Officials in Texas support elective school curriculum that incorporates Biblical references, prompting controversy.

Texas officials are backing a state-wide elementary school curriculum that includes Biblical references.

The Texas State Board of Education, consisting of 15 members elected as Republicans, voted 8-7 in favor of maintaining the state-created educational materials on the list of approved resources, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The optional teaching materials, known as Bluebonnet Learning, have sparked controversy among critics, including parents, teachers unions, and liberal advocacy groups, who contend that it is too Christian and violates the separation of church and state, according to the paper.

David Brockman, a scholar at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, stated that the curriculum "leans heavily towards Christian proselytism due to its extensive and biased coverage of Christianity and the Bible, implying that it is the only significant religious tradition," according to the WSJ report.

An art appreciation unit for kindergarteners would center on the Bible's Book of Genesis and artworks inspired by it, according to CNN. For first-graders, a unit would focus on The Parable of the Prodigal Son, while third-graders would learn about ancient Rome and the life of Jesus and Christianity in the Roman Empire through a lesson plan.

But supporters argue students are not being asked to adopt Christian beliefs.

During Monday's hearing, an individual in favor of the curriculum stated that the biblical references do not establish religion, according to the Journal's report.

Thomas Lindsay, a policy director for higher education with the conservative think tank Texas Public Policy Foundation and a member of an advisory group that helped the state with the curriculum, also expressed a similar viewpoint.

He stated that there is a distinction between instructing on religion and actually practicing it.

In the spring, Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott stated that the new state instructional materials would help students better comprehend the interconnectedness of history, art, community, literature, and religion in significant events such as the signing of the U.S. Constitution, the civil rights movement, and the American Revolution.

The Bluebonnet curriculum, developed by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), will be available to districts starting in August 2025 if it is approved by the State Board of Education. The preliminary vote on Tuesday will be followed by a final vote expected Friday. The curriculum was created in response to a law passed by the Texas Legislature last year, which directed the TEA to create state-owned instructional materials to be approved by the State Board of Education.

If school districts choose to use approved materials, they receive an additional $40 per student, along with $20 per student for printing Bluebonnet texts, according to the Journal.

Other states, besides Texas, are also pushing to include more religion in their schools.

Last week, a federal judge prevented the implementation of a Louisiana law mandating the display of the Ten Commandments in schools, asserting that the law's objective was "excessively religious."

The Oklahoma Superintendent, Ryan Walters, faced legal opposition after advocating for the Bible and the Ten Commandments to be taught in the state's schools.