North Texas school districts introduce contentious Bluebonnet Learning educational program
The Irving Independent School District (ISD) has announced the adoption of the Bluebonnet Learning curriculum for the 2025-2026 school year, a move that has sparked controversy due to concerns about the curriculum's religious instruction.
The Bluebonnet Learning program is a revised, state-provided open education resource (OER) curriculum. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) considers it a comprehensive curriculum that's been customized for Texas. Todd Davis, the associate commissioner of instructional strategy at the TEA, has endorsed it as such.
However, critics, including Mark Chancey, a religious studies professor at Southern Methodist University, argue that the curriculum infuses Christianity into public school lesson plans. Chancey believes that there are far more lessons devoted to Christianity than to any other religious tradition in the Bluebonnet curriculum.
One point of contention is the inclusion of religious texts or figures in some lessons, as required by Texas Education Code Sec. 28.002. The Irving ISD's statement confirms this, emphasizing that there is no religious instruction in the Bluebonnet curriculum.
The controversy reached a peak with the introduction of religious instruction hours in the 2025-2026 school year, which includes teachings based on specific religious texts. This has raised concerns about the separation of church and state and potential exclusion of diverse religious views.
The Irving ISD's goal is to provide high-quality instructional materials that are representative of their diverse community and align with the district's commitment to equity and inclusivity for all students, while remaining in full compliance with state standards.
Marvin McNeese, Jr., a senior professor of government at the College of Biblical Studies, defends the inclusion of the Bible in the Bluebonnet curriculum, citing its historical and cultural relevance. However, Chancey and the Baker Institute take issue with certain lessons, such as a 2nd grade lesson on activists that includes the biblical figure Esther alongside Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr., arguing that the story in the Book of Esther "is the stuff of fiction and legend."
The references come from a wide range of faiths, not from a single tradition, according to the Irving ISD's statement. Critics, however, claim that the balance is skewed towards Christianity.
Out of 59 North Texas school districts surveyed, five have adopted Bluebonnet Learning for this school year: Irving, Burleson, Crowley, Duncanville, and Lake Worth. Jazmine Maldonado, a mother of five, received an email from Irving ISD stating that the district is adopting both the math and reading language arts (RLA) curricula for the 2025-2026 school year, which includes Bluebonnet Learning.
Adopting Bluebonnet Learning provides the state with $60 per student in funding, $20 more per student than provided when districts adopt other state-approved material. The Irving ISD Board of Trustees made this decision in response to updates approved by the State Board of Education in November 2024.
The Irving ISD statement also mentions that districts have the ability to make local modifications to the curriculum to better represent their community. The district has not yet announced any plans for such modifications regarding the Bluebonnet curriculum.
Read also:
- Dual-function mattress offers both cooling and coziness at an affordable price.
- Krafton countersues Unknown Worlds, asserting that Subnautica 2 posed a threat of significant damage to their entire franchise, similar to the potential harm Kerbal Space Program 2 supposedly inflicted.
- Title Transformation: Utilizing the Shifting Dynamics of British Politics, Bernie Sanders' Potential Advantage
- Strategies for Conquering Major Obstacles in Expanding a Political Group
