Texas School Board's Bible-Infused Reading List

0:00It's April 8th. This is Tampa Bay News today, AI-powered stories from your city. I'm Cory with the Story. Texas School boards eyeing a new reading list for kids from kindergarten through 12th grade, and it's stirring things up with Bible stories mixed. In. Think Joan In the Whale for 7th graders, David and Goliath for high school English and the prodigal son for 1st graders. These join classics like Little Red Riding Hood and the Odyssey on the list for 5.4 million students. This comes as Texas dives deeper into the religion in school's debate. Board members say it's not about preaching faith but building knowledge, since state laws like the Baby Moses Law pull from Bible tales and folks. Like Martin Luther King, reference them too. Supporters like Board Member Julie Picker and argue it's enrichment from old and new testament texts, helping kids grasp cultural nods in literature. But opponents fire back, waving the first amendment's establishment clause, saying public schools can't push any religion.

1:00Texas already has an optional Bible-infused curriculum for younger kids called Blue Bonnet, with extra funding for schools that pick it. A final vote hits in June, and if it passes, changes roll out by 2030. This could ripple nationwide, testing where faith fits in class without crossing lines. Keep watching how it plays out.