Texas schools will teach the Bible. It's not controversial. | Opinion

It shouldn't be controversial to teach American kids in public school about the Bible, an extraordinary, timeless work of history, moral teaching and literature. But that's exactly what's coming for Texas kids in K-12 public schools, and the plan has already stirred real controversy among parents, educators and other concerned citizens.

In meetings leading up to their June 26 vote, members of the Texas State Board of Education heard from nearly 500 speakers weighing in on a proposal to add the Bible and other classic works of literature, along with a rewrite of the state's social studies lessons, to the K-12 curriculum's reading list.

The changes are part of a broader review of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, the state standards that spell out what students must learn in school. The new statewide reading list would require students to read about Adam and Eve, the eight beatitudes and the "Parable of the Prodigal Son," among other things. The board also eliminated the sixth grade world cultures course and removed content about how race and ethnicity have negatively affected society. Those changes won't take effect until the 2030-31 school year.

As a former homeschooling mom with three kids now in Texas public schools, I think cutting the world cultures course in favor of more Texas-focused history, and stripping out content on race and ethnicity, is a mistake. But I don't have a problem with portions of the Bible being taught in public schools, in Texas or anywhere else. And that's not just because I'm a Christian mom.

The Bible is a significant historical, literary and religious text

It's almost impossible to understand our nation's beginnings ‒ let alone religion, philosophy, politics, art or literature ‒ without understanding the Bible. It has shaped human history in unfathomable ways. It seems like such common sense to me that I'm not sure why the Texas Board of Education, made up of 10 Republicans and five Democrats, devoted so much time to debating it, especially when Texas K-12 schools rank 29th nationally, far lower than they should given the state's size and resources.

Texans, including students, educators and activists, gave public testimony before the board's final vote, arguing that forcing students to read religious texts violates the separation of church and state, or that it indoctrinates students into one religion: Christianity.

"These proposed standards actually defy the Constitution and highlight only one group of Americans as the founders who built this country to the exclusion of others ‒ both in the past and in the present," Ruth Nasrullah, a Muslim speaker, told board members.

"This list is full of Christian texts that are inappropriate for public school classrooms," Joshua Bixler said. "As a rabbi and a parent of Jewish kids, I think it is vital that this board make a distinction between teaching about religion and teaching religion. This list will force teachers to cross that line."

I support Texans' right to weigh in on curriculum decisions through a democratic deliberation. If the board wanted to ward off criticism about indoctrination, it could have considered adding passages from other religious texts, such as the Quran. If both were taught as influential religious, historical and literary texts, it could bolster students' educational rigor and historical context.

Even so, the fact that requiring Bible passages in school is considered controversial at all shows how much education has changed over the past century. For decades, reading the Bible as both a religious and literary text wasn't just common; it was encouraged, expected and viewed as a public good.

Texas education can improve even beyond adding the Bible

I understand why some Texans worry that the state public education is now endorsing Christianity, and going too far in doing so. But the Pilgrims' pursuit of religious freedom was a foundational influence on America's early colonial history, and that's worth honoring.

The Bible is such a fundamental text, especially in America, that I'm surprised it isn't taught in every K-12 public school in the country. Skipping it would be like teaching American history without George Washington, literature without William Shakespeare or philosophy without Socrates, key figures all. Or teaching American history without the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence, the founding texts themselves.

Even Richard Dawkins, one of the world's most prominent atheists, has acknowledged that Christianity profoundly shaped Western civilization and the values, like human rights, that even nonbelievers rely on today.

Texas residents, educators and even the board itself may be missing a larger point: A Bible-infused curriculum, however valuable, isn't the only thing missing from Texas public schools. High school graduation rates are strong, and college readiness scores are decent, but reading and math scores fall below the national average in many districts, though that varies significantly across such a large state.

I'd like to see just as much effort go toward improving education for Texas students as has gone toward teaching them the beatitudes:

• In Dallas-Fort Worth, schools notoriously pay football coaches almost twice what they pay teachers of core subjects like algebra or ELAR (English Language Arts and Reading).
• Texas' student-to-teacher ratio, about 22 to 1, is well above the national average of 15 to 1, making it harder for teachers to give struggling kids the attention they need.
• Expanding Texas education savings accounts, the state's version of school choice, to all Texas families would give schools a much stronger incentive to raise their standards and improve teaching, so kids actually learn more.

The Bible belongs on school reading lists alongside the Constitution and Shakespeare. But if Texas leaders are serious about preparing the next generation, they should put just as much energy into improving literacy, math and classroom instruction as they do into debating which Bible passages belong on that list.

Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist with USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four kids. Sign up for her newsletter, The Right Track, and get it delivered to your inbox.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas schools will teach the Bible. It's not controversial. | Opinion

Reporting by Nicole Russell, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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This story was originally published June 29, 2026 at 11:15 AM.