Gov. Greg Abbott’s recent appointment to the Texas Board of Education was the deciding vote in the approval of controversial learning materials for public schools. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Bluebonnet Learning narrowly wins adoption after intense criticism, will be available for school districts at start of 2025-26 school year.
Stacking the deck worked again for Gov. Greg Abbott.
On Friday, the Texas Board of Education approved Bluebonnet Learning, fact-challenged learning materials for kindergarten through eighth-grade students infused with a Bible-based curriculum. Supporters adopted the controversial materials with an 8-7 vote, winning thanks only to Abbott.
In early November, the governor appointed Leslie Recine to fill the District 13 seat. The Republican — who will be replaced in January by Democrat Tiffany Clark — was the crucial swing vote in favor of Bluebonnet.
Abbott applauded the board for approving Bluebonnet, which he called “transformative educational material.”
“The passage of Bluebonnet Learning is a critical step forward to bring students back to the basics of education and provide the best education in the nation,” Abbott said in a prepared statement.
Critics of the materials assailed the board’s approval.
Zeph Capo — president of the Texas American Federation of Teachers, a union for teachers and school support personnel — said the materials are “more appropriate for Sunday Schools than public schools.”
“They are assaults on the academic freedom of our classrooms and the sanctity of the teaching profession,” Capo said in a prepared statement. “We have a duty as teachers to make our teaching and learning materials accessible and inclusive of all students in our classrooms. These prescriptive materials cannot meet all learners in all contexts; in fact, they make no effort to do so.”
Gilberto Hinojosa, chair of the Texas Democratic Party, criticized the Bluebonnet materials for “undermining religious freedom.”
“Our public schools should be focused on equipping students with the education and skills they need to succeed beyond grade school whether it’s pursuing a higher education or entering the workforce,” Hinojosa said in a prepared statement. “The teaching of religious doctrine should stay in our places of worship where it belongs.”
Bluebonnet materials have drawn heavy criticism from religious studies scholars, faith leaders, and parents for its emphasis on Christian narratives — at the exclusion of other faiths — and its potential to marginalize students of different religious backgrounds. The materials also give state education officials sweeping influence over how students learn about religion, which raises Constitutional questions about the separation of church and state.
Reporting from the Texas Tribune showed how parents, historians and educators have criticized the ways the materials address America’s history of racism, slavery and civil rights.
Other critics have made an even simpler argument: Bluebonnet materials get its facts wrong and are littered with historical distortions.
Bluebonnet Learning isn’t mandatory, but the state’s more than 1,200 public school districts will receive an additional $60 per student if they use the materials, which will be available for the 2025-26 school year.
