The State Board of Ed- ucation gave final approval last week to a new required reading list for every grade level and also passed a re - write of the state's social studies requirements for kindergarten to eighth grade, the Austin Amer -
ican-Statesman reported. Both plans include Bibli - cal 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 ses - sion 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 evange- lize but help children devel - op moral compasses. Critics say the board is promoting Christianity at the expense of racial and religious di -
versity.
"Texas is telling mil -
lions of children that one religion deserves the gov - ernment'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 push ing to require v o t e r s to regis - ter with a party, thereby prohibiting them from crossing over in party primaries. Texas is one of 17 states with open prima -
ries.
Cornyn, who was defeat - ed 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 Protect - ed 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 profes -
sor Seth Chandler said the ruling has dramatic conse - quences for them.
"It basically streamlines the ability of the Trump ad -
ministration to revoke TPS status, not just for the Hai -
tians and Syrians who were litigating in the case the Su -
preme Court decided today, but with respect to Hondu -
rans, Nepalis, Afghans, and perhaps critically for Hous - ton, potentially Venezue - lans as well," Chandler said.
The decision could have economic consequences, since many immigrants in the country under TPS work in sectors already ex -
periencing labor shortages.
"If you look at our plain - tiffs in the Syria case, for example, we have a highly sought-after pediatrician," said Hussein Elbakri, at - torney at the International Refugee Assistance Project.
"We have somebody who is a special needs teacher by day and is train -
ing to be a nurse at night. We have construction work - ers. We have people in the food services industry, and we have many, many peo - ple, especially in the Hai - tian 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 Cor - pus Christi onto their prop - erty, according to the Hous - ton Chronicle. They claim that Tesla has violated its state-issued wastewater dis - charge 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 hexava - lent 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, accord -
ing to the Texas Standard. The state has become the nation's top destination for data centers, which provide the infrastructure for artifi - cial intelligence and cryp -
tocurrency mining. The poll found 43% of Repub - licans 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 ob - jecting for different rea -
sons," said James Henson, director of the polling cen - ter. "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 regionÂ… 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 ses -
sion.
Texas GOP elephant lacked mandatory permit When Paige the elephant made an appearance at the recent GOP state conven - tion in Houston, its owner did not acquire the required city permit to bring wild animals into the city, The Dallas Morning News re - ported.Public records ac -
quired by the paper indicate Trunks and Humps, the ele -
phant's owner, has been cit - ed repeatedly for federal an - imal welfare violations and failed to apply for a permit before bringing Paige to the June 12 convention. The el - ephant 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.
