Texas becomes first state to include Bible stories as required reading in schools

 

For the first time, the Texas Board of Education has approved a statewide mandatory reading list that includes Bible stories, affecting about 5.5 million public school students.

After the board’s vote on Friday, roughly 11% of the total U.S. public school population will be required to read at least 200 passages from the Bible as part of their curriculum.

10 of the school board’s 15 members are Republican.

In 2025, Texas also passed a bill requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms. Despite legal pushback, the measure was ultimately upheld by a Fifth Circuit court.

 

Some argue that the new list is unconstitutional, citing the landmark 1962 Supreme Court Case Engel v. Vitale and the general notion of the separation of church and state.

In Engel v. Vitale, the court ruled that mandatory, school-sponsored prayer violated the government’s prohibition of establishing an official state religion outlined in the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.

Meanwhile, the separation of church and state, though derived from the Establishment Clause, does not appear in the U.S. Constitution. Instead, President Thomas Jefferson wrote in a letter that the First Amendment built “a wall of separation between church & state,” though he advocated for the Christian faith throughout his life in public service, even attending worship services at the Capitol building as Vice President and President.

 

However, Texas has legal precedent behind the changes made to its curriculum. The 1963 Supreme Court case of Abington School District v. Schempp allows for teaching biblical or religious texts from a nonreligious standpoint.

“It certainly may be said that the Bible is worthy of study for its literary and historic qualities,” the majority decision reads. “Nothing we have said here indicates that such study of the Bible or of religion, when presented objectively as part of a secular program of education, may not be effected consistently with the First Amendment.”

Kindergarteners will still be reading classics such as “Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti” by Gerald McDermott, “Blueberries for Sal” by Robert McCloskey and “The Cat in the Hat” by Dr. Seuss, and are not required to read Biblical texts, according to the Texas Education Agency (TEA)’s newly approved literary works list.

 

Second-, fourth-, and fifth-graders also do not have required Bible passages. They will still read stories such as “Johnny Appleseed” by Steven Kellogg, “Robinhood and the Golden Arrow” by William J. Bennett and “The Phantom Tollbooth” by Norton Juster.

 

The new reading list features a variety of materials for other grade levels, including, but not limited to:

First Grade

 

• “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” by Beatrix Potter
• The Parable of the Prodigal Son

Third Grade

• “Charlotte’s Web” by E. B. White
• The Road to Damascus

Sixth Grade

• The Gettysburg Address by President Abraham Lincoln
• Matthew 6:25-34 English Standard Version (ESV)

Seventh Grade

• “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L’Engle
• Jonah New International Reader’s Version (NIRV)
• Psalm 23 King James Version (KJV)
• 1 Corinthians 13 ESV

Eighth Grade

• “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” by Frederick Douglass
• Matthew 5:1-12 KJV

Ninth Grade

• “Animal Farm” by George Orwell
• 1 Samuel 17 NIRV

Tenth Grade

• “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley
• Genesis 11:1-9 NIRV

Eleventh Grade

• “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Ecclesiastes 3 KJV

Twelfth Grade

• “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare
• Job chapters 1-7, 11, 14, 19, 18, 38-42

The Texas Board of Education has approved a new required K–12 reading list that includes Bible stories alongside literary classics such as Great Expectations.

Watch OAN on Spectrum and YouTube TV for updates. pic.twitter.com/6gPTCXvlg7

— One America News (@OANN) June 27, 2026