Texas Approves Bible Stories as Required Reading in Schools

The Texas State Board of Education voted 9-5 on Friday to approve a mandatory statewide reading list that includes Bible stories and passages as required reading for more than 5.5 million public school students, marking the first known statewide mandate of its kind in the United States. The decision, which takes effect starting in the 2030-31 school year, represents the most significant step yet in a broader conservative push to increase the presence of Christianity in U.S. public school classrooms.

Context and Background

The vote by the Republican-controlled board followed weeks of contentious public hearings that drew nearly 500 speakers and ran as late as 2 a.m. The reading list stems from a 2023 state law (HB 1605) that required the Texas Education Agency to designate at least one literary work per grade level. The board expanded this mandate to roughly 200 texts, far exceeding the minimum requirement, as AP News reported.

One Republican joined all five Democrats in voting against the measure. The decision makes Texas the first state in the nation to mandate a required reading list that includes religious texts, according to the BBC.

What the Reading List Includes

The required reading list spans kindergarten through 12th grade and includes a mix of religious and secular works. Elementary students will encounter picture-book Bible stories such as “David and Goliath” and “Daniel and the Lion’s Den.” By fourth grade, students will read New Testament passages about Jesus. Middle and high school students will study the Parable of the Prodigal Son, the Book of Job, and the story of Adam and Eve, as detailed by the Texas Tribune.

Secular works on the list include Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations,” Shakespeare’s “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar,” E.B. White’s “Charlotte’s Web,” Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I’ve Been to the Mountain Top” speech, and Margaret Thatcher’s eulogy for Ronald Reagan.

Supporters and Opponents Speak Out

Supporters of the reading list argued that biblical texts are essential to understanding American culture and history. “We are bringing the Bible back into schools this week for the first time in 60 years,” said Brandon Hall, a Republican member of the State Board of Education, as quoted by the BBC.

Mandy Drogin, a senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, told AP News that “these timeless works, including biblical passages, have shaped American culture and history, and have influenced generations of thinkers, leaders, and citizens.”

Critics, however, raised concerns about the separation of church and state and the lack of diversity in the reading list. Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, called the move “part of a broader movement to misuse public schools to impose one narrow set of religious beliefs and indoctrinate a new generation of Americans in the lie that America is a Christian country,” as reported by the Texas Tribune.

Felicia Martin, executive director of the Texas Freedom Network, told the BBC that the list “centers Christianity above all other religious faiths and traditions” and has “a very Western-centric view of the world that omits the contributions and the histories of black, brown, indigenous people.”

Teachers also expressed concerns about the length of the list and the loss of autonomy in their classrooms. A survey of more than 2,600 educators by the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts concluded it would be “mathematically impossible” to read and teach the full list in a typical 36-week school year, according to the Texas Tribune.

Analysis and Implications

The reading list is likely to face legal challenges on First Amendment grounds. Critics, including Americans United for Separation of Church and State, have already signaled legal opposition. While a federal appeals court recently upheld a Texas law requiring classrooms to display the Ten Commandments, mandatory reading of Bible passages presents a different constitutional question under the Establishment Clause.

Texas educates roughly one in 10 of all U.S. public school students, making its education policies influential nationwide. Other Republican-led states may follow Texas’ lead in creating mandatory reading lists with religious content, as The Guardian noted.

The decision also comes alongside a broader overhaul of Texas’ K-8 social studies standards, which critics say minimizes racial, geographic, and cultural diversity while emphasizing a Western-centric view of history.

What to Watch For

The reading list will be phased in over multiple years beginning in the 2030-31 school year. Texas law allows parents to remove a child from any class or activity that conflicts with their religious or moral beliefs, but students could still be tested on the material. Legal challenges are expected to unfold in the coming months, and the outcome could set a precedent for similar efforts in other states.

President Donald Trump celebrated the move at a religious freedom event on Friday, saying “Religion is back in our country, bigger and stronger than it has been in many, many years,” as reported by the BBC.