The Texas State Board of Education voted on Tuesday to keep "Bible-infused" curriculum materials that have drawn criticism from parents and liberal advocacy groups for improperly promoting Christianity to elementary-school students.
In an 8-7 preliminary vote, the 15-member Republican-majority panel decided that state-developed curriculum materials, known as Bluebonnet Learning, should remain on the Texas list of approved resources, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Bluebonnet's opponents say that the "Bible-infused reading curriculum" uses lesson plans and student activities to soft-pedal Christian indoctrination in public-school classrooms, while its supporters say the materials help improve students' knowledge of history.
According to the Journal, the board's vote on Tuesday did not break strictly down party lines, as some Republicans joined with Democrats in voting to reject the materials. The final vote is expected to take place on Friday.
The Bluebonnet educational materials would be optional, not required, for public schools, but the state-approved resource list reportedly holds significant sway over what Texas schools select for classroom use.
The Journal reported that the Bluebonnet materials will be available next August.
At Monday's hearing, some critics of the curriculum said that it still pushed Christianity, despite revisions that had been made following complaints that other religions were excluded. Others said the materials were too advanced for students' age groups.
One woman, who described herself as a former public-school principal and a grandparent, said the curriculum asks "children to think critically about religious teachings when they are not cognitively ready and are often contrary to what they're learning at home."
A Bluebonnet supporter said that students are not being asked to convert to Christianity in using the materials.
"These biblical references do not constitute an establishment of religion," he said, according to the Journal.
While much of the curriculum doesn't address religion, David Brockman, a scholar at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy said it "verges on Christian proselytism insofar as its extensive, lopsided coverage of Christianity and the Bible suggests that this is the only religious tradition of any importance."
Brockman pointed to a section of Bluebonnet's kindergarten curriculum that tells educators to teach the biblical account of creation from the Book of Genesis as an inspirational story for artists. Several passages from Genesis and a discussion of artwork inspired by the story are included in the lesson plan.
"That is not a message that Texas public schools, which are called to serve a religiously diverse population, have any business conveying," Brockman said, adding that history lessons were "whitewashing of European colonization and Christian involvement in American slavery."
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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