Texas would allow Bible lessons in elementary schools under changes set for a final vote Friday and could test the boundaries between religion and public education in the U.S.

The proposed curriculum barely passed a preliminary vote this week at the Texas State Board of Education, whose elected members heard hours of sometimes impassioned pleas from supporters and critics alike over the material that schools can begin using next year.

If adopted, the new Texas curriculum would follow Republican-led efforts in neighboring states to give religion a greater presence in public schools. In Oklahoma, the state superintendent of education has ordered a copy of the Bible in every classroom, while Louisiana wants all of the state’s public school classrooms to publish the Ten Commandments starting next year.

RELATED STORY | Federal judge blocks Louisiana law requiring classrooms to display Ten Commandments

In Texas, it would be optional for schools to adopt the materials, but they would receive additional funding if they do.

If the board moves the curriculum forward, Texas would be the first state to introduce Bible lessons in schools in this way, according to Matthew Patrick Shaw, assistant professor of public policy and education at Vanderbilt University.

Create Bible-infused lessons

The Texas Education Agency, which oversees public education for more than 5 million students statewide, created its own instructional materials after a law passed in 2023 by the GOP-controlled Legislature required the agency to do so. The lesson plans were released publicly this spring.

The material draws on teachings from Christianity more than any other religion in the proposed literacy and language arts modules for kindergarten through fifth grade, which critics say would alienate students from diverse faith backgrounds and potentially violate the First Amendment.

“This curriculum is not age-appropriate or subject-appropriate in the way it presents these Bible stories,” said Amanda Tyler, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty.

Children who would read the material, she said, “are simply too young to see the difference between what is a claim of faith and what is a matter of fact.”

More than 100 people testified at a board meeting this week that drew emotion from parents, teachers and advocates. Supporters of the curriculum argued that the Bible is a central part of American history and that teaching it will enrich student learning.

“It’s said that there are close to 300 common phrases that actually come from the Bible,” said Mary Castle, director of government relations for Texas Values, a right-leaning advocacy group. “So students will benefit from being able to understand many of these references that are in the literature and have a way of being able to understand them.”

A scarce premature vote

The 15-member board consists of eleven Republicans and four Democrats. It signaled support for the material in an 8-7 preliminary vote on Wednesday.

One of the board members is a Republican who was appointed to the board just weeks ago by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to temporarily fill a vacancy. Days after that appointment, a Democrat who ran unopposed was elected to fill the same board seat starting next year.

Abbott has publicly endorsed the instructional materials.

Whether the lesson plans will be considered constitutional is up in the air if the curriculum passes, Shaw said.

“The question is how Texas is going to frame what’s being done here to avoid the establishment issue or deal with it head on,” he said.

Bringing religion into schools

Texas plans to implement biblical teachings in public school classrooms are the latest effort by Republican-controlled states to bring religion into the classroom.

In Louisiana, a law to place the Ten Commandments in all public classrooms was blocked by a federal judge earlier this month. Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed the bill into law in June, prompting a group of Louisiana public school parents of various faiths to sue.

In Oklahoma, the state’s top education official has tried to incorporate the Bible into lesson plans for children in grades five through twelve. A group of teachers and parents recently filed a lawsuit to stop the Republican state superintendent’s plan and his efforts to spend $3 million to buy Bibles for public schools.