\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTexas education officials gave preliminary approval June 23 to the state\u2019s first mandatory reading list, which includes nearly 200 literary works that public school students would begin reading as soon as 2030.<\/p>\n
At a glance<\/p>\n
The proposed list incorporates about a dozen stories from the Bible, including the tale of David and Goliath in second grade and direct biblical excerpts beginning in fourth grade. In total, students would be required to read more than two dozen texts in early elementary grades and about 10 literary works per year from sixth grade through high school.<\/p>\n
Members of the Republican-led State Board of Education<\/a> voted 9-5 to cut several titles from the reading list June 23, setting the list up for a final vote later this week.<\/p>\n A day earlier, Texans spoke to the board about the proposed list for nearly eight hours, with speakers on multiple sides of the issue urging board members to allow schools to \u201cteach the truth.\u201d How speakers and board members interpreted that phrase, however, varied.<\/p>\n More than half of those who testified June 22 asked the board to shorten the list, include more diverse authors and remove religious references. Others praised the SBOE for creating a list that they said would teach students about \u201cAmerican exceptionalism\u201d and prioritize classical literature.<\/p>\n If the book list is approved, it would be the first example in recent history of Texas leaders requiring religious readings in public schools, Community Impact previously reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are bringing the Bible back into schools this week for the first time in [decades],\u201d SBOE member Brandon Hall, R-Aledo, said June 22.<\/p>\n Looking ahead<\/p>\n The SBOE is also rewriting the state\u2019s social studies curriculum during this week\u2019s meeting, with final votes on both topics scheduled for June 26.<\/p>\n The new requirements are slated to take effect in the 2030-31 school year, although board members were discussing options for a phased rollout during the June 23 meeting. State officials said implementing the changes across multiple school years would better support teachers and provide a chronological education for students; a decision had not been made as of press time.<\/p>\n Zooming in<\/p>\n The education board is required to create a K-12 reading list under House Bill 1605<\/a>, a 2023 state law that also directed the Texas Education Agency to develop state-owned textbooks. The SBOE approved those textbooks<\/a>, known as Bluebonnet Learning, in late 2024, and the state is currently working to correct roughly 4,200 errors in the materials, Community Impact previously reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n State law directs the SBOE to select \u201cat least one literary work\u201d to be taught in each grade level, although the board\u2019s proposal far exceeds that requirement.<\/p>\n During public testimony June 22, teachers expressed concerns that they would not have time to cover dozens of required readings within a school year while giving students the option to self-select books for independent reading time.<\/p>\n \u201cThe list will eat up weeks of valuable instructional time, ranging from 77 to 142% of the year, … which is simply a mathematical bridge too far to cross,\u201d said Diane Miller with the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts<\/a>.<\/p>\n Many testifiers also said the proposed list did not include perspectives that represent Texas\u2019 diverse student population, noting that the list has works from few female, Hispanic or Asian authors. During the 2024-25 school year, about 54% of Texas public school students were Hispanic, 24% were white, 13% were Black, 6% were Asian and 3% were multiracial, according to Texas Education Agency data<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we don’t see Hispanic or African American authors in the literary works, I think that is really sad because those kids would not be able to see themselves represented in that curriculum,\u201d state Rep. Salman Bhojani, D-Euless, told the board June 22.<\/p>\n Religious leaders and scholars warned that portions of the reading list could foster antisemitism in schools. In eighth grade, students would be required to read Lamentations 3, a religious text that details \u201cthe destruction of Jerusalem as God’s punishment for the Israelites\u201d alongside “Night,” a Holocaust memoir by Elie Wiesel.<\/p>\n \u201cThis invites eighth graders to consider whether the Holocaust was God’s punishment for the Jews,\u201d Houston Rabbi David Segal said. \u201cI assume this poor choice comes from ignorance, not ill intent, but either way, it\u2019s unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n