The Texas education board will vote Friday on a required reading list for more than 5 million public school students that includes Bible passages, widening conservative efforts to push Christian teachings in U.S. classrooms. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
The proposal in Texas — which would mandate literary works such as Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations" alongside parables from the New Testament — has been closely followed by education observers who say it appears to be the first of its kind in the nation.
If approved by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by Republicans, the reading list would take effect in 2030.
Texas, which educates roughly 1 in 10 of the nation's public school students, has been at the forefront of a charge by conservatives to incorporate more religion into classrooms. The state already allows public schools to hire chaplains to counsel students, mandates the display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms and has approved an optional Bible-infused curriculum.
For months, critics have blasted both the push to require Bible readings and the state mandating what books are read by students, which are decisions typically left up to teachers. Teachers could still assign students other books to read on top of the required list.