Capital Highlights | Texas first state to mandate Bible reading in school
Published 9:56 am Saturday, July 4, 2026
The State Board of Education gave final approval last week to a new required reading list for every grade level and also passed a rewrite of the state’s social studies requirements for kindergarten to eighth grade, the Austin American-Statesman reported. Both plans include Biblical concepts, essentially making the state the first in the nation to mandate the teaching of Christianity in public school classrooms.
“We are bringing the Bible back into schools this week for the first time in 60 years,” SBOE member Brandon Hall, R-Aledo, said during a prayer session outside the hearing this week.
The new standards will be implemented in phases, starting with elementary schools in the 2030-2031 school year.
Republicans favor the new standards as a win for Judeo-Christian values and say the required lessons on Jesus, Abraham and Moses are intended not to evangelize but help children develop moral compasses. Critics say the board is promoting Christianity at the expense of racial and religious diversity.
“Texas is telling millions of children that one religion deserves the government’s seal of approval, while everyone else is an afterthought,” said Annie Laurie Gaylor, president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation.Cornyn: Closed primaries could backfire on Texas GOP
Sen. John Cornyn is warning Texas GOP leaders that closing party primaries would be “paving the way to minority party status,” The Texas Tribune reported.
The Texas Republican Party and its top elected leaders are pushing to require voters to register with a party, thereby prohibiting them from crossing over in party primaries. Texas is one of 17 states with open primaries.
Cornyn, who was defeated for reelection in a runoff by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, commented on an op-ed published in The Dallas Morning News, sharing its title — “Closed primaries are a threat to Texas voters.” He added, “Exactly,” and “Democrats haven’t turned Texas blue; Republican’s [sic] might.”
Paxton has joined the GOP’s pending lawsuit to strike down open primaries in court.Supreme Court ruling could affect 147K TPS recipients in Texas
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that the Trump administration can revoke Temporary Protected Status for immigrants from Haiti and Syria means more than 147,000 migrants in Texas under the program face imminent risk of arrest and deportation, the Texas Standard reported.
Texas hosts one of the largest concentrations of TPS holders in the nation, and University of Houston constitutional law professor Seth Chandler said the ruling has dramatic consequences for them.
“It basically streamlines the ability of the Trump administration to revoke TPS status, not just for the Haitians and Syrians who were litigating in the case the Supreme Court decided today, but with respect to Hondurans, Nepalis, Afghans, and perhaps critically for Houston, potentially Venezuelans as well,” Chandler said.
The decision could have economic consequences, since many immigrants in the country under TPS work in sectors already experiencing labor shortages.
“If you look at our plaintiffs in the Syria case, for example, we have a highly sought-after pediatrician,” said Hussein Elbakri, attorney at the International Refugee Assistance Project.
“We have somebody who is a special needs teacher by day and is training to be a nurse at night. We have construction workers. We have people in the food services industry, and we have many, many people, especially in the Haitian community, who are home health care workers, Elbakri said.Tesla accused of allowing toxin release from refinery
Two Texas property owners have filed a class action suit against Tesla, accusing the company of dumping toxins from its lithium refinery near Corpus Christi onto their property, according to the Houston Chronicle. They claim that Tesla has violated its state-issued wastewater discharge permit by allowing contaminated water to flow onto their property.
The company’s permit allows it to discharge up to 231,000 gallons a day of treated industrial water into Baffin Bay, according to state records. A review of the water leaking into a drainage ditch by lab hired by the Nueces County Drainage District revealed two toxic metals — arsenic and the carcinogen hexavalent chromium, as well as elevated levels of other chemicals.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.Majority of Texans oppose data centers in their community
A new poll from the University of Texas’ Texas Politics Project indicates that a majority of Texans oppose having data centers in their community, according to the Texas Standard. The state has become the nation’s top destination for data centers, which provide the infrastructure for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency mining.
The poll found 43% of Republicans oppose data centers, while 42% support their construction. More than 60% of people who identify as Democrats oppose new data centers.
“I think people are objecting for different reasons,” said James Henson, director of the polling center. “On one hand, lots of environmental concerns about water and resource use. But if you’re living next to these data centers or in the region… they have a big impact on people’s lives.”
Both Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have made regulation of data centers a legislative priority in next year’s session.Texas GOP elephant lacked mandatory permit
When Paige the elephant made an appearance at the recent GOP state convention in Houston, its owner did not acquire the required city permit to bring wild animals into the city, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Public records acquired by the paper indicate Trunks and Humps, the elephant’s owner, has been cited repeatedly for federal animal welfare violations and failed to apply for a permit before bringing Paige to the June 12 convention.
The elephant arrived as the finale to Abbot’s speech. A video of the event went viral after the elephant urinated on the convention floor.Gary Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@texaspress.com.
