Bible Passages Will Soon Be Required Reading for Millions of Texas Students
A new Texas State Board of Education directive will require more than 5 million students in the Lone Star state to read portions of the Bible and other classic pieces of literature in K-12 English and literature classes.
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The new directive is the state’s latest attempt to bring Christian ideals into the public school classroom, following a push last year to require classrooms to display the Ten Commandments. That policy was challenged in federal court, but was ultimately upheld.
The new reading lists, implemented by the GOP-controlled state board of education, will officially go into effect beginning in the 2030-2031 school year.
Titles added to the reading lists include: Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations, parables from the New Testament, as well as The Inferno by Dante Alighieri. Other required reading includes great speeches from throughout American history, works by William Shakespeare, and Animal Farm by George Orwell, according to the Texas State Board of Education .
The required reading must be completed “in its entirety,” according to the proposal. This new mandate is extending a 2023 Texas state law requiring at least one state education board-approved piece of literature be taught, per grade level.
Beginning in elementary school, students will be required to read picture books depicting the story of David and Goliath. The Bible teachings continue through the high school level, with students reading portions of the Book of Job and the story of Adam and Eve.
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Critics of the mandate argue no other religions are represented in the new required reading lists.
“I do think that it’s disturbing that there are no texts from other religious traditions that are included,” Frank Strong, a teacher and co-founder of the student advocacy group Texas Freedom to Read, told the Associated Press.
Supporters, however, cite the Christian tradition’s connection to the American founding.
“We need to focus on what our nation was founded on and not apologize for that,” Susan Perez, founder of Citizens for Education Reform, said during her testimony to the education board this week. “It is the truth and we should not be afraid.”
