{"id":5045,"date":"2025-10-15T15:45:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T15:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/5045\/"},"modified":"2025-10-15T15:45:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T15:45:08","slug":"north-texas-districts-cash-in-with-bluebonnet-curriculum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/5045\/","title":{"rendered":"North Texas Districts Cash In with Bluebonnet curriculum"},"content":{"rendered":"

In November 2024, the Texas Board of Education approved a new optional set of learning materials, known as Bluebonnet Learning.<\/a> The materials, which cover the English curriculum for kindergarten through 5th grade, are widely criticized for their inclusion of Bible excerpts<\/a> and the monetary incentive that accompanies their adoption. <\/p>\n

The Houston Chronicle compiled a list<\/a> of all schools and districts that have ordered Bluebonnet Learning, including dozens in North Texas. Some of those are set to receive an additional million dollars to spend; however, any extra funds must be spent on State Board of Education-approved materials.\u00a0<\/p>\n

School districts that adopt the materials receive $40 per student and receive online versions of the materials at no cost. If a school orders printed versions, the district must cover the associated printing costs. However, the Texas Education Agency offers an additional $20 per student to help with affordability, totaling $60 per student.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have a carrot being hung for $60 at a time when funding for public education has been so limited, what is to keep administrators who are well-intentioned from taking that carrot just so they can get the additional $60?\u201d State Board of Education member Marisa Perez-Diaz said to the Chronicle. \u201cThat\u2019s a really unfair conundrum that this legislation has put our districts in.\u201d<\/p>\n

The monetary incentivization of the learning materials, especially as public school districts grapple with budgetary deficits and barely increasing student allotments, has been called \u201cbribery.\u201d<\/a> The offer is hard to refuse, although many school districts have held out, including the Dallas Independent School District and several nearby districts, but not all.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If Dallas ISD were to adopt the materials and order the printed copies, it would receive an additional $8,340,000. The district began the school year with a $187 million budget deficit, which it has significantly reduced<\/a>; however, it is still tens of millions of dollars under a break-even point.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Charter schools are also eligible to purchase the materials and receive the additional funding. Cityscape Schools, Gateway Charter Academy, Nova Academy, Pioneer Technology and Arts Academy and St. Anthony School are the only schools within Dallas proper to adopt the new materials. Public charter schools are required by law to remain secular.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most of the districts that have chosen to receive the new learning materials are small. A grand total of 367 districts have placed orders for the materials. East Texas has the largest concentration of districts set to receive Bluebonnet Learning, but North Texas has a fair share. <\/p>\n

Last month, Fort Worth became the second-largest school district to adopt the materials, earning roughly $2.4 million after deducting the printing cost. The district is operating under a significant budget deficit and is facing a potential takeover, led by the TEA Commissioner Mike Morath, following consecutive poor ratings at one particular school campus.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there are resources that not only help my teachers, my parents and my students, then I need to take advantage of that,\u201d FWISD Superintendent Karen Molinar said at the board meeting when the materials were voted on.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite being supported by the superintendent, who is potentially facing removal, the nine-person district board of education did not unanimously support the materials.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAll that is saying is state-sanctioned indoctrination,\u201d one of the three nay voters, Trustee Quinton Phillips, said at the board meeting at the end of September.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The largest district to adopt the materials, and one of the largest, was Conroe ISD, outside of Houston. But large district adoption is generally unpopular, and most of the North Texas districts that have done so have fewer than 2,000 students.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a list of all schools and districts in North Texas that have adopted Bluebonnet Learning and how much they\u2019ll make doing it.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Bonham ISD\u00a0<\/p>\n

Student Population: 1,970\u00a0<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $118,200<\/p>\n

Bridgeway Preparatory Academy, Farmers Branch<\/p>\n

Student Population: 125<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $7,500<\/p>\n

Burleson ISD\u00a0<\/p>\n

Student Population: 12,600<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $756,000<\/p>\n

Callisburg ISD\u00a0<\/p>\n

Student Population: 1,200<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $72,000<\/p>\n

Campbell ISD\u00a0<\/p>\n

Student Population: 280\u00a0<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $16,800<\/p>\n

Celeste ISD\u00a0<\/p>\n

Student Population: 520<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $31,200<\/p>\n

Cityscape Schools, Dallas<\/p>\n

Student Population: 1,200<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $72,000<\/p>\n

Collinsville ISD\u00a0<\/p>\n

Student Population: 570<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $34,200<\/p>\n

Commerce ISD\u00a0<\/p>\n

Student Population: 1,500<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $90,000<\/p>\n

Crowley ISD\u00a0<\/p>\n

Student Population: 17,000<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $1,020,000<\/p>\n

Duncanville ISD\u00a0<\/p>\n

Student Population: 11,500<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $690,000<\/p>\n

Education Center International Academy, Sunnyvale\u00a0<\/p>\n

Student Population: 440<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $2,640<\/p>\n

Garner ISD\u00a0<\/p>\n

Student Population: 365<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $21,900<\/p>\n

Gateway Charter Academy, Dallas<\/p>\n

Student Population: 600\u00a0<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $36,000<\/p>\n

Irving ISD\u00a0<\/p>\n

Student Population: 33,000\u00a0<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $1,980,000<\/p>\n

Italy ISD\u00a0<\/p>\n

Student Population: 650\u00a0<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $39,000<\/p>\n

Krum ISD\u00a0<\/p>\n

Student Population: 2,200\u00a0<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $132,000<\/p>\n

Lake Worth ISD\u00a0<\/p>\n

Student Population: 3,200\u00a0<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $192,000<\/p>\n

Legacy Preparatory, Mesquite and Plano<\/p>\n

Student Population: 1,190<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: 71,400<\/p>\n

Milford ISD\u00a0<\/p>\n

Student Population: 200+<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $12,000<\/p>\n

Newman International Academy of Arlington\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Student Population: 2,850\u00a0<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $171,000<\/p>\n

Nova Academy, Dallas and Cedar Hill\u00a0<\/p>\n

Student Population: 800+<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $48,000<\/p>\n

Pioneer Technology and Arts Academy, Dallas and Mesquite\u00a0<\/p>\n

Student Population: 2,600<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $156,000<\/p>\n

Pottsboro ISD\u00a0<\/p>\n

Student Population: 1,400\u00a0<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $84,000<\/p>\n

S and S Consolidated ISD\u00a0<\/p>\n

Student Population: 990\u00a0<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $59,400<\/p>\n

Springtown ISD\u00a0<\/p>\n

Student Population: 4,150\u00a0<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $249,000<\/p>\n

St Anthony School, Dallas\u00a0<\/p>\n

Student Population: 120<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $7,200<\/p>\n

Stephenville ISD\u00a0<\/p>\n

Student Population: 3,600<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $216,000<\/p>\n

Three Way ISD\u00a0<\/p>\n

Student Population: 205<\/p>\n

Monetary Incentive: $12,300<\/p>\n

Student population sizes are rough estimates sourced from district and charter school websites. The monetary incentive was calculated using the entire $60 per head bonus and does not include the printing cost deductions. How much a district receives will vary depending on how it chooses to implement Bluebonnet Learning. The new resources were made available this school year, but according to the TEA, some materials are still in their pilot phase and are being delivered in batches throughout the year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In November 2024, the Texas Board of Education approved a new optional set of learning materials, known as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5046,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[150,152,151,116,160,1968],"class_list":{"0":"post-5045","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arlington","8":"tag-arlington","9":"tag-arlington-headlines","10":"tag-arlington-news","11":"tag-fort-worth","12":"tag-plano","13":"tag-religion"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5045"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5045\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}