Do Bible stories belong in K-5 curriculum? Texas board to vote in November

Kimmie Fink and her husband are raising their children Catholic. Her family attends Mass, and they say grace before meals. But Fink said she was alarmed to learn Texas education officials may approve a state-developed K-5 curriculum that includes Bible stories.

“I found out about this curriculum and did a little bit of digging," said Fink, who lives in Liberty Hill, a growing suburb north of Austin. "[I] just became really concerned as a public school parent, a former teacher, that this isn’t something I want in front of my children and that doesn’t belong in Texas public schools."

Fink was one of about 100 people who shared their perspective on the proposed materials during a public hearing before the Texas State Board of Education last week.

The Republican-controlled board is set to vote in November on whether to approve a slate of instructional materials the Texas Education Agency and other publishers developed. A 2023 state law required the TEA to develop the curriculum for public schools, but districts are not required to use them.

Since the TEA publicly released the materials in May, critics have argued the K-5 reading curriculum inappropriately includes biblical narratives. But the agency told KUT in a statement the stories are not meant to advance certain religious beliefs.

“Instead, it's included for the literary and historical value of the content and its connection to creating a strong background of knowledge for students,” a TEA spokesperson said in an email.

Fink said she thinks the curriculum puts an overwhelming emphasis on Christianity, which could alienate some students.

“I know very well that the children that Texas schools serve aren’t all Christian, and not all Christians believe the same thing,” she said.

While Texas public schools don't have to use the materials the SBOE approves, districts that do will receive up to $60 per student. The extra funding is being made available as many districts throughout the state – from Liberty Hill ISD to Austin ISD – are facing budget deficits.

“I worry that we are bribing starving Texas public schools to adopt an unconstitutional, Christian Nationalist curriculum that is designed to indoctrinate students,” state Rep. James Talarico told KUT.

The Austin-area Democrat, a former public school teacher who is studying to be a minister, said the materials cross the line from “teaching to preaching.”

“This new state curriculum that they’re proposing is preaching," he said. "It is pushing one religious tradition at the expense of all of the others."

The language of the Bible

But Thomas Lindsay, a member of an advisory board that reviewed the materials, disputed the idea that including Bible stories is proselytizing.

“You have to draw the line. You cannot proselytize. At the same time, you cannot understand Western civilization and the whole world without understanding those Biblical references,” he said.

Lindsay is the higher education policy director for Next Generation Texas at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank. He also co-authored a textbook on American government. He said introducing students to Bible stories gives them the cultural context to understand concepts and phrases they’ll encounter such as “prodigal son,” “David and Goliath,” “good samaritan” and “forbidden fruit.”

“Without understanding the Bible references that undergird so much of our language and our understanding — if you don’t see that that’s got to be a part of K-12 education, then you really don’t understand the ingredients of language proficiency,” he said.

Lindsay said he’s disappointed the conversation around the TEA-developed materials has zeroed in on the Bible stories that are included. Instead, he said, the focus should be on ensuring students have access to grade-level materials in their classrooms.

“I really think this is primarily a political slam job on what is a very well-intentioned effort,” he said.

A TEA spokesperson also said the agency expects the materials will benefit schools because they are based on research on how students learn to read.

“This includes direct instruction in foundational skills [phonics], building a wide range of background knowledge and vocabulary, providing all students with access to on-grade-level text and ensuring students develop the writing skills necessary to be successful in middle school, high school and beyond,” the spokesperson said in an email.

Lindsay said he appreciates that what’s included in the K-5 curriculum is transparent.

“You don’t have to be a teacher, a student, a Texan, anything. You can find out everything. What they’re reading, what the teacher activity books are, what the study guides are,” he said. “In fact, with each unit they send a letter to the parents saying this is what they’re going to be studying. So that in itself, I thought was wonderful.”

Revisions to the materials

The TEA is in the process of revising its materials before SBOE members take a final vote in November. Nicholas Keith, the agency’s associate commissioner of instructional strategy, said in a letter to the board last week that many of the comments at the hearing echoed ones submitted during the public comment period over the summer.

“As a result, a significant number of the concerns shared during the meeting [last] week have already been addressed in the materials,” he wrote.

One of the changes the TEA made was to a second-grade activity about the story of Queen Esther, who prevented an official in the Persian King’s court from carrying out a plan to kill Jews. The official, Haman, had chosen when the massacre should happen by “casting lots.”

Texas Education Agency

Sharyn Vane, a former Austin ISD parent who is Jewish, was worried about a game of chance related to “casting lots” where students were instructed to pick a number and roll dice.

"In the same way we would not reenact Hitler choosing to execute Jews, we would not have impressionable elementary schoolers play games of dice to decide whose fate is in your hands," she said.

Vane said while she is happy the activity was removed, she's still concerned about religious content in the curriculum.

“There’s a clear, overt Christian focus," she said, "and I think some folks who might say, ‘Oh, these are just universal values and everyone needs to learn them’ — if they’re universal values, they’re probably contained in other religious documents as well as other sources."

Age-appropriate lessons

Mark Chancey, a religious studies professor at Southern Methodist University, said while the revisions do address some of the concerns raised by the public, other information left in the materials is problematic.

“We have to reserve judgment on a lot of these revisions until we see the next product," he said, "but certainly they did not make all of the changes that, in my opinion, they should have."

Chancey said the revisions still do not address the fact that Christianity is highlighted more than other religions.

“I think Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, Buddhists will not see themselves represented much in these lessons," he said. "In some cases they won’t see themselves represented at all."

Chancey added the state-developed materials introduce religion in ways that are not appropriate for elementary school students.

“Most people recognize that it is legal and acceptable for public schools to teach about religion and to teach about Christianity and other traditions and to teach about the Bible, but it’s important to do so in a sensitive, age-appropriate way and that’s where some of these lessons are lacking,” he said. “They seem to be designed to promote religious claims and not just cultural literacy.”

Vane said her kids learned about the Bible from a literary perspective when they were in high school, so they could better interpret the books they were reading.

“That’s the appropriate time to do that when students have the foundation and maturity and critical thinking skills,” she said.

But Lindsay pushed back on the idea that the Bible stories included are not age appropriate.

“I’ll make my point with a Biblical reference," he said. "Anyone who worries about the K-5 curriculum – which they can read anytime they want – read it, because by their fruits you will know them."

Next steps

The SBOE heard nearly 10 hours of testimony during the hearing last week. Afterward, Chair Aaron Kinsey thanked the public for providing feedback on the instructional materials.

“We encourage all publishers to closely review the feedback provided so we can ensure a robust set of high-quality instructional materials will be available and used in classrooms next year,” he said in a statement.

The next SBOE meeting is in November.

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