Texas education board votes to make Bible passages required reading
The Texas State Board of Education has voted to make Bible passages required reading in public schools.
The education board, which is controlled by Republicans, voted to pass a new required reading list on Friday by a vote of 9-5-1. The list for required literature includes sections of the Book of Exodus for fifth graders, The Shepherd's Psalm for seventh graders and more.
Board discussions about the required reading list took place Friday morning and touched on issues related to the implementation timeline and the question of teacher autonomy in deciding which works should be required reading.
Authors appearing on the approved required reading list include E.B. White, Shel Silverstein, Aesop, Kurt Vonnegut, Elie Wiesel and more.
The list will impact the more than 5 million students enrolled in public schools across the state.
Julie Pickren, a Republican member of the Texas education board, told The Texas Tribune last week, prior to the list's passage, that the readings are intended to give students "important insight into the moral and philosophical traditions that have shaped Western civilization."
"When students engage directly with original writings, speeches, sermons, and foundational texts, they can evaluate ideas and develop a deeper understanding of the principles that have shaped the USA and Texas," she told the outlet.
Texas education board member Evelyn Brooks was outspoken during the hearing in opposition to the list, saying it removed teacher autonomy and arguing that it was "unconstitutional."
"Teachers need to have their autonomy. They've been selecting books for decades, for years. This is nothing new. This is not a new concept to teachers," she said. "We are simply giving them a mandated list, which I believe is unconstitutional, but regardless of what I believe, let's not take their autonomy away."
Antero Garcia, a professor in the graduate school of education at Stanford University and a former high school English teacher, told ABC News he believes the new curriculum is a significant shift in how children in Texas are educated.
"It is a substantive reshaping of ... what kids are supposed to learn throughout the state of Texas over their 13 years of compulsory public education," Garcia said.
Garcia, who said the required reading list represents what he believes is a first-of-its-kind action at the state level, said the move could be emulated by similarly minded states moving forward.
"Oftentimes, where Texas goes, other states will follow, right? So, this is a pretty substantial move that I could imagine other states picking up and moving forward with as a possibility," he said.
Garcia recognized that the Bible "has been taught as a work of literature across non-religious and secular contexts" and is "an important formative work of literature, whether or not we want to think of it as doctrine or gospel."
"There is literary value in reading the Bible, and I don't want to diminish that kind of obvious point," he said.
However, he noted that no other religious texts are included on the list aside from the Bible, adding that over many years, that exposure could potentially steer kids toward Christianity.
"You are going to get substantial exposure to a singular text across your public schooling experience in ways where you aren't going to get an other kind of religious text anywhere else in that mandated list," he said. "I could imagine this orienting young people towards particular kinds of dispositions that are rooted in in Christianity as a result."
ABC News has reached out to the Texas State Board of Education for comment.
