Why It Matters
A decision by the Texas State Board of Education will reshape what more than 5 million public school students read in English and literature classes, blending Bible passages and faith-based stories with classic American texts. The move sets a precedent that could influence how other states approach literary curriculum — and reignites a national debate over the role of religious content in public education.
What Happened
At a Friday board meeting, the Texas State Board of Education approved a new required reading list for K-12 English and literature courses that incorporates Bible verses and biblical narratives alongside works like Charlotte’s Web, the Gettysburg Address, and poems by Robert Frost and Langston Hughes. Each title on the list must be read in its entirety.
The decision goes further than a 2023 Texas law that required at least one state board-approved literary work per grade level. Texas may now be the first state in the country to prescribe a full literary canon for every public school student.
At the same meeting, the board approved a sweeping rewrite of the state’s social studies curriculum. That revision places greater emphasis on Texas and U.S. history, significantly expands instruction on communism, and eliminates the sixth-grade “World Cultures” course, which had focused on global history and civilizations.
What Students Will Read
Younger students in the third grade will encounter ROAR! — Daniel and the Lion’s Den alongside Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web. Elementary school students will also read a picture-book adaptation of the story of David and Goliath.
Sixth-grade students will study “The Shepherd’s Psalm” from the Book of Psalms, paired with religious writings by George Washington and poetry by Langston Hughes and Robert Frost. Older students will read passages about Adam and Eve. Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is also included among the required historic American texts.
By the Numbers
- 5 million+ — Texas public school students affected by the curriculum change
- 2030-2031 — school year when the new requirements begin taking effect
- 2023 — year Texas first required at least one board-approved literary work per grade level
- 1 — Republican board member, Evelyn Brooks, who voted against the new required texts
- 2023 — year Texas became the first state to allow chaplains to counsel students in public schools
What Board Members Said
Brandon Hall, who held a news conference on Thursday ahead of the vote, argued the changes represent a restoration of honest American history education. “We’re going to stop watering down American history,” Hall said. “We’re going to teach the truth. Our nation was founded as a Christian nation, and Texas is a Christian state.”
The lone Republican dissenter, board member Evelyn Brooks, raised concerns about stripping teachers of their professional judgment in selecting classroom materials. “Teachers need to have their autonomy,” Brooks said. “They’ve been selecting books for decades, for years.”
Zoom Out
Texas has been a national leader in integrating faith into public school settings. The state was the first to allow chaplains to counsel students in 2023, and the following year approved additional funding for schools that teach an optional Bible-infused elementary curriculum. Last year, Texas also became the largest state to require the display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
Texas state education code already requires K-12 schools to teach religious literature — including both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament — and its influence on history and literature. The new required reading lists formalize and expand that framework into a grade-by-grade mandate.
States across the Mountain West and the South have watched Texas’s education moves closely. School funding reforms in other states, like Wyoming’s recent school funding overhaul, also reflect growing debate over how public education dollars are directed and what priorities shape curricula.
What’s Next
The new English and literature requirements and the revised social studies curriculum are both slated to take effect beginning with the 2030-2031 school year, giving districts several years to prepare new materials and train teachers. Legal challenges from civil liberties groups are widely anticipated, given the prominence of biblical content in what will be mandatory — not optional — reading for every public school student in the state.
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