Bible stories like Jonah and the Whale would be part of a new Texas public schools reading list that drew an overflow crowd to Tuesday’s state education board meeting.

Religious leaders, teachers, parents and students spent hours arguing about the reading list for the state’s 5.4 million kindergartners to 12th graders. The debate comes as the country’s long-standing wrangling over the role of religion in public schools continues to drive legislation and legal action.

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