Texas’ Board of Education is voting on state-developed textbooks next month. View them now
KUT 90.5 | By Becky Fogel
Published October 17, 2024 at 2:40 PM CDT
The Texas Education Agency on Wednesday released updated instructional materials the State Board of Education is scheduled to vote on in late November. The public can review the latest versions of the materials online.
The revisions come about a month after public comment and feedback at an hours-long SBOE hearing last month during which critics said the K-5 English Language Arts and Reading curriculum inappropriately included Bible stories and privileged Christianity over other religions. Supporters countered that biblical narratives have literary and historical value.
The TEA previously told KUT in an email that “content from or about religious source materials is not included for the purpose of advancing any religious belief.”
The agency said Wednesday it used feedback from the SBOE meeting and a nearly three-month public comment period to “to further refine, edit and ready the product for final submission.”
TEA developed the curriculum in response to a law the Legislature passed in 2023 to ensure students have access to materials that meet grade-level in their classrooms. House Bill 1605 required the agency, among other things, to create open-source textbooks for use in public schools. While districts are not required to use them, they can receive up to $60 per student if they do.
TEA also announced this week that state-developed textbooks are officially branded as Bluebonnet Learning.
“A collection of high-quality math and elementary reading instructional materials, Bluebonnet Learning is designed to improve student academic outcomes by building foundational skills in reading and mathematics and providing valuable curricular and instructional support for Texas teachers,” TEA said in a news release.
The State Board of Education will meet from Nov. 19-22.