Denton ISD isn’t considering adopting a controversial new elementary school curriculum.
Bluebonnet Learning is a curriculum developed by the Texas Education Agency that was approved by eight of the 15 members of the State Board of Education last November.
The program, which is written for students in kindergarten through fifth grade, drew criticism because of the heavy inclusion of biblical teachings. District 14 State Board Representative Evelyn Brooks, whose territory includes Denton County, was one of the three Republicans to join the state board’s four Democrats to vote against the curriculum. Texas districts that adopt Bluebonnet Learning can get $60 per student for adopting the curriculum. The curriculum was the first open education resource textbooks that TEA has published since the passage of House Bill 1609, which requires the agency to provide open resource materials, which are free to use, for key grades.
“We’ve had several questions about Bluebonnet, and I just wanted to let you know our curriculum team has provided a response that, at this time, Denton ISD is not considering adopting Bluebonnet,” said Denton ISD Superintendent Susannah O’Bara.
The superintendent touched on the curriculum after a speaker brought it up during the final school board meeting of 2024. O’Bara said the district has fielded questions from parents about the curriculum. During the 2024 school year, Denton ISD reported that among the 33,335 students attending district campuses, at least 57 languages are spoken in addition to English, a number that sheds light on the cultural and religious pluralism in Denton ISD classrooms.
The speaker, who identified as being Jewish, asked the elected leaders and administrators to consider the possible negative consequences of the curriculum, and pointed out the prevalence of decorations that are related to Christmas in the district’s central services building.
“I urge you to hold the line against the forces that would have teachers indoctrinate instead of educate, and reject the Bluebonnet curriculum,” she said. “I also urge you to think about the others during this holiday season. School district culture should reflect the entire community they serve.”
Critics took issue with the curriculum for a number of reasons, including worries that it was part of a state-led push to use Texas public schools to promote Christian Nationalism. Parents opposed to the curriculum found fault with the way, they said, it glossed over slavery and racism in history texts. Americans United for the Separation of Church and State said the curriculum allowed the state to promote Christianity to a young and captive audience, just as Americans are opting out of church attendance and membership in record numbers.
Last November, Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Republican lawmakers said the curriculum’s inclusion of Christian and Jewish content would educate Texas students about the religions’ influence on cultural and legal landscapes.
“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. “These transformative educational materials are voluntary and free for schools and teachers to use.”
Parents and residents are able to review curricula that district administrators recommend for school board approval.
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