Biblical stories like Jonah and the whale would be required reading for Texas public schools students under proposals that are putting the state at the center of another contentious wrangling over the role of religion in classrooms.<\/p>\n
Religious leaders, teachers, parents and students spent hours Tuesday before the state education board arguing about the reading list for the state’s 5.4 million kindergartners to 12th-graders. The debate is part of widening efforts in the U.S. to incorporate religion in schools, mostly in Republican-led states, driving legislation<\/a> and legal action<\/a>.<\/p>\n Nationally, President Donald Trump has pledged to protect and expand religious expression in public schools. And Texas, a red state that is home to about one in 10 of the nation\u2019s public school students, often helps set the agenda.<\/p>\n Texas became the first state<\/a> to allow chaplains, in 2023. And just last year, a Republican-led mandate that the Ten Commandments be displayed in public schools took effect<\/a> in the state, although around two dozen districts took them down because of a lawsuit.<\/p>\n But while the debate over Texas’ reading list could have national implications, to the speakers the issue boiled down to whether the passages are essential to understanding the nation’s history and morals \u2014 or unconstitutional.<\/p>\n \u201cOur children need truth,\u201d said Nathan Irving, a pastor and father of eight from Myrtle Springs, Texas. \u201cTruth is the only currency that never devalues. Investing truth into our children is the most loving thing that we can do for them. This is the truth. This country and this state were founded upon a Christian worldview. Like it or not, it is true.\u201d<\/p>\n Final vote on the changes still ahead<\/p>\n A final vote on the list is expected in June, and if approved by the Texas State Board of Education, the changes would take effect in 2030.<\/p>\n Several speakers cited the \u201cestablishment clause\u201d of the First Amendment, which states that \u201cCongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis list is a tool of proselytization that has no place in our public schools,\u201d Rabbi Josh Fixler, of Congregation Emanu El, a reform synagogue in Houston, told the board. \u201cThere is a difference between teaching about religion and teaching religion, and this list will force teachers to cross that line.\u201d<\/p>\n Megan Boyden, a mother of three from Denton, Texas, described is as a direct attack on her private faith.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a Christian mother, it is my right and responsibility to teach our family\u2019s religion,\u201d she said. “It is not the state\u2019s job to shed through the lens of a teacher who may not share the same beliefs I do. Will Bible passages be taught in conflict with my beliefs?<\/p>\n \u201cWhat,\u201d she asked, \u201cof non-Christian students?\u201d<\/p>\n