Bible stories would be part of a new Texas public schools reading list
drawing attention
[April 08, 2026]
By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH
Biblical stories like Jonah and the whale would be required reading for
Texas public schools students under proposals that are putting the state
at the center of another contentious wrangling over the role of religion
in classrooms.
Religious leaders, teachers, parents and students spent hours Tuesday
before the state education board arguing about the reading list for the
state’s 5.4 million kindergartners to 12th-graders. The debate is part
of widening efforts in the U.S. to incorporate religion in schools,
mostly in Republican-led states, driving legislation and legal action.
Nationally, President Donald Trump has pledged to protect and expand
religious expression in public schools. And Texas, a red state that is
home to about one in 10 of the nation’s public school students, often
helps set the agenda.
Texas became the first state to allow chaplains, in 2023. And just last
year, a Republican-led mandate that the Ten Commandments be displayed in
public schools took effect in the state, although around two dozen
districts took them down because of a lawsuit.
But while the debate over Texas' reading list could have national
implications, to the speakers the issue boiled down to whether the
passages are essential to understanding the nation's history and morals
— or unconstitutional.
“Our children need truth,” said Nathan Irving, a pastor and father of
eight from Myrtle Springs, Texas. “Truth is the only currency that never
devalues. Investing truth into our children is the most loving thing
that we can do for them. This is the truth. This country and this state
were founded upon a Christian worldview. Like it or not, it is true.”
Final vote on the changes still ahead
A final vote on the list is expected in June, and if approved by the
Texas State Board of Education, the changes would take effect in 2030.
Several speakers cited the “establishment clause” of the First
Amendment, which states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion.”
“This list is a tool of proselytization that has no place in our public
schools,” Rabbi Josh Fixler, of Congregation Emanu El, a reform
synagogue in Houston, told the board. “There is a difference between
teaching about religion and teaching religion, and this list will force
teachers to cross that line.”
Megan Boyden, a mother of three from Denton, Texas, described is as a
direct attack on her private faith.
“As a Christian mother, it is my right and responsibility to teach our
family’s religion,” she said. "It is not the state’s job to shed through
the lens of a teacher who may not share the same beliefs I do. Will
Bible passages be taught in conflict with my beliefs?
“What,” she asked, “of non-Christian students?”
The list stems from a state law passed in 2023, which called for the
creation of a state-approved list of high-quality materials.
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Aasya Peera of Pflugerville holds a sign reading "Don't teach our
children lies!" during a rally on the Capitol Mall outside the
Barbara Jordan State Office Building, where the State Board of
Education meets, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Austin, Texas. (Jay
Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
Third graders would learn about the Road to Damascus, which tells
the story of Paul's transformation from an early persecutor of
Christians into a follower. Seniors, meanwhile, would learn about
the Book of Job, a story about a man whose faith is tested when he
looses everything.
The list also includes classics like Dr. Seuss' “The Cat in the
Hat,” stories about the national folk hero Daniel Boone. And there
are also works by famous African Americans like Frederick Douglass
and Martin Luther King, Jr. and a book about Harriet Tubman of the
Underground Railroad fame.
Texas has already approved optional curriculum that incorporates
the Bible
The GOP-leaning board previously approved a new Bible-infused
curriculum that is optional for schools to incorporate in
kindergarten through fifth grades.
The board also is considering social studies standards that have
been criticized as too state-centric, not focused enough on world
events and rife with an undercurrent of American exceptionalism.
They call for students to “identify the Texas flag as a symbol of
Texas pride,” and recognize the state song “Texas, Our Texas.”
Students also are supposed to be able to understand stories about
Texas Independence.
Curriculum debates crop up occasionally. Over the years, state
boards in places such as Kansas have debated whether the teaching of
evolution should reflect doubt about the well-established scientific
theory — and leave room for arguments that the universe’s complexity
points to an intelligent design.
Allison Cardwell, a mother of a fourth grader and a fifth grade
social studies teacher, urged the board to rethink the standards.
She said fifth grade would be the only time most Texas students
would receive instruction in U.S. history until high school.
“We have to ask ourselves, How can we expect to create citizens who
value liberty, responsibility, and the principles this country was
founded on, if we don’t ensure that they truly understand those
foundations?” she said.
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