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Texas Board Votes to Mandate Bible Readings for 5 Million Students

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Texas’s Mandatory Bible Reading List Covers K-12, Excludes All Other Faiths

The Texas State Board of Education is voting today on a mandatory reading list for K-12 public school students that includes Bible passages, picture-book retellings of David and Goliath and Daniel and the Lion’s Den, and Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount, while excluding texts from every other religion. The Republican-majority board is expected to approve it.

5 million+ public school students in Texas would be subject to the new reading requirements, roughly one in ten of all public school students in the United States.

The list is built on a 2023 Texas law requiring each grade to include at least one state-selected title. Working with outside advisors, the board compiled more than 200 titles. The selections range from standard children’s books like Chicka Chicka Boom Boom to Bible passages about Adam and Eve, assigned alongside students’ existing literature requirements.

Board Members and Christians Alike Oppose the Curriculum

Opposition came from inside the board itself. Member Tiffany Clark, a Christian, argued that the curriculum crosses a line.

“Bible lessons should be taught on Sundays.”

Tiffany Clark, Texas State Board of Education member, June 2026

Clark also pointed out a practical problem the board did not resolve: different Christian denominations use different Bible translations, meaning the state is effectively picking one version of scripture over others.

Elva Mendoza, a legislative communications associate for the Texas Freedom Network, put the micromanagement problem plainly. She noted that the board’s list includes Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, a kindergarten board book, and asked whether the state truly could not trust kindergarten teachers to choose their own board books.

A Pattern of Church-State Erosion in Texas Public Schools

This vote is the latest in a series of moves by Texas that have pushed Christianity into public school life. In 2023, Texas became the first state to allow public schools to hire chaplains to counsel students. Last year, Texas passed a law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom. A federal appeals court upheld that law in April 2026.

Texas also passed a “Don’t Say Gay” bill last year, and the Texas GOP’s 2026 platform includes banning transgender teachers from working in schools. Critics, including the ACLU of Texas, argue the mandatory Bible reading list violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment by favoring one religion over all others and overriding parents’ right to guide their children’s religious education.

What You Can Do Now

  1. Contact your Texas State Board of Education member directly. Find your district’s board member at tea.texas.gov/about-tea/leadership/state-board-of-education. Tell them you oppose a mandatory reading list that includes Bible passages while excluding all other religious texts, and that you expect them to represent all Texas families.

  2. Call your Texas state representative and senator at (512) 463-4630 (the Texas Capitol switchboard). Ask them to pass legislation clarifying that state-mandated reading lists may not include religious texts from a single faith tradition. The legislature is in session and can respond to board decisions.

  3. Submit a public comment to the Texas Education Agency at tea.texas.gov/about-tea/contact-us. State agencies are required to log public feedback. Mention the Establishment Clause, parental rights, and the exclusion of non-Christian religious texts.

  4. Contact the ACLU of Texas at aclu.org/aclutx to report concerns or support a potential legal challenge. The ACLU has challenged the Ten Commandments display law and tracks church-state violations in Texas public schools.

Sources

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