AUSTIN — The Texas State Board of Education approved a new K-12 reading list, making it the first state to mandate a common core of books for its 5.5 million public schoolchildren. The Republican-controlled board voted 9-5 to incorporate the list into the curriculum, with implementation set for 2030. The decision shifts book selection authority from individual teachers and local school boards to the state.
The central point of contention is the inclusion of the Bible. Rebecca Bell-Metereau, a Democrat on the board and former English professor at Texas State University, criticized the move. "We have a good, healthy portion of people of other religions or no religion," Bell-Metereau said. "So there really isn't, in my view, a good justification for trying to turn our public schools into Sunday schools."
The mandated reading includes excerpts from both the Old and New Testaments. First graders will read "Jonah and the Whale." Fourth graders will encounter "The Necessity of Humility" from Luke 14:7-11. Bible stories or excerpts appear annually through 12th grade, with seniors reading "The Definition of Love" from First Corinthians.
Beyond the Bible, the list features texts reflecting conservative viewpoints, including "A Book of Americans" by Rosemary and Stephen Vincent Benet, Margaret Thatcher's eulogy for President Reagan, excerpts from William Bennett's "The Children's Book of Virtue" and Ayn Rand's "Capitalism, the Unknown Ideal."
The curriculum also includes figures long associated with the American left. First graders will encounter Pocahontas and Frederick Douglass. Susan B. Anthony appears in second grade, Anne Frank in seventh and Martin Luther King in 10th. The works of Black poet Langston Hughes appear in kindergarten, fourth and seventh grades.
Classic literature forms a significant part of the required reading. Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" is assigned in 11th grade. Shakespeare is represented with "Hamlet" for 12th graders and "The Tragedy of Julius Caesar" for 10th graders; "Romeo and Juliet" did not make the final list.
The emphasis on classic texts, often by white male authors, has drawn criticism. The New York Times' Sarah Mervosh described the list as "highly contested" because of that emphasis, generating debate about what constitutes essential literature in a diverse state. Other widely recognized titles on the list include "The Cat in the Hat," "The Snowy Day," "The Giver" and "Fahrenheit 451."
Civil liberties groups have voiced opposition. The Freedom From Religion Foundation said the mandate sends "a clear message to nonreligious and non-Christian students and families that they don't quite belong or should convert."
An editorial in The Dallas Morning News pointed out that the list includes excerpts from the Bible but no other major religious works, arguing that texts like the Quran and the Bhagavad Gita should be represented for a more comprehensive approach to world religions.
A policy counsel at the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty said teaching the Bible in public schools as an academic text is appropriate, but opposed presenting Christianity as the default religion. Separately, a critic identified as Mr. Fixler warned that certain lessons could "significantly contribute to anti-Semitism and misunderstanding the Holocaust."
The curriculum changes follow a decision by the Texas Legislature, which last year approved a requirement for the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms — part of a broader push to integrate religious texts and symbols into public school environments.
