Yesterday, the Texas State Board of Education approved a required reading list for each grade from kindergarten through high school. The list includes Bible verses or stories for every grade except kindergarten. Zeale reports:
The Republican-controlled board voted 9-5 with one member absent to adopt the reading lists, which were required under a 2023 state law directing the board to specify required vocabulary and at least one literary work for each grade level. The adopted lists contain nearly 200 literary works spanning kindergarten through high school, including selections from the Bible alongside classic works by authors such as William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and E.B. White.
The requirements will take effect beginning with the 2030-2031 school year....
The reading lists assign different Bible passages from specific translations, including the New International Reader’s Version, King James Version, and English Standard Version.
According to the Houston Chronicle:
The book list makes Texas the only state in the country to issue its own literature requirements, rather than leaving the choices up to teachers or districts....
Though teachers may still select other books to supplement the list, many testified prior to the vote that the required list was already too long to be taught within a single school year.
Here are the Biblical verses and stories required (as amended): 1st Grade- Jonah and the Whale by Jonah 1:1-5, 10-17, 2:10; 2nd Grade- David and Goliath (excerpt from The Children's Book of Heroes) by William J. Bennett (editor); 3rd Grade- ROAR! – Daniel and the Lion's Den – Children's Adapted Version by CBN;
4th Grade: The Necessity of Humility (Book of Luke, Chapter 14, Verses 7-11) by New International Reader's Version: New Testament; 5th Grade- Moses (Book of Exodus, Chapter 3: The Burning Bush and Book of Exodus, Chapter 14: The Parting of the Red Sea) by New International Reader's Version: Hebrew Bible/Old Testament; 6th Grade- Do Not Be Anxious (Book of Matthew, Chapter 6, Verses 25-34) by English Standard Version: New Testament;
7th Grade- The Shepherd's Psalm (Book of Psalms, Chapter 23) by King James Version: Hebrew Bible/Old Testament; The Eight Beatitudes (Book of Matthew, Chapter 5, Verses 1-12) by King James Version: New Testament; 8th Grade- To Everything There is a Season (Book of Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3) by King James Version: Hebrew Bible/Old Testament; Book of Lamentations, Chapter 3 by Tanakh: Jewish Publication Society 1917.
English 1 (9th grade)-Parable of the Prodigal Son (Book of Luke, Chapter 15, Verses 11-32) by English Standard Translation: New Testament; English II (10th Grade)- The Book of Job (Book of Job, Chapters 1-7,11,14,19,28,38-42) by New International Reader's Version: Hebrew Bible/Old Testament; English III (11th Grade)- Adam and Eve (Book of Genesis, Chapters 2 and 3) by New International Reader's Version: Hebrew Bible/Old Testament; English IV (12th Grade): The Definition of Love (Book of 1 Corinthians, Chapter 13) by English Standard Version: New Testament.
A video of the full board meeting that adopted the reading requirements is available online. (Discussion of the proposal begins at 54:21). AP also reports on the Board's action.
