As expected, Texas has approved a new elementary school curriculum Friday that’s heavy on Jesus and light on uncomfortable parts of history — like slavery.
The proposal will bring the Bible-infused content to classrooms starting next year, making Texas the first state to implement such a program in this manner.
Eight out of the 15 Texas State Board of Education members voted in favor of approving Bluebonnet Learning, the elementary school curriculum proposed by the Texas Education Agency earlier this year.
“Had it not been for the Christian bias in this content, I do really find value in how a lot of these lessons were laid out. So it’s unfortunate,” Marisa Pérez-Díaz, a state board member who voted against Bluebonnet, told The Dallas Morning News.
The materials, created in response to a law passed by the GOP-controlled state legislature in 2023, aim to integrate Bible stories into reading and language arts lessons for kindergarten through fifth grade. While the curriculum is optional for schools, those who adopt it will receive additional funding ($60 per student).
The new curriculum introduces kindergartners to the “Golden Rule,” with a strong emphasis on Jesus. First-graders will learn about the architectural achievements of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, though the troubling history of slavery at the plantation is left out. By fifth grade, students will study Leonardo da Vinci’s painting The Last Supper, accompanied by excerpts from the Gospel of Matthew.
The curriculum also seriously simplifies major historical complexities. Figures like Jefferson and George Washington are portrayed as courageous leaders who fought for freedom, while their ownership of enslaved people is omitted from the narrative.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has publicly supported the new curriculum, and the board’s decision has been seen as a victory for those pushing to expand religious influence in public education. However, experts have raised concerns about the potential constitutional implications of the decision, particularly regarding the establishment clause of the First Amendment.
Proponents of the Bible-based curriculum also argue that it will help students gain a deeper understanding of literature and enhance their academic development. Supporters point to the long history of biblical influence on Western culture and suggest that the Bible’s moral teachings can provide a useful framework for character education.
“The Bible has had a colossal impact on the Western world in art, history and literature that cannot be ignored,” Mary Elizabeth Castle, with the conservative Texas Values organization, told The Dallas Morning News.
However, the proposal has faced significant opposition, particularly from those who argue that it violates the principle of separation of church and state. Critics contend that the curriculum, which is heavily centered on Christianity, could alienate students from diverse religious backgrounds and infringe on their constitutional rights. “This curriculum is not age-appropriate or subject matter appropriate in the way that it presents these Bible stories,” Amanda Tyler, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, told the Associated Press.
In a press release, outgoing Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said that, “In a state as diverse as Texas, home to millions of people from countless faiths and beliefs, the Texas Republicans on the State Board of Education voted to incorporate Biblical teachings into the state curriculum — completely undermining religious freedom.
He added: “The teaching of religious doctrine should stay in our places of worship where it belongs.”