The Phyllis Schlafly Report
By John and Andy Schlafly
A strong education includes reading from the greatest works of all time. A full understanding of history requires knowledge of the books that influenced leaders, thinkers, and decision-makers.
The Texas State Board of Education has released its tentative 53-page list of about 300 literary works that will be part of the public school curriculum for grades K through 12. Many familiar classics are on this list, including Charlotte’s Web, Animal Farm, and the humorous story by Mark Twain about the amazing jumping frog, which are for students prior to high school.
This list results from the enactment of HB1605 back in 2023, and will not take effect until 2030. A full seven years from the passage of this reform to its implementation is appalling.
The biblical excerpts on this reading list, which is not yet final, include the Golden Rule (which is not solely from the Bible), the Parable of the Prodigal Son, and the Road to Damascus, for Kindergarten through 3rd grade. Then there is a gap until 7th grade, when recommended readings include the Book of Psalms and the tale of Jonah and the Whale.
For high school, Bible readings are passages from David and Goliath, Lamentations, the Tower of Babel, Ecclesiastes, and the Book of Job. The Board should be criticized for recommending almost nothing from the New Testament.
The loudest protests are from those who oppose including anything at all from the Bible in public school reading lists. The Bible is the most influential and widely read book ever, and continues to rank first in readership annually.
The Bible should be listed #1 in every bestseller list, but it is kept off those lists because it wins every time. People are misled by weekly bestseller lists omitting the Bible at the top, which is the hottest seller now and has been ever since the invention of the printing press more than 500 years ago.
Sales of the Bible have been increasing, too, soaring to high levels with Gen Z who are even more interested in the Bible than older generations have been. In 2025, Bible sales reached new record highs in the U.S. and U.K., as U.S. sales totaled over 19 million copies, double the number sold in 2019.
In light of this, it is straightforward to include passages from the Bible on any list of required readings for public schools. Stories like the parable of the Prodigal Son, which is unique to the Bible and cannot be found in any prior works, are often cited and every educated person should be familiar with them.
There are threats of lawsuits to block the inclusion of any part of the Bible in a public school curriculum. Any such lawsuits will fail.
The Bible has been incorporated into great speeches like President Lincoln’s “House Divided” speech, where he used that Gospel metaphor to argue against slavery. Many of the greatest scientists of all time, such as Isaac Newton and Louis Pasteur, were avid readers of the Bible.
No one is forced to believe in the Bible or in any other reading assigned in school. Works by Leftists, such as Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, are routinely assigned to high school students and they are expected to understand, analyze, and repeat the themes of these controversial writings.
Unfortunately, too much liberal propaganda remains on this list for high school students, during their formative years. The Texas Board recommends Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, which uses the Salem Witch Trials in 1692 as an allegory for the congressional investigations of communism in the 1950s, after which Miller himself was held in contempt (later reversed) for refusing to identify the communists he knew.
Books that promote the LGBTQIA+ agenda are commonly assigned to students today, and are more controversial to most parents than anything in the Bible. The books preferred by liberals and atheists are also far less influential or quoted than the Bible is, and thus less likely to prepare a student to become a knowledgeable adult.
A significant segment of our society quotes from the Bible or cites biblical figures frequently, and students should receive an education that enables them to understand these references. When someone hears a suggestion that he “turn the other cheek,” he should have been educated to understand immediately what that biblical expression means.
The Texas State Board of Education expressly states that students can opt out of any Bible reading based on religious or moral beliefs. It seems that Democrats are not really concerned about the rights of a few families who will be free to opt out, but instead are protesting that students whose parents want them to read from the Bible will be allowed to do so as part of public school curricula.
John and Andy Schlafly are sons of Phyllis Schlafly (1924-2016) and lead the continuing Phyllis Schlafly Eagles organizations with writing and policy work.
These columns are also posted on PhyllisSchlafly.com, pseagles.com, and Townhall.com.
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