Texas school board approves new course material that includes Bible passages

Amna Nawaz:

The Texas State Board of Education took a key vote today on adopting a new statewide curriculum that would incorporate biblical teachings into the state's public schools.

William Brangham has more.

William Brangham:

Amna, in an 8-7 vote, Texas School Board officials approved these new course materials.

Called Bluebonnet Learning, parts of these materials include religious lessons that critics say undermine religious freedom and could isolate non-Christian students. Lesson plans as early as kindergarten highlight Christian religious teachings like Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.

This new curriculum in Texas follows Republican-led efforts in other neighboring states to similarly give Christianity a stronger presence in public schools.

Following this all closely is Jaden Edison. He's the education reporter for The Texas Tribune. Jaden Edison, so good to have you on the program.

So, this measure passes today. When could this curriculum get rolled out and do schools have to adopt it?

Jaden Edison, K-12 Education Reporter, The Texas Tribune:

Yes, so in our conversation with education officials earlier this year, it was made clear that if approved by the state Board of Education, which is what happened today, then the materials will become available as early as spring 2025, right, which is early next year.

And then from there, obviously, school districts will then order of the materials, and they will be available for usage as soon as the '25-'26 school year. And so to the question of whether or not they're required, it is optional, right? But if school districts adopt those materials, they will receive up to a $60-per student incentive to purchase the textbooks and then also go on to print those materials.

The reason why that's obviously relevant and important to note is because Texas school districts really have gone about a half-a-decade, right, with no significant boost in state funding.

William Brangham:

Help us understand what the rationale is. For the proponents of this, why do they argue that infusing education with more Christian teachings is helpful in a multicultural, multireligious state and nation?

Jaden Edison:

Right.

Well, I think you have seen a lot of arguments that students need to learn more about the nation's founding, right? And they frame it around this argument that obviously the Bible played an integral role in the founding of the country, right?

So I think that's one part of it. But, obviously, it's important to understand the kind of political dynamics, right, where you have had state officials who have criticized how school districts teach about America's history of racism and gender and its diversity.

And so, in many ways, too, when you look at the larger kind of ideological conversation being had, there are many people who believe this is also an attempt to kind of infuse more Christianity in the schools, right, but also to accomplish what many people say is a problem, which is the fact that the Bible and Christianity is not present enough in schools.

William Brangham:

And the critics of this, of which there are many, and your reporting has detailed their concerns, help us understand, what are they upset about?

Jaden Edison:

Yes, so I think it's two-pronged right? I think on one level there is concern that by emphasizing, placing a heavy emphasis on Christianity, right, this could lead to the isolation and bullying of children who are not Christian, right, who subscribe to other faiths or no faith at all.

And so I think that's one part of it. But then there was also a legal kind of concern, right, with the Constitution obviously prohibiting the government from endorsing a particular state religion. Well, obviously, there are religious scholars and public education advocates here in Texas who believe that this particular curriculum crosses the line, right?

And so I think it's two-pronged. And I also want to make clear, right, people are not saying, from what I hear, right, that religion shouldn't be taught. But I think they're trying to draw a line between teaching and preaching, right?

And I think many people feel that this is doing the latter.

William Brangham:

If I'm a parent in Texas and my school district chooses to implement these, do I have any say? Like, are those going to come to my child in school no matter what or can I opt out? What are the options there?

Jaden Edison:

Obviously, these materials are going to be optional, as we just noted here before.

And so, really, what it's going to come down to is local school board politics, right? It's like the decision is going to be up to school districts. And I think, obviously, we know here in Texas and across the country that parents who want to have a say in their child's education. And so you have to imagine that if it gets to that point where a school district is seriously adopting or seriously considering adopting these materials, then parents certainly will have something to say about it.

William Brangham:

How does this fit into this larger trend? Texas is not alone in this. We have seen several efforts in other states to inject Christianity more overtly into public schools.

How does this fit into that larger trend going on?

Jaden Edison:

There's almost a national kind of playbook right now. I mean, we have heard Louisiana's governor say, I can't wait to be sued as it relates to laws that would obviously implement the Ten Commandments on posters in classrooms.

That's something obviously that's been considered here in Texas. But I think part of what legal scholars have warned is that, given that you have a Supreme Court of the United States that has been more friendly to some of these arguments about religion and have kind of eroded decades of precedent, things like implementing this curriculum obviously can prove to be testing grounds on where the Establishment Clause stands, right, where the separation of church and state precedent, where that goes from here.

William Brangham:

All right, Jaden Edison, education reporter at The Texas Tribune, thank you so much for helping us get through all this.

Jaden Edison:

Yes, I really appreciate you. Thanks so much.