The Texas State Board of Education on Friday approved a new required reading list for more than 5 million K-12 public schools that includes stories from the Bible.

The list will affect every grade level. Elementary students will be required to read picture-book versions of “David and Goliath” and “Daniel and the Lion’s Den.” Middle school students must read passages from the Sermon on the Mount from the Bible’s New Testament, while high schoolers must read about Adam and Eve and the parable of the prodigal son.

The changes will affectexa 5.5 million public school students in the religiously diverse state, according to enrollment data for the 2024-25 school year.

The reading list, which received preliminary approval in April, drew criticism from parents and educators who decried the infusion of religion in public school curriculum. Critics of the list, including religious freedom groups and other faith groups, argued it centers Christianity in public school instruction, raising concerns about the separation of church and state enshrined in the Constitution.

The required list will take effect in 2030.

A movement to expand the role of religion, specifically Christianity, in schools has taken root in Texas over the past few years. In 2023, Texas became the first state to allow schools to hire religious chaplains as school counselors.

That same year, Texas lawmakers approved a new Bible-based curriculum for elementary schools called “Bluebonnet Learning,” which includes lessons on the “golden rule” and Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan. It is not mandatory for school districts to adopt the curriculum but the state does offer a financial incentive of $60 per student if the district chooses to opt in. The curriculum has already proved to be costly: Texas will have to spend $8.4 million to correct more than 4,200 errors, including grammatical errors and incorrect facts and answer keys, that were found in the “Bluebonnet” materials.

In 2025, the state passed a law requiring all public schools to display the Ten Commandments in each classroom. Attorney General Ken Paxton, currently a Senate Republican nominee, called the biblical laws “irrevocably intertwined with America’s legal, moral, and historical heritage.” A group of multifaith families challenged the law and plan to appeal the latest ruling to the Supreme Court. A federal judge separately struck down a similar Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments in public schools in 2025, finding it unconstitutional.

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