AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas will allow Bible-based classes in elementary schools under changes set for a final vote Friday, potentially testing the boundaries between religion and public education in the United States. sexual
The proposed curriculum narrowly passed a preliminary vote this week at the Texas State Board of Education, whose elected members have mixed supporters and detractors about the materials schools can begin using next year. I heard sometimes impassioned pleas from both sides for hours.
If adopted, Texas’ new curriculum would follow Republican-led efforts in neighboring states to increase the presence of religion in public schools. In Oklahoma, the state education secretary has ordered a Bible in every classroom, and Louisiana wants the Ten Commandments to be posted in every public school classroom in the state starting next year.
In Texas, schools are free to adopt the materials, but if they do, they will receive additional funding.
If the committee moves forward with the curriculum, Texas would become the first state to introduce Bible lessons in schools in this way, said Matthew Patrick Shaw, an assistant professor of public policy and education at Vanderbilt University. Dew.
Create a lesson that incorporates the Bible
The Texas Education Agency, which oversees public education for more than 5 million students across the state, will be closed in 2023 after a law passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature required the agency to do so. , created its own instructional materials. The lesson plans were released this spring.
The material makes more use of Christian lessons than other religions in the reading and language arts modules proposed for kindergarten through fifth grade, which may alienate students from different faith backgrounds. Critics say it could violate the First Amendment.
“This curriculum is neither age-appropriate nor subject-appropriate in terms of presenting the stories of the Bible,” said Amanda Tyler, executive director of the United Baptist Committee for Religious Freedom.
Children who read this material “just don’t know the difference between what is a claim of faith and what is fact,” she says.
More than 100 people testified at this week’s board meeting, with emotional voices from parents, teachers and supporters. Supporters of the curriculum argued that the Bible is central to American history and that teaching it enriches student learning.
“They say there are actually close to 300 everyday phrases that come from the Bible,” said Mary Castle, director of government relations for the right-wing advocacy group Texas Values. “Therefore, it would be beneficial for students to have a way of understanding and making sense of the many references found in the literature.”
Close early voting
The board has 15 members, 11 Republicans and 4 Democrats. Wednesday’s preliminary vote indicated support for the document, 8-7.
One of the board members is a Republican who was appointed to the board several weeks ago by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to temporarily fill a vacancy. Days after his appointment, a Democratic lawmaker who ran unopposed was elected to the same board seat starting next year.
Abbott publicly endorses this guidance material.
Even if the curriculum were passed, it’s unclear whether the lesson plans would be considered constitutional, Shaw said.
“The question is how is Texas going to frame what’s going on here to either avoid the establishment’s problems or address them head-on,” he said.
bring religion into school
Texas’ plan to incorporate Bible teachings into public school lesson plans is the latest effort by the Republican-controlled state to bring religion into the classroom.
Earlier this month, a federal judge blocked a law in Louisiana that would have placed the Ten Commandments in every public classroom. Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed the bill in June, prompting a lawsuit by parents of different faiths in Louisiana public schools.
In Oklahoma, the state’s top education official is working to incorporate the Bible into lesson plans for children in grades 5 through 12. A group of teachers and parents recently filed a lawsuit to block the Republican state superintendent’s plan and effort to spend $3 million to buy Bibles for public schools.
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Lathan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
