A group of legal organizations has urged school district leaders in Texas to reject the adoption of a newly approved state curriculum laden with references to Christianity and biblical teachings. The coalition, which includes the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Center for Inquiry, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, sent a letter on Thursday to superintendents and school boards. They warned that adopting the curriculum, known as Bluebonnet Learning, would “unlawfully impose a set of religious beliefs upon your students and violate their constitutionally guaranteed right to be free from religious coercion.”
In the letter, the advocacy groups expressed their readiness to take legal action against any Texas school that decides to implement the curriculum. They affirmed their long-standing commitment to ensuring religious freedom and indicated they would monitor any district considering the bluebonnet curriculum closely, taking necessary actions to protect the rights of Texas children and their families.
Responding to the letter, a spokesperson for the Texas Education Agency maintained that public schools are not allowed to provide religious instruction and insisted there is no religious instruction in Bluebonnet Learning. They described the curriculum as encompassing a wide range of topics, including history, literature, the arts, and culture, while noting that when religious topics are relevant, they draw from various faith traditions. The purpose, they argued, is to enrich students’ understanding of historical and literary material’s cultural significance.
The State Board of Education narrowly approved the free-to-use curriculum for elementary schools in November, with a vote tipping in favor due to a temporary appointee of Gov. Greg Abbott. Schools that opt to adopt the curriculum will have the opportunity to implement it at the beginning of the 2025-26 academic year, with the state providing an incentive of $60 per student to help cover printing costs.
The curriculum integrates reading and language arts to strengthen content in subjects such as history and social studies. Critics, including religious studies scholars, have raised concerns about the curriculum’s heavy reference to Christianity compared to other religions. They warn that this disparity may lead to adverse experiences for non-Christian students, could weaken the separation between church and state, and might allow the state extensive control over religious education.
Some detractors have also pointed out inaccuracies within the curriculum, alleging that it attempts to gloss over the complexities of America’s history with slavery and racism. Many perceive this curriculum as part of a broader Christian nationalist movement, which espouses the belief that the United States was divinely ordained and that its legal frameworks should favor Christian tenets.
Proponents of the curriculum, including education officials, argue that references to Christianity provide valuable context for understanding American history and the influence of key religious texts like the Bible. They contend that the materials intentionally address a variety of faiths and only include religious references where deemed pertinent. Additionally, supporters assert that the curriculum offers substantial insights into the abolition of slavery, acknowledges historically significant events like Juneteenth and the Civil Rights Movement, and honors the contributions of Black Texans.
Following the approval of Bluebonnet, Abbott praised it as a significant advancement toward simplifying education and delivering top-tier educational experiences. Since the curriculum’s endorsement, one school board, South San Antonio, has voted to adopt it, while Fort Worth’s Eagle Mountain-Saginaw district intends to use its math components while steering clear of the reading sections rich in biblical references. Conversely, the Conroe school district is currently deliberating its potential adoption, whereas Denton school district has publicly declined any intention of considering the curriculum.
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath indicated that there is a growing interest in the Bluebonnet curriculum across the state, and the agency is actively fielding inquiries to assist districts considering its adoption.
School districts have significant discretion when selecting lesson plans. They can choose to utilize some components of Bluebonnet while disregarding others, like its chapters that discuss Christianity, or they may emphasize biblical references while adopting different instructional materials for other subjects.
Legal analysts note that recent Supreme Court rulings might have blurred the lines concerning what constitutes a violation of the Establishment Clause, which bars the state from endorsing specific religions. For example, the Court concluded that a Washington state high school football coach did not infringe on the First Amendment by offering personal prayers on the field after games, leading to the abandonment of the Lemon test—a former standard used to evaluate government actions and their interaction with religion.
In a previous State Board of Education meeting, the deputy attorney general underscored that education about religion and the Bible, if approached in an objective and academic manner without aiming to convert, is constitutionally acceptable.
The legal coalition’s letter criticized the Bluebonnet curriculum for treating Christianity and the Bible as factual truths. They highlighted lessons aimed at fifth-graders regarding the painting of The Last Supper and claimed that the curriculum’s portrayal of the Book of Matthew is presented as a literal historical account. Additionally, they called out a unit that refers to Jesus without qualifications and notes explicit teachings on the resurrection from the Christian Bible. The criticism extends to a lesson requiring students to recite the opening phrase of the Book of Genesis and to remember the creation sequence outlined therein.
Richard Conn, general counsel for the Center for Inquiry, contended that the Bluebonnet curriculum blatantly violates the Establishment Clause, despite the perception among Texas lawmakers. He urged school superintendents to uphold their responsibility to protect the rights and freedoms of the students, families, and communities they serve.
