On Tuesday, the State Board of Education (SBOE), as part of its Instructional Materials Review and Approval (IMRA) process, gave initial approval to a controversial set of instructional materials that include some Bible-based lessons.  

The materials, Bluebonnet Learning, are instructional materials developed by the Texas Education Agency (TEA). The Bluebonnet materials, which cover ELAR for grades K-5, are meant to cover 100% of the TEKS, and the adoption of these materials, along with others, is the result of House Bill 1605 by House Public Education Chairman Brad Buckley (R–Salado). The 2023 bill required the SBOE to approve lists of high-quality instructional materials for districts and provides a financial incentive to districts that adopt those materials.  

Critics of the Bluebonnet materials say that while the materials may be high quality in some respects, the lessons and vocabulary are not age appropriate. Others expressed concern that the extensive Bible-based content embedded in the curriculum emphasizes Christianity over all other faiths, with some testifiers stating the lessons do not always even accurately following the biblical text from which they are sourced. Testifiers and board members asserted this will inappropriately transfer choice and delivery of religious instruction from parents and churches to the state. Supporters of the materials pointed to the lessons as teaching important foundational concepts and stressed their view that America was founded on Judeo-Christian religious ideals. 

Board members heard from over 100 members of the public Monday, with testimony stretching late into the night and forcing the board to push its agenda back to Tuesday.   

The board returned Tuesday morning to debate and vote on the issue. SBOE member Will Hickman (R–Houston) argued that the lessons covered important educational concepts. “In my view, these stories are on the education side and are establishing cultural literacy,” Hickman said. “There’s religious concepts like the Good Samaritan and the Golden Rule and Moses that all students should be exposed to.” Hickman also stated that he preferred to approve as many materials as possible and leave the decision up to districts as to which materials suited their needs.  

Several SBOE members expressed concerns. Evelyn Brooks (R–Frisco) commented that TEA, which is not a textbook publisher, both created its own materials and conducted the ranking and evaluation process and thus had an unfair advantage over other publishers. She also pointed out the materials have not been shown to improve student learning outcomes. Pat Hardy (R–Fort Worth) asked about the age appropriateness of the material, citing, for example, instances in which material related to TEKS from two or more grades higher had been pulled down into lower grades. 

SBOE member Staci Childs (D–Houston) cited an ongoing case in Louisiana over displaying the Ten Commandments in the classroom, saying she was concerned that the Bluebonnet materials would lead to legal challenges. The Louisiana law is currently blocked by a federal court. According to Childs, the ruling “is closely aligned to what will happen if some kindergarten or first grade student’s parents were upset about what they were learning in class.” 

The board vote was 8-7 to keep the Bluebonnet Learning materials on the approved list of instructional materials. Republican board members Brooks, Hardy, and Pam Little joined their Democratic colleagues in opposition to the materials. Leslie Recine, a Republican appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to temporarily fill the vacated seat of Aicha Davis, who just won a seat in the Texas House, voted with the other Republicans. Abbott appointed Recine to the seat through the end of the year. Her vote ended up being the deciding vote on the measure. Democrat Tiffany Clark won election to the seat earlier this month, and her term will begin in January.