. Mary Elizabeth Castle, director of government relations at Texas Values, told The Federalist ahead of Friday’s vote that the board’s work last week “determines what heroes, lessons, and principles live in Texas classrooms for the next decade or longer.”

“Texas Values has successfully advocated for the [state board of education] to resist removing references to our nation’s Christian founding and principles of religious freedom,” Castle told The Federalist. “The current draft of the standards effectively tell the good and the bad about national and international historical events. However, the standards do so in a way that leads students to appreciate our country and not profane it.”

Meanwhile, critics and corporate media outlets slammed the required reading list, saying it violates religious liberties or prioritizes Christianity. Ahead of the vote last week, a group of “faith leaders from several religions” and others held a “a funeral mourning the loss of religious freedom in public schools” outside the Texas Board of Education, according to the left-leaning Texas Freedom Network.

A federal court recently upheld a Texas law that leftists also claimed was a violation of religious liberty. Texas passed a law mandating that the Ten Commandments be displayed in public school classrooms, not long after Louisiana passed a similar law in 2024. An appeals court ruled this year that the Texas government can legally enforce the law, because it does not contradict the constitutional prohibition against establishing a state religion.

The decisions by the Texas education board also come as the classical education model is on the rise, especially in states like Texas. This model, which emphasizes history and the liberal arts, started gaining attention in the United States as parents noticed the leftist ideological currents in public education. An analysis by Arcadia Education indicated that, if the growth rate of classical education continues, around 1.4 million Pre-K-12 students will be enrolled in classical schools by 2035.

It’s not just private schools embracing the classical model in recent years. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis overhauled New College of Florida’s Board of Trustees in 2023 to establish a conservative majority. DeSantis hoped “to transform the school” around a classical education model, as The Federalist previously reported. Last year, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also praised an investment in the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Civic Leadership, which he said would “restore” classical civics education at the university.

Abbott, who expressed support for the board’s review of the social studies standards, has previously supported legislation allowing schools to provide a time for prayer and Bible-reading for students and staff. The governor signed Senate Bill 11, which allowed schools to choose whether or not to include a prayer period in their schedules.

Skye Graham is an intern at The Federalist. She is a senior History major at Hillsdale College and serves as the assistant features editor for the Hillsdale Collegian.