Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued an opinion formally concluding that the State Board of Education is legally required to adopt Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards for religious literature as a mandatory component of the public school enrichment curriculum.
This directive comes in response to a request for legal clarification from SBOE Chair Aaron Kinsey, who asked whether the board must promulgate rules for religious literature instruction and how that instruction must be implemented in Texas schools.
Kinsey also sought guidance as to whether the SBOE could incorporate religious literature into English or social studies courses or if it must be a stand alone course.
According to Paxton’s opinion, the board is required to adopt TEKS for religious literature, as it is part of the state’s enrichment curriculum.
In response to Kinsey’s concerns about whether the course must stand alone, Paxton stated that this is left to the board’s discretion.
The SBOE will now be expected to take up rules to meet this legal mandate in accordance with the attorney general’s interpretation.
An SBOE meeting is scheduled for November 18-21.
According to the meeting agenda, the board will be voting on curriculum for the upcoming school year that has been submitted under the Instructional Materials Review and Approval (IMRA) Cycle 2025. The board will also update the IMRA rules.
Other items on the SBOE meeting agenda are course reviews, adoption of new career and technical education standards, and the adoption of updated rules for the Accountability System for Educator Preparation.
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