The Texas school board approved a measure Friday allowing lessons on the Bible to be taught in elementary schools.
The Texas State Board of Education narrowly approved the measure in a 8-7 vote, allowing schools to optionally implement Bible-based curriculum as soon as 2025, according to NBC News. Schools that choose to teach such lessons will receive additional funds from the state.
“The materials will … allow our students to better understand the connection of history, art, community, literature, and religion on pivotal events like the signing of the U.S. Constitution, the Civil Rights Movement, and the American Revolution,” Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement earlier this year, according to the Texas Tribune.
Texas Democrats bashed the school board’s decision in a press release following the vote, saying the curriculum undermines “religious freedom” and that “religious doctrine should stay in our places of worship where it belongs.”
Oklahoma in June began requiring Bible lessons be taught in all schools, and Louisiana mandated that all classrooms must display the Ten Commandments, though the law has faced legal challenges.
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