Texas School District Debates Bible-Infused Curriculum Amid Public Opposition

CONROE, Texas — Community members and students voiced strong opposition to a controversial Bible-infused curriculum during a recent meeting, as the district considers whether to adopt the state-approved educational materials that would come with financial incentives.

The curriculum, known as Bluebonnet Learning, was proposed by the Texas Education Agency last November and is set to launch in August 2025. It will affect English and language arts instruction for kindergarten through fifth-grade students in public schools that choose to implement it.

“It’s just injecting religion where it should not be,” said student Lynn Greaves during the meeting. Dr. Lynne Walters, a community member, criticized the premise, stating, “The idea that children will learn to read because there are Bible stories incorporated is ridiculous.”

Republican State Board of Education member Audrey Young defended the curriculum, emphasizing that “It’s written to support literature, not to teach religion.” She noted that religious texts comprise approximately 10% of the materials, with the remainder focused on literature.

The program is currently being piloted in Temple ISD and Lubbock school districts, with results expected this spring. Districts that adopt the curriculum will receive $60 per student in state funding.

No supporters spoke during the public comment period at the meeting. Conroe ISD officials are still in discussions about whether to implement the curriculum for the upcoming academic year.

During a more than five-hour special meeting on Tuesday, some school board members signaled interest in adopting the curriculum, while public speakers urged members to refrain from approving the lessons. Audrey Young, a State Board of Education member who cast a vote in favor of the Bluebonnet curriculum in November, told board members that the curriculum is written to support literature, not to teach religion.

“The Bible is the most referenced book in Western literature,” Young said. “In order for our students to know more information and to understand what it is they are reading, as they grow as a reader from a young age to adults, we have to rely on the vocabulary and the nuances and the information that we learned early on in order to understand what we are still learning later on in life.”

Young referenced one lesson in the curriculum about the Golden Rule, a principle found in several religious texts that states people should treat others the way they would like to be treated. “It pulls information from several faiths,” she said. “The golden rule is something that is expressed across all faiths.”

The curriculum references Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism, Young said. Lynn Greaves, a student in the school district, urged trustees to halt discussions on the curriculum. “It’s just injecting religion into places it doesn’t need to be,” Greaves said. “It selectively advertises Christianity to children. A great example of this is in a Kindergarten unit on kings and queens where kids learn that King Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem.”

A Bluebonnet curriculum handout also teaches that “many canonical works of Western literature cannot be fully understood without a background in biblical narratives, requiring students to be taught these narratives to fully engage with that literature.” To that point, the curriculum handout references authors William Faulkner, Herman Melville, and John Steinbeck. “Hundreds of idioms in the English language have their origin in the Bible,” according to the program.

School districts will receive $40 per student for adopting curriculum that includes high-quality instructional materials. Districts will also receive $20 per student every year if they choose to adopt the Bluebonnet Learning curriculum, according to the state board.

“Another reason why you really shouldn’t is because Conroe ISD is great because it is an independent school district,” Greaves told school board members on Tuesday. “My family moved here because it is a good school district in the state of Texas. Texas has some of the lowest literacy rates in the country, it’s not known for its education. Please don’t just follow along with the rest of the state and lower your standards just so that way you can get a little bit more money.”

Board trustees will take up a vote on the curriculum later in the year and hear recommendations from a committee tasked with providing input.