Levelland ISD Transitions to Controversial Bluebonnet Curriculum

By Mackenzie Sams, masams@ttu.edu

Levelland ISD continued its plans to transition to the Bluebonnet curriculum at a school board meeting on March 24. 

According to the Texas Education Agency, Bluebonnet Learning materials are state-developed instructional materials that have been approved by the State Board of Education as compliant with Texas law. 

Bluebonnet Learning materials are publicly available and will be ready for schools to adopt in the 2025-26 school year. 

At the meeting, Donna Pugh, Director of Curriculum and Special Programs for Levelland ISD, said the district adopted the new curriculum because it’s essentially the same as the current curriculum without having to go through the state’s approval process. 

Bluebonnet Learning’s english and language arts curriculum was approved by the State Board of Education on November 22, 2024 by a narrow 8-7 vote. 

Its critics, such as Staci Childs, an attorney and member of the board who voted against its adoption, argue that the curriculum may be unconstitutional because it includes teaching Bible stories to kids as young as five years old. 

“When it comes to ‘will Bluebonnet ELAR materials potentially violate the establishment clause’ I’m thinking about two words: excessive entanglement,” Childs said. 

Christianity is referenced 360 times across its six grade level curricula from kindergarten to fifth grade. In some cases, lesson plans don’t distinguish between Christian religious beliefs and other pieces of secular instruction. 

For example, one lesson on art for kindergartners instructs teachers to show their students four artworks. One is a piece of Aztec pottery and five are paintings depicting the creation of Earth as told by Genesis. 

The pottery is described in the lesson plan as depicting an image “from a religious story that was believed by the ancient Aztecs,” while one of the paintings is described as taking inspiration from the Book of Genesis, which it says “includes a description of the creation of the world.” 

In the next activity, the kids are asked to repeat the steps of creation from the Bible. 

“So with those facts alone, if a parent or teacher who didn’t feel comfortable teaching this went to court, I believe they would be successful,” Childs said. “And in my good conscience and protecting my bar license, I just do not feel that these materials are reflective of the experiences and the nuance of Texas students, so I have to vote against it.” 

A press release from Governor Abbott praised the State Education Board for its decision. 

“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. 

The ACLU of Texas sent a letter on January 30 to superintendents urging them not to adopt the curriculum. It also threatened to take legal action if necessary. 

“School districts should steer clear of this deeply flawed, Bible-infused curriculum,” said Daniel Mach, director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. “Public schools are not Sunday schools, and Texas students and their families deserve better.” 

Historically the Supreme Court has used the Lemon Test to ensure separation of church and state. The Lemon Test requires that a law must have a secular purpose and neither advance nor inhibit religion. It must also, as Staci Childs referenced, not lead to “excessive entanglement” between the government and a particular religion. 

In 2022, however, the Supreme Court’s ruling on Kennedy v. Bremerton School District effectively overruled the Lemon Test. Now, courts must interpret the establishment clause “by reference to historical practice and understandings.”