Texas state school board approves mandated reading list including Bible passages

The Republican-dominated board approves the reading lists for over 5 million public schools beginning in 2030

A celebration of educational excellence medal to be awarded to a student lays on the desk of Marisa B Perez-Diaz, the District 3 Texas State Board of Education member, at the start of a school board meeting to vote on various proposals, among them a new social studies curriculum and required reading lists to include Christian stories across the state’s public K-12 schools, in Austin, Texas, US, Jun 26, 2026. REUTERS/Joel Angel Juarez

The Texas Board of Education on Friday approved mandated reading lists for public school children that include passages from the Bible - the latest effort by leaders there to infuse the education system with conservative and religious ideals.

The Republican-dominated board, in a 9-5 vote with one member absent and not voting, approved the reading lists for over 5 million public school students beginning in 2030.

Texas had already mandated that the Bible's Ten Commandments be displayed in all public schools, a decision that was upheld by a federal appeals court earlier this year, following on the heels of other Republican-led states seeking to infuse public education with Christian teachings.

Critics say these decisions are at odds with the Constitution's "establishment clause," long understood by courts as separating church and state. Supporters say the measures restore basic Judeo-Christian teachings to school systems, which many have said are historically significant.

The required reading list is wide-ranging and includes mostly non-Biblical and classical texts, such as Aesop's fables, tales about Native Americans, and a children's versions of Don Quixote. Critics have noted that much of the list comprises texts written by white male authors, in a state with a majority of Latino and Black students.

Rachel Laser, the head of the advocacy group Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said in a written statement that the Texas board of education's decision sought to "misuse public schools to impose one narrow set of religious beliefs and indoctrinate a new generation of Americans in the lie that America is a Christian country."