Texas
Texas education leaders unveil Bible-infused elementary school curriculum
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Elementary school curriculum proposed this week would infuse new state reading and language arts lessons with teachings on the Bible, marking the latest push by Texas Republicans to put more Christianity in public schools.
The Texas Education Agency released the thousands of pages of educational materials this week. They have been made available for public viewing and feedback and, if approved by the State Board of Education in November, will be available for public schools to roll out in August of 2025. Districts will have the option of whether to use the materials, but will be incentivized to do so with up to $60 per student in additional funding.
TEA Commissioner Mike Morath said the materials are based on extensive cognitive science research and will help improve students’ reading and math scores. In 2019, less than half of students met grade-level standards for reading, and that percentage has declined since the pandemic, based on state standardized test scores.
The new materials have prompted criticism, though. The education news site The 74 first reported the redesign on Wednesday and included excerpts of lesson plans with biblical references. They also reported that a New York-based curriculum vendor, Amplify, opted out of bidding on a contract after the state sought to insert biblical materials, but not other religious texts, into the curriculum. The state education agency rejected those claims, saying multiple religions are included throughout the curriculum. Because of Texas’ size, textbooks that are developed for its schools are often used in other states.
Morath told The Texas Tribune on Thursday that religious materials are a “small piece of the content pie.” His office could not quantify what percentage of each grade’s textbook would be devoted to biblical references. The Tribune has not reviewed all materials, which include the state-designed textbooks as well as proposals from 25 different vendors.
But an initial review of the proposed state textbooks show that religious materials feature prominently, with texts sourced from the Bible as the most heavily used.
“It’s a tiny fraction of the overall fraction — it’s just where it makes sense to do that,” Morath said. “It’s a very small but appropriate fraction.”
The textbooks mark a shift toward a “classical, broad-based liberal arts education,” from a more skills-based curriculum, Morath said.
“You’re trying to build vocabulary, build background knowledge so that when kids are reading Steinbeck in high school, they get the references,” Morath said.
The instructional materials were unveiled amid a broader movement by Republicans to further infuse conservative Christianity into public life. At last week’s Texas GOP convention — which was replete with calls for “spiritual warfare” against their political opponents — delegates voted on a new platform that calls on lawmakers and the SBOE to “require instruction on the Bible, servant leadership and Christian self-governance.”
Throughout the three-day convention, Republican leaders and attendees frequently claimed that Democrats sought to indoctrinate schoolchildren as part of a war on Christianity. SBOE Chair Aaron Kinsey, of Midland, echoed those claims in a speech to delegates, promising to use his position to advance Republican beliefs and oppose Critical Race Theory, “diversity, equity and inclusion” initiatives or “whatever acronym the left comes up with next.”
“You have a chairman,” Kinsey said, “who will fight for these three-letter words: G-O-D, G-O-P and U-S-A.”
Mark Chancey, a Southern Methodist University religious studies professor who focuses on movements to put the Bible in public schools, said there is “nothing inherently inappropriate” with teaching the Bible or other religious texts, so long as it’s done neutrally. But he’s concerned by some of the proposed curriculum, including lessons that he said seem to treat biblical stories as “straightforward historical accounts.”
“It serves a civic good for students to be taught about religion,” he said. “But that’s different from giving students religious instruction. The question is going to be whether these materials teach about religion, or whether they cross the line into giving religious instruction.”
For example: The curriculum promotes lessons on Leonardo Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” alongside the Gospel of Matthew, which centers on Jesus’ crucifixion and its atonement for human sin. “These are very strong, central claims of Christian theology,” Chancey said. “And students will have questions about that. How are teachers supposed to respond to those questions?”
It’s not unforeseeable, he said, for those conversations to lead to even thornier areas that are still divisive even among Christians.
If the state education board approves the materials in November, schools will not be required to use them. But a measure approved by lawmakers last year will offer more money to public school districts that do choose to adopt any of the materials.
Some of that content includes a first grade lesson stating the Liberty Bell “reminded [the Founding Fathers] of how God helped free the Hebrew people in the Bible” as well as a fifth grade poetry lessons on “A Psalm of David,” described as “one of the most popular poems ever written.”
Other religions are also included. A second grade lesson highlights the Jewish celebration of Purim. A fourth grade poetry unit includes Kshemendra, a poet from India who “studied Buddhism and Hinduism.”
Some State Board of Education members told the Tribune they had not yet read through the materials and would decide whether or not to approve the content based on standards they’ve already established.
Keven Ellis, a Republican state school board member who lives in Lufkin, said the role of the board is to make sure the materials are appropriate for each grade-level and that they align with the state’s curriculum standards, known as the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills.
“My focus will remain on approving instructional materials that improve outcomes in phonics, language arts and math,” Ellis said.
State curriculum guidelines spell out that “the instructional material should recognize and not contradict that parents have the right to ‘direct the moral and religious training’ of their children and the duty to support their children’s education.’” Ellis did not respond to inquiries about the religious material.
Staci Childs, a Houston Democrat who sits on the SBOE, said she believes it’s okay to include Biblical references as long as other religions are also introduced to students.
“As a Christian, I think it is okay [to teach the Bible] as long as you’re normalizing the introduction of all religions and all types of mythologies so students have a varied and robust and true depiction of the materials in the text of our past,” Childs said. “To only infuse Bible verses and teachings of the Bible is completely insensitive to all the different types of students we have in Texas and a disrespect to the faiths they may acknowledge.”
Last year, the state directed the TEA to create its own textbooks when the Legislature passed House Bill 1605. Lawmakers said the purpose of the policy was to give teachers access to high-quality instructional materials.
A teacher vacancy task force that had convened in 2022 found that teachers spend significant time creating and looking for lesson plans. Lawmakers said the new state textbooks will save teachers time.
In an op-ed published in the Dallas Morning News this week, state Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Killeen, and state Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, said the new materials “will provide much needed relief to teachers by eliminating the need to spend dozens of hours outside of the classroom developing curriculum.”
Morath said the materials are designed for Texas students, with references to the state’s geography and industries, as well as Texas-based historical figures like Clara Driscoll, known for her historic preservation work rescuing the Alamo from destruction, decades after the pivotal battle at the former Catholic mission in San Antonio.
“We’ve tried to make it as tightly based on the needs of Texas students as possible,” Morath said.
Soon after the materials were released on Wednesday morning, Gov. Greg Abbott released a statement saying he supported the curriculum.
“The materials will also allow our students to better understand the connection of history, art, community, literature, and religion on pivotal events like the signing of the U.S. Constitution, the Civil Rights Movement, and the American Revolution,” Abbott said in a statement.
When asked directly if Abbott had any role in developing the new content, Morath answered: “I’m not sure any. This was entirely a project of TEA.” Morath added that the governor is keenly attentive to the subject of public education.
“The governor has been very interested in getting back to fundamentals of education for a long time,” Morath said, “and so this is some of the lens that we think about, but he’s not alone in that perspective.”
Before HB 1605’s passage, the Texas Education Agency was creating new instructional materials in order to help improve students’ reading and math scores. Those materials were piloted in about 400 districts, a TEA spokesperson said. Some had full-scale, district-wide implementation while others tested the materials in a few grade levels.
Morath cited pilot studies in districts like Temple and Lubbock, where students’ reading scores increased by as much as 16 points after adopting the newer reading and language arts program.
About 300 people, most of whom are educators, are reviewing all of the instructional materials and will present their feedback to the State Board of Education. TEA did not provide a list of the reviewers but said they were selected by the SBOE.
Members of the public can also weigh in and offer feedback on the materials until August 16 and from there, the materials will go before the state board in November for final approval. If approved, the materials will immediately be available for download.
Chancey, the Southern Methodist University religion professor, said teaching the Bible in any public setting immediately prompts a variety of complicated questions. First among them: Which of the many Bible translations should be used? “The choice of translation brought into the public school has at times proven controversial,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chancey said, the proposed instructions on religious liberty in the original colonies seem to be a “tremendous oversimplification,” failing to note the persecution faced by other religious groups, namely Quakers and early Baptists. Omitting that, he said, misses the real lesson to be learned from studying America’s early settlers: “The dangers of religious favoritism.”
The proposed state textbook calls for excerpts of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” to be paired with the Biblical story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, whose defiance of the Babylonian leader Nebuchadnezzar is cited by King as an example of civil disobedience. And yet, the proposed curriculum does not appear to include any excerpts on the intended audience or a core theme of King’s letter: White moderates and clergy, whom King chastised for critiquing his civil disobedience while remaining “silent behind the anesthetizing security of stained glass windows.”
Morath said the excerpt chosen is the one that would be appropriate for a fifth grader, based on their vocabulary and knowledge-level.
“We would expect students to return to it in deeper and deeper ways,” Morath said. “You have to give him bits of knowledge that build on prior bits of knowledge, and you’re steadily giving them more and more and more exposure.”
This instructional redesign for public schools comes amid an ongoing embrace on the right of Christian nationalism, which claims that the United States founding was ordained by God, and that its laws and institutions should thus favor their conservative, Christian views. Recent polling from the Public Religion Research Institute found that more than half of Republicans adhere to or sympathize with pillars of Christian nationalism, including beliefs that the U.S. should be a strictly Christian nation. Of those respondents, PRRI found, roughly half supported having an authoritarian leader who maintains Christian dominance in society.
Southern Methodist University have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
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Texas
Texas AG sues Dallas for decriminalizing marijuana
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a lawsuit Thursday targeting the blue city of Dallas over a ballot measure that decriminalizes marijuana.
Paxton alleges that Proposition R, which “prohibits the Dallas Police Department from making arrests or issuing citations for marijuana possession or considering the odor of marijuana as probable cause for search or seizure,” violates state law.
The attorney general argues in the lawsuit that the ballot measure is preempted by Texas law, which criminalizes the possession and distribution of marijuana. Paxton also claims the Texas Constitution prohibits municipalities from adopting an ordinance that conflicts with laws enacted by the state legislature.
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“Cities cannot pick and choose which State laws they follow,” Paxton said in a statement. “The City of Dallas has no authority to override Texas drug laws or prohibit the police from enforcing them.”
Paxton called the ballot measure “a backdoor attempt to violate the Texas Constitution” and threatened to sue any other city that “tries to constrain police in this fashion.”
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The lawsuit comes after interim Dallas Police Department Chief Michael Igo directed Dallas police officers not to enforce marijuana laws against those found to be in possession of less than 4 ounces.
Ground Game Texas, a progressive nonprofit group that campaigned in favor of the ballot measure, argued it would help “keep people out of jail for marijuana possession,” “reduce racially biased policing” and “save millions in public funding.”
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“It’s unfortunate but not surprising that Attorney General Ken Paxton has apparently chosen to waste everyone’s time and money by filing yet another baseless lawsuit against marijuana decriminalization,” said Catina Voellinger, executive director for Ground Game Texas.
“Judges in Travis and Hays counties have already dismissed identical lawsuits filed there. The Dallas Freedom Act was overwhelmingly approved by 67% of voters — this is democracy in action.”
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Since January 2024, Paxton has filed lawsuits against five Texas cities that decriminalized marijuana possession, arguing these policies promote crime, drug abuse and violence.
Texas
Tre Johnson, Texas Longhorns Scrape Past Saint Joseph’s to Win Legends Classic
The Texas Longhorns are heading back to Austin with some early-season tournament hardware in hand.
Tre Johnson battled through another poor shooting night but closed the game out for Texas once again, scoring a game-high 17 points to lead the Longhorns to a 67-58 win over Saint Joseph’s at the Legends Classic championship round in Brooklyn Friday night.
Transfer guard Julian Larry sparked the Longhorns late, scoring all 12 of his points in the second half. Arthur Kaluma added 14 points, four rebounds and four assists while Kadin Shedrick had 10 points and six rebounds.
The Hawks were led by Rasheer Fleming, who stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, 20 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and three steals. Xzayvier Brown added 15 points on 4 of 7 shooting.
The Longhorns jumped out to an 11-6 lead after seven early points from Kaluma. St. Joe’s started out cold from the field but controlled the game with hard-nosed defense and the occasional press while dominating the offensive glass. This was highlighted by a possession where the Hawks got four consecutive offensive rebounds but only scored one point as a result.
Johnson stayed aggressive on offense for Texas but was off on his shot and was impacted by the on-ball defense of St. Joe’s.
Mark, Pope and Johnson all hit a triple for Texas in about a two-minute span ahead of halftime to give the Longhorns their biggest lead at 32-26 but the Hawks responded with a free throw from Haskins 3-pointer from Brown before halftime to cut the lead to 32-30.
The defense from the Hawks ramped up even more, as the Longhorns were stuck in the mud on offense and had little to no ball movement. St. Joe’s was hardly much better, but its defense continued to set the tone and eventually swung the momentum.
Larry then hit back-to-back triples as the two teams traded buckets on five straight possessions. Consecutive dunks from Ajogbor and Fleming but the Hawks in front 50-46 with 8:25 to play, but Larry continued to take over. He hit 1,000 career points with a driving layup before finding Kaluma for a corner triple to put Texas back in front at 51-50.
It didn’t stop there for Larry, who found a cutting Shedrick for a dunk before diving on a loose ball down at the other end to secure possession for Texas, which had built a 55-52 lead with 3:13 left. The Longhorns used the momentum to put together an 8-0 run, which essentially sealed the win in a game where scoring felt hard to come by.
Johnson then closed the game out with six points in the final 4:11 of action, including a pullup jumper at the foul line to put Texas up 63-55 with 1:19 left.
Texas will host Delaware State on Nov. 29.
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Texas
UT System’s free tuition plan sparks resistance from some Texas lawmakers
WASHINGTON — State Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, said Friday he plans to meet with top University of Texas System officials after they announced a plan to provide free tuition and waived fees to students whose families make $100,000 or less.
While many elected officials have praised the initiative, Harrison criticized it as an “abuse of power” that makes Texas higher education “more socialist than California.”
Harrison said Friday he’s unswayed by statements from the system and supporters who say the move will be funded from university endowments, not taxpayers.
Harrison compared such statements to someone saying they’re removing water from the shallow side of a pool, not the deep end. It’s all the same water.
“Money is fungible, so that doesn’t satisfy me in the slightest,” Harrison said.
The new initiative is an expansion of the Promise Plus Program, a needs-based financial aid initiative, and comes amid widespread concerns about the impact of inflation and college costs on families. Gov. Greg Abbott recently prohibited Texas colleges and universities from raising tuition for the next two years.
UT System Chancellor James B. Milliken hailed the expansion as a “game changer” that will make “enormous, real difference” to improve college access for all Texans.
Not everyone is a fan.
Harrison and like-minded House colleagues have compared it to President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan that drew intense blowback from conservatives and was largely struck down by the courts. They also said such a consequential change in policy should come from the elected lawmakers serving in the Legislature.
“There must be consequences,” Harrison said on X. “UT’s budget must be cut, and bureaucrats should be fired.”
He led 10 Republican lawmakers, most of them incoming freshmen, in a letter to the regents demanding answers to a litany of questions, including the price tag of the expansion and the source of that money.
“What specific statutory authority did the regents rely on to make a decision this consequential, which will have direct financial consequences for our constituents, many of whom are already struggling to put gas in their tanks and food on their tables?” the lawmakers wrote.
UT System spokesman Paul Corliss has said the program is not funded through taxes or any kind of public subsidy.
“Rather it is funded through existing UT System endowments,” Corliss said.
Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, hammered that point in a response to Harrison on social media.
“There are no tax dollars involved,” Howard said on X. “Higher Ed institutions are already helping families afford college. This expands philanthropic endowments and helps meet affordability goals of [Abbott and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board].”
Harrison and his colleagues will have to contend with many members of the public embracing a plan that already is encouraging young people to adjust their higher education aspirations.
Frank Whitefeather, a high school senior, stayed up until 2:30 a.m. Friday working on his college application essay.
He was freshly motivated after the announcement that students whose families make less than $100,000 annually will get free tuition and waived fees at the University of Texas at Austin and other schools in the UT System.
“I wouldn’t be in debt,” said Whitefeather, 17. “I wouldn’t have to have student loans.”
Whitefeather, who attends Dallas ISD’s Sunset High School, thinks the UT news also could change many of his peers’ lives. It’s already changing his plans. Whitefeather hopes to study engineering and be his own boss one day. Texas A&M and UT Austin were his top two choices, but the free tuition announcement has pushed UT ahead.
Harrison said the university system is being contradictory by simultaneously saying it has enough money to offer tuition-free education, but also that a tuition freeze could leave it cash strapped and require more funding from the Legislature.
“I guarantee you they’re going to be requesting more tax money from the Legislature next session,” he said.
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