Schools in Texas receive incentives for Bible-believing teaching

Schools in the US state of Texas will receive additional money in the future if they follow a biblical curriculum. The local education authority, led by a majority of Republicans, approved a curriculum that incorporates biblical content into reading and writing lessons for elementary school students. Schools can decide for themselves whether to follow this – but there are financial incentives of up to $60 per student per year.

Proponents argue that Christianity is an important part of American society. Critics, however, emphasize that the curriculum strongly favors Christianity over other faiths and could therefore violate the US Constitution. In addition, the content is not age-appropriate. The biblical content dominates so much that students have little time to develop reading fluency and other important skills.

In other states in the southern United States, Republicans have also recently tried to give religion more weight in public schools. In Louisiana, the Ten Commandments are to be displayed in classrooms and lecture halls at state schools and universities. Civil rights groups believe this is unconstitutional and are taking legal action against it.