Texas Board of Education

The Texas board of education is set to vote on a required reading list for more than 5 million public school students that includes stories and passages from the Bible. Texas has been at the forefront of conservative efforts to incorporate religion into schools.

Nearly 500 people signed up to testify in a hearing that at several points turned contentious as the State Board of Education will vote on incorporating more Christian stories into public classrooms.

The Texas State Board of Education gave final approval Friday to controversial new K-5 curriculum that weaves in Christian references.

Critics of the materials the Texas Education Agency created have said they include Bible stories that are not age-appropriate and veer into proselytizing. Supporters say biblical narratives have literary and historical value.

Supporters say kids need to understand the Bible to understand American literature. But opponents say kids are too young for this type of instruction and the materials could alienate students who aren't Christian.

The State Board of Education approved four new charter schools to open in Texas next year, including one in Arlington. It comes as many public school districts face massive deficits.

The State Board of Education was originally going to consider the course when members meet this week, but the new chair delayed its consideration.

The Texas State Board of Education is expected to decide Friday which science textbooks to approve for public schools.

This comes two days after Gov. Greg Abbott voiced his most explicit support yet of a new school choice policy at a Parent Empowerment Night event in Corpus Christi.

All 15 seats of the State Board of Education are up for grabs in November, and one race in District 7 highlights how critical race theory has become a key issue.

At a news conference Wednesday, they said misinformation derailed the process of overhauling the curriculum. The State Board of Education was scheduled to adopt the new guidelines in November, but is now expected to delay revisions until 2025.

The Republican-controlled board heard hours of testimony Tuesday on the proposed guidelines. It took a step toward delaying updates to the social studies curriculum standards until 2025 after facing conservative pushback.