Curriculum approved

Schools in Texas get incentive for biblical faithfulness

Elementary school in the US state of Texas are to receive extra money in future if they follow a biblically based curriculum. The education authority has now approved a curriculum that incorporates the relevant content into reading and writing lessons.

Schools can then decide for themselves whether to follow it or not. However, those that do will receive financial incentives of up to 60 US dollars per pupil per year. Supporters argue that Christianity is an important part of US society.

Critics, on the other hand, say that the curriculum strongly favors Christianity in comparison to other religions and that this could violate the US Constitution. Furthermore, the content is not age-appropriate for children of primary school age. The biblical content is so dominant that children have little time to develop reading fluency and other important skills.

General trend in the USA
Republicans in other US states in the South have also recently tried to give religion more weight in public schools. In Louisiana, for example, the Ten Commandments are to be displayed in classrooms and lecture halls at state schools and universities. Civil rights groups are already taking legal action against this.

In Florida, conservative governor Ron DeSantis has enacted a controversial law that bans the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity in elementary school. Racism topics are also not part of the official curriculum there. "We will make sure that parents can send their children to school to receive education, not indoctrination," the governor said at the time.