“Teaching about the influence of religion in our history is an important part of a well-rounded education, but this error-riddled curriculum risks turning public schools into Sunday schools, with parents of diverse religious beliefs left in the dark,” said Val Benavidez, president of the TFN Education Fund. “Under the deceptive guise of promoting religious literacy, these Bible-based lessons undermine the freedom of Christian as well as non-Christian parents to guide the religious instruction of their own children.” (source
Ugh. The headline makes me want to pack up and leave Texas, even though I attend K-12 private Catholic Schools in Panama and Texas.
The National Center for Science Education shares this in their newsletter:
“A state-developed reading curriculum for public elementary schools in Texas is infused with lessons that overwhelmingly emphasize the Bible over sacred texts of other religions and subtly portray Christian faith claims as true in ways that verge on proselytizing students,” according to the Texas Freedom Network (August 15, 2024) — and endorsement of the creation and flood stories of Genesis is involved. (Source
They cite The74 article, as well as this article that makes a point about creationists buying their way into public schools. I guess their efforts as prosyletizing have failed that they have to resort to this:
In May, the Texas State Board of Education proposed an update to the state’s K-5 Reading Language Arts (RLA) curriculum. Almost immediately, report after report described the proposed curriculum as “Bible-infused,” “blending religious teaching,” boosting “biblical content” and seeking to “inject Bible stories into elementary school reading.” If the Board of Education approves of the program, school districts will have a big incentive to adopt it for the 2025-26 school year – because they would receive an additional $60 per student. That’s a lot of money for public schools facing a budget crisis after years of being woefully underfunded. (source