Texas’ new reading list requirements for public school students will include Bible stories.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette recently reported the Texas State Board of Education voted on June 26 to adopt a mandatory reading list for more than 5 million public school students. The list includes biblical stories like David and Goliath and Daniel and the Lion’s Den alongside literary classics likes Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations. The new curriculum takes effect in 2030.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that students are free to read the Bible at school, and schools may teach the Bible academically. In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1980 Stone v. Graham decision went so far as to say, “the Bible may constitutionally be used in an appropriate study of history, civilization, ethics, comparative religion, or the like.”
The Arkansas Legislature has enacted laws that let public schools offer elective, academic courses on the Bible. As part of these courses, students must demonstrate “an understanding of narratives, poetry, and epistles contained in the Bible and how these biblical genres have influenced literature, art, and music.” Data from the Arkansas Department of Education shows at least 141 public school students enrolled in elective, academic courses on the Bible at 13 schools in Arkansas this year.
Family Council fully supports letting public school students take academic courses on the Bible. After all, the Bible is widely regarded as the bestselling book of all time. No other single book has been more influential over our civilization.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
