Texas has approved a policy requiring public school students in the state to study biblical passages, with implementation beginning in 2030. The Texas Board of Education passed the measure in a vote of nine to five.
Under the plan, elementary students will learn children’s Bible stories such as David vs. Goliath, while fourth graders begin reading New Testament passages. Middle school students will study more detailed Jesus-related material, including the Sermon on the Mount. High school students will read specific Bible texts alongside literary works by authors like Charles Dickens and Jane Austen.
The policy follows Texas’ prior requirement for the Ten Commandments to be displayed in all public schools, a decision recently upheld by a federal appeals court.
Historian Noah Webster (1758–1843), known as the “Father of American Scholarship and Education,” stated: “Education is useless without the Bible.” He also noted that “The Bible was America’s basic textbook in all fields.”