Extensive List Under Consideration by State Board of Education Far Exceeds Legislative Requirements, Includes Bible Reading
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 28, 2026
Contact: Imelda Mejia, 512-212-1758, [email protected]
AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas State Board of Education is taking an initial vote today on a proposed required reading list that would mandate Bible passages and other religion-themed materials for students in every public school in the state.
Public education advocates and religious freedom organizations, however, are warning that the proposed extensive list undermines teachers’ expertise, disregards local control, and threatens religious freedom for Texas families
“This long list of required readings enforces a one-size-fits-all approach in one of the largest and most diverse states in the nation,” said Carisa Lopez, deputy director of the Texas Freedom Network. “This kind of state micromanagement tosses aside local control and makes it harder or even impossible for teachers to tailor instruction in ways that are appropriate for their students. Even worse is that this list represents another step by the state toward turning public schools into Sunday schools that undermine the right of parents to direct the religious education of their own children.”
HB1605, passed by the Legislature in 2023, required the state board to identify at least one required literary work for every grade level. TEA’s proposed list includes far more reading requirements per grade level, dozens in some cases.
“While many of the books on this list are worthwhile and have real value, the problem is that this list is narrowly curated, too long, and treated as a mandate,” said Frank Strong, co-director of the Texas Freedom to Read Project. “As a result, it will limit what students read in their classrooms rather than expanding their options. As parents of public school students, we take issue with that. Texas Freedom to Read Project knows that teachers know their classrooms best, and individual teachers, schools, and districts should be the ones making decisions about what books to assign their students. Not the state.”
The proposed reading list requirements include many Bible passages specifically from conservative Protestant translations that many Christians – including other Protestants, Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox – don’t use. Moreover, the proposed list doesn’t include religious literature from other faith traditions despite the fact that about a third of Texans don’t identify as Christian.
“Texas public schools serve students from many faiths and belief systems, including Sikh families,” said Savleen Singh, senior education manager for the Sikh Coalition. “Mandating a reading list that overwhelmingly centers specific Christian biblical translations raises serious concerns about religious favoritism in public education and risks excluding students whose identities and traditions are not reflected. This exclusion has real consequences according to the Sikh Coalition’s Where Are You Really From? report, which found 78% of Sikh students reported experiencing bias-based bullying in school, often rooted in lack of representation by what is read and taught in schools. Curriculum decisions should respect constitutional boundaries, protect families rights to guide religious education, and preserve educators flexibility to serve Texas’s diverse classrooms.”
“The proposed reading list relies heavily on Protestant Christian translations and leaves out other faith traditions,” said David Segal, policy counsel for the Baptist Justice Coalition. “Public schools have a duty to prepare students to participate in civic life, not to advance a particular religious viewpoint. Teaching about religion has always been appropriate in public education, but what we are seeing here verges on state-sanctioned religious instruction. Public schools must remain a place for education that serves all students, not places where the government claims the role of a Sunday school teacher.”
Consideration of the list comes after the State Board of Education approved a state-developed, Bible-infused reading curriculum for elementary public school students in 2024. A report from the Texas Freedom Network Education Fund that year warned that those Bible-based lessons risk turning public schools into Sunday schools, undermining the religious freedom of students and their families.
Final approval will require a second reading as early as the April meeting.
