Texas State Board of Education voted to mandate Bible passages as required K–12 reading for 5 million public school students

On June 26, 2026, the Texas State Board of Education voted to adopt a mandatory K–12 reading list that includes Bible passages—among them New Testament stories about Jesus—for roughly 5 million Texas public school students. The list is the first mandatory reading list in any U.S. state to include religious texts. Implementation is staggered, beginning with elementary students in 2030. The board, controlled by Republicans, also announced a forthcoming vote on a companion social studies curriculum linking Bible stories with American history.

Texas is home to approximately one in ten U.S. public school students, making the decision nationally significant. The National Council of Teachers of English president Antero Garcia confirmed he knew of no other state with a mandatory reading list including religious texts. Critics, including the Texas Freedom Network and PEN America, argued the list violates the constitutional separation of church and state by singling out a single religious tradition—Christianity—for mandatory instruction in public schools attended by children of all faiths and none. The action extends a pattern of Texas legislation embedding Christianity in public education: state law already allows public schools to hire chaplains, requires display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms, and has approved an optional Bible-infused social studies curriculum.

By using the state board's authority to designate scripture from one tradition as required curriculum, the vote elevated Christianity over other religions in a governmental institution constitutionally obligated to remain neutral among faiths. Students of non-Christian traditions—and of no religious tradition—have no comparable mandatory reading from their own texts.