Texas Votes to Make Bible Passages ‘Required Reading’ in Public Schools

Texas public school students will soon be reading passages from the Bible in class after the state’s Republican-led education board approved a new required reading list in a closely watched vote.

The Texas State Board of Education voted 9-5-1 on Friday to approve the list, which includes several Bible passages alongside works from major authors such as E.B. White, Shel Silverstein, Aesop, Kurt Vonnegut and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel.

The decision is already stirring a fierce debate across the country, with supporters calling it a long-overdue return to foundational texts that helped shape America — and critics warning it could spark legal battles over religion in public schools.

Under the new list, fifth graders will read sections from the Book of Exodus, while seventh graders will be assigned The Shepherd’s Psalm, commonly known as Psalm 23. The required readings will affect more than 5 million public school students across Texas.

Republican board member Julie Pickren defended the move before the vote, telling The Texas Tribune the readings are meant to give students “important insight into the moral and philosophical traditions that have shaped Western civilization.”

“When students engage directly with original writings, speeches, sermons, and foundational texts, they can evaluate ideas and develop a deeper understanding of the principles that have shaped the USA and Texas,” Pickren said.

The vote came after a tense Friday morning discussion that focused on how quickly the new requirements would be rolled out and whether teachers should still have control over what students are assigned to read.

Opponents blasted the decision as an attack on teacher independence.

Texas education board member Evelyn Brooks argued during the hearing that educators have been choosing books for their classrooms for generations and should not be forced to follow a state-mandated list.

“Teachers need to have their autonomy,” Brooks said. “They’ve been selecting books for decades, for years. This is nothing new. This is not a new concept to teachers.”

Brooks also claimed the new list was “unconstitutional,” saying, “We are simply giving them a mandated list, which I believe is unconstitutional, but regardless of what I believe, let’s not take their autonomy away.”

The decision also drew criticism from education experts outside Texas.

Antero Garcia, a professor at Stanford University’s graduate school of education and a former high school English teacher, told ABC News the move marks a major change in what students in Texas will learn during their school years.

“It is a substantive reshaping of what kids are supposed to learn throughout the state of Texas over their 13 years of compulsory public education,” Garcia said.

Garcia said Texas may be the first state to take this kind of sweeping action with a required reading list, and he predicted other conservative-led states could follow.

“Oftentimes, where Texas goes, other states will follow,” he said. “So, this is a pretty substantial move that I could imagine other states picking up and moving forward with as a possibility.”

Even Garcia acknowledged the Bible has long been studied as literature in secular settings and remains one of the most influential texts in Western history.

“There is literary value in reading the Bible, and I don’t want to diminish that kind of obvious point,” he said.

But he raised concerns that the approved list includes Bible passages without requiring readings from other religious texts. He warned that years of repeated exposure to one religious tradition could influence students toward Christianity.

“You are going to get substantial exposure to a singular text across your public schooling experience in ways where you aren’t going to get another kind of religious text anywhere else in that mandated list,” Garcia said.

The Texas State Board of Education has not yet responded to ABC News’ request for comment.

For supporters, the vote is a victory in the fight to restore traditional education and expose students to the historic writings that influenced America’s founding values. For critics, it is another flashpoint in the growing national battle over what children should be taught in public schools — and who gets to decide.