List: Bible stories proposed in Texas as required reading in public schools

Testimony over proposed reading lists for Texas schools

The Texas school board is taking up a list of reading materials for elementary and middle schools which includes some items from the Bible.

Certain Bible stories would be required reading for Texas public schools students under a new proposal. 

The proposed reading list is putting the state at the center of the debate over the presence and role of religion in public classrooms. 

Bible stories proposed reading in Texas

Big picture view:

The debate is over the new proposed reading list for the state’s 5.4 million kindergartners to 12th-graders, which includes Biblical stories like Jonah and the whale and David and Goliath. 

Dig deeper:

Specific Bible stories included in the proposed reading list are: 

• Kinder: The Golden Rule
• Grade 1: The Parable of the Prodigal Son
• Grade 3: The Road to Damascus
• Grade 6: Do Not Be Anxious (Book of Matthew, 6:25-34)
• Grade 7:  Jonah and the Whale (Book of Jonah), The Definition of Love (Book of 1 Corinthians, Chapter 13), The Shepherd's Psalm (Book of Psalms, Chapter 23)
• Grade 8: The Eight Beatitudes (Book of Matthew, 5:1-12)
• English I: David and Goliath (Book of 1 Samuel, Chapter 17), Lamentations 3 (Book of Lamentations, Chapter 3)
• English II: The Tower of Babel (Book of Genesis, 11:1-9), 
• English III: To Everything There is a Season (Book of Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3) 
• English IV: The Book of Job (Book of Job, Chapters 1-7, 11, 14, 19, 28, 38-42)

Most on the list are classics, such as "Red Riding Hood," "Peter Rabbit," "Fahrenheit 451" and "The Odyssey."

See the full list here. 

FILE - A school-aged boy finds the Bible on a library shelf. Getty Images

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Local perspective:

Members of the Texas Board of Education listened Tuesday to testimony about the list. At times emotions ran hot and comments got personal from both supporters and opponents of the list, reported FOX 7 Austin. 

Video perspective:

You can see local coverage of the event in the video player above. 

What they're saying:

"We're not teaching a religion in public schools," school board member Julie Pickren said Tuesday. 

"We're using the Old Testament and New Testament, according to state law, for the enrichment of knowledge. Because when we have laws in Texas, like the Baby Moses Law, and we have laws in Texas like The Good Samaritan Law, whenever children are reading great works of literature and it references like Dr. Martin Luther King's letter from a Birmingham jail that references Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and Daniel in the fiery furnace, well, then kids need to understand - they need an enrichment of knowledge and they need to read the text of where that comes from."

The other side:

Opponents argue against the role of religion in the classrooms. Several speakers cited the "establishment clause" of the First Amendment, which states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."

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Of note:

Texas already has approved an optional curriculum that incorporates the Bible for students in kindergarten through fifth grade, known as the "Bluebonnet" textbook and designed by the state’s public education agency. It’s optional for schools to adopt, though they receive additional funding if they do so, according to The Associated Press. 

What's next:

A final vote on the list is expected in June, and if approved by the Texas State Board of Education, the changes would take effect in 2030.

The decision could have national implications.