Texas schools opt for Bible-enriched curriculum with funding bonus and political flap

Over 300 Texas school districts and charter schools have reported plans to implement the state-created Bluebonnet reading and language arts curriculum, characterized by its integration of biblical passages with more traditional phonics and mathematics education. As per information obtained by The Texas Tribune through an open records request from the Texas Education Agency (TEA), about one-quarter of Texas' 1,207 charters and districts are reviewing the curriculum, though figures might fluctuate before the time it is released formally sometime early in the fall.

For the majority of districts, it is not a matter of ideology. Administrators point to agreement with state learning standards, access to more funds, and deterrence of punitive state action on the basis of student performance on standardized tests. For $60 per pupil, Bluebonnet offers a short-term financial incentive to fiscally strapped districts, offering available funds previously out of reach.

Controversy and academic concerns

Universal application of the program aside, Bluebonnet has been a subject of mass controversy. The criticism is that its reading instructions downplayed historical facts by depicting the Founding Fathers such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson to be morally against slavery without mentioning their ownership of slaves. Scriptural citations, including recitation of the biblical creation order, provoked concerns among groups that monitor civil liberties for what they perceive as potential infringements on students' rights against coercion in religion.

Its advocates note that the curriculum historicizes religion in US and world history and offers students carefully crafted, grade-level comprehension of abolition, Juneteenth, the Civil Rights Movement, and Black Texan achievements. Adoption is far from uniform, however: districts and charter schools invoke not challenging enough academics, i.e., phonics and science of reading, even while they implement the curriculum's math.

Implementation is difficult. Teachers have to weigh state alignment against the requirement to retain inclusiveness for multicultural students. Rural, politically conservative districts have found curriculum less difficult to implement, but urban districts are behind. Teachers are encouraged to preview lessons in advance and involve parents openly, thus religious content does not lead to segmentation or feeling excluded in class.

Bluebonnet reflects larger policy currents in Texas, where public schools are increasingly linked with right-wing cultural values. Its enforcement reveals the thin line between funding incentives, state-directed curricula, educational quality, and cultural inclusion. Districts' solutions to these tensions in the months ahead will define classroom life as well as the ongoing national conversation on the place of religion in public schools.