Overview
- The state-appointed Houston ISD Board of Managers voted unanimously on Thursday to adopt the Texas Education Agency’s Bluebonnet Learning materials for kindergarten through fifth grade for the 2026–27 school year.
- The adoption makes the district eligible for about $3.3 million in extra state funding tied to a roughly $60-per-student incentive that covers use and printing of TEA-approved materials.
- Critics say the reading lessons include explicit Bible-based passages such as the Golden Rule text, the Parable of the Prodigal Son, and a lesson on The Last Supper that they view as teaching religion rather than neutral historical context.
- The TEA found more than 4,200 problems in Bluebonnet materials — from typos and incorrect answer keys to factual mistakes — and the state has contracted up to $8.4 million to correct and replace flawed materials.
- HISD plans to blend Bluebonnet English and Spanish reading materials with district-developed curriculum and a transition plan that sets teacher-participation and survey targets, but parents and faith leaders have protested the timing, transparency and constitutional concerns and some campuses may continue using existing materials.