Bible stories might be made required reading for Texas public school students

Politics Bible stories would be required reading under controversial proposal for Texas public schools April 8, 2026 / 7:02 AM EDT / CBS/AP Add CBS News on Google Biblical stories like Jonah and the whale would be required reading for Texas public schools students under proposals that are putting the state at the center of renewed contentious wrangling over the role of religion in classrooms. Religious leaders, teachers, parents and students spent hours Tuesday before the state education board arguing about the reading list for the state's 5.4 million kindergartners to 12th-graders. The debate is part of widening efforts in the U.S. to incorporate religion in schools, mostly in Republican-led states, driving legislation and legal action. Nationally, President Trump has pledged to protect and expand religious expression in public schools. And Texas, a red state that is home to about one in 10 of the nation's public school students, often helps set the agenda. Texas became the first state to allow chaplains, in 2023. And just last year, a Republican-led mandate that the Ten Commandments be displayed in public schools took effect in the state, although around two dozen districts took them down because of a lawsuit. But while the debate over Texas' reading list could have national implications, to the speakers, the issue boiled down to whether the passages are essential to understanding the nation's history and morals - or unconstitutional. "Our children need truth," said Nathan Irving, a pastor and father of eight from Myrtle Springs, Texas. "Truth is the only currency that never devalues. Investing truth into our children is the most loving thing that we can do for them. This is the truth. This country and this state were founded upon a Christian worldview. Like it or not, it is true." A final vote on the list is expected in June, and if approved by the Texas State Board of Education, the changes would take effect in 2030. The case against the proposalsSeveral speaker...