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1 in 4 Texas school districts sign up for new Bible-infused curriculum [1]

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Date: 2025-08-31

The Tribune reached out to over a dozen district officials and school board members to ask them about their decision on whether to adopt the curriculum. Of the districts that do plan to use the reading materials, many said the religious components did not factor into their choice. Their reasons included accessing the additional funding districts qualify for when they opt in; aligning their instruction with what the state expects children to learn; and avoiding punitive measures from the state if students do not perform up to par on Texas’ standardized exams, which could include removal of a district’s superintendent and elected board members.

“We struggle financially to meet the needs of our people,” said Stacey Brister, superintendent of the Little Cypress-Mauriceville school district, in rural Southeast Texas. “If they're going to give you additional monies to buy resources that you might not be able to have, then you have to take a serious look at stuff like that.”

At least one charter school that the TEA data indicated was planning to use the reading lessons told the Tribune it will not. That charter and another district said they decided against it because they believed the state’s curriculum lacked academic rigor.

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Switching from one curriculum to another is a significant undertaking, and other schools could be taking a wait-and-see approach before deciding whether to use the state-designed materials.

“We wouldn't expect universal uptake within the first few years for any kind of massive shift in policy like this,” said Mary Lynn Pruneda, director of education and workforce policy for the research and advocacy group Texas 2036.

The state education agency did not comment on whether the current demand for Bluebonnet’s reading portion matched its expectations. In a statement, it expressed a commitment to supporting any district using instructional materials “aligned to state standards and built based on the best cognitive science” and noted that Bluebonnet successfully went through the State Board of Education’s exhaustive vetting process.

“Evidence clearly indicates that high-quality instructional materials lead to increased learning for students and, ultimately, success in the classroom and beyond,” said TEA spokesperson Jake Kobersky.

Bluebonnet was approved by a narrow 8-7 majority of the State Board of Education last year, overcoming concerns from religious scholars that the reading lessons favored Christianity over other faith traditions, pushback from advocacy groups that the materials inappropriately prioritized preaching over teaching, and worries from Texans that the curriculum would isolate some students and grant the state too much say in how children learn about religion.

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