State of Texas classroom crusade continues - lhindependent.com

The list stems from House Bill 1605, passed by the Texas Legislature in 2023, which directed the State Board of Education to establish required literary works for each grade level as part of updated Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards. The board's approved list drew mixed reception when it was announced.

For Lubbock families with kids in LISD and other local districts, the practical changes are still years out, but they are coming. Second graders will be read David and Goliath by their teachers once the new requirements kick in. Fourth graders will work through specific scripture verses as part of their assigned reading. The phased rollout gives districts time to prepare, but it does not soften the debate.

Texas public schools have historically operated under a strict separation of church and state, and threading Biblical texts into mandated curriculum is exactly the kind of policy that tends to split a school board meeting right down the middle.

Texas is the second-largest textbook market in the country, which means what the SBOE decides here has a way of influencing what publishers produce for classrooms everywhere else.