OAN Staff James Myers
3:23 PM – Friday, November 22, 2024
The Texas State Board of Education voted Friday to allow Biblical instruction in elementary schools, joining other Republican-led states that have pushed to increase the presence of religion in public classrooms this year.
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The curriculum, adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, is controlled by elected Republicans and is voluntary for schools to adopt, although it would provide additional funding if they did.
Additionally, the materials could appear in classrooms as early as next school year.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R-Texas) has proudly supported lesson plans provided by the Lone Star State agency, which oversees more than 5 million students in Texas public schools.
Supporters of the new law argued that the Bible was central to American history and that teaching it would promote student learning.
The proposed curriculum narrowly passed a preliminary vote this week at the Texas State Board of Education, whose elected members have mixed supporters and detractors about the materials schools can begin using next year. I heard sometimes impassioned pleas from both sides for hours.
Texas' new curriculum follows Republican-led efforts in neighboring states to increase the presence of religion in public schools.
In Oklahoma, the state education secretary has ordered a Bible in every classroom, and Louisiana wants the Ten Commandments to be posted in every public school classroom in the state starting next year.
This material makes more use of Christian lessons than other religions in the reading and language arts modules proposed for kindergarten through fifth grade, which isolates students from different religions and Critics say it could violate the First Amendment.
“This curriculum is not age-appropriate or subject-appropriate in terms of presenting Biblical stories,” said Amanda Tyler, executive director of the United Baptist Committee for Religious Freedom.
Children who read this material “just don't know the difference between what is a claim of faith and what is fact,” she says.
“They say there are actually close to 300 everyday phrases that come from the Bible,” said Mary Castle, director of government relations for the right-wing advocacy group Texas Values. “Thus, students will benefit by being able to understand the many references found in the literature and gain ways to make sense of them.”
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