HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — What books should your children be reading in school? It’s a question the Texas State Board of Education is considering.
Lawmakers are voting on a reading list with more than 300 books. The books range from “To Kill a Mockingbird” to stories directly from the King James Version of the Bible.
A vote has been delayed for now after a packed board meeting at which speakers voiced support or opposition to the list recommended by the Texas Education Agency.
“I think students want to see themselves in books,” said one speaker.
“The proposed list includes no Hispanic authors at several grade levels, including 9th, in which I teach,” said another speaker. “This disconnect limits students’ access to text that functions as mirrors that builds pathways to empathy.”
“The board should not compromise,” another speaker said. “Intellectual sounding words like critical literacy, culturally pedagogy will be used to try to persuade you that books should be included that are either not suitable or have lesser literary value.”
The proposed list for students in grades K-12 includes several classic works and at least seven selections referencing the Bible.
Beginning in 7th grade, students would be required to read Biblical stories of Jonah and the Whale, the Tower of Babel, and David and Goliath, among others.
Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an opinion last year stating that schools may include religious teachings in lessons.
He has encouraged all school districts to incorporate prayer and scripture.
The board meeting on Wednesday was repeatedly interrupted as speakers and board members sparred.
“They did delay the vote, so that means there is some concern,” explained Dr. Duncan Klussmann, a former superintendent and current University of Houston Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Professor. “I think we’re going to work through this religious question, what they include, what they don’t, but also how representative this content is of the students that are reading it in the classroom.”
State law requires schools to use the final approved list by the 2030 school year.
For more on this story, follow Pooja Lodhia on Facebook,X and Instagram.
Copyright © 2026 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.
