A Bible-infused curriculum that Texas approved for public schools over pushback in 2024 will undergo corrections to fix hundreds of errors caught by teachers and education officials after the material was introduced to classrooms.
The curriculum in what is known as the “Bluebonnet” textbook is among Republican-led efforts in the U.S. to incorporate more religious teaching into classrooms. Designed by the state’s public education agency, it is optional for schools to adopt, though they receive additional funding if they do so.
Bluebonnet was approved over concerns from religious scholars that the reading lessons favored Christianity over other faith traditions and pushback from advocacy groups that the materials inappropriately prioritized preaching over teaching.
The State Board of Education voted 8-6 Wednesday to approve the changes — which include correcting factual errors, fixing punctuation and replacing images due to licensing or copyright issues — after some members questioned the high number of errors.
“My concern is that we have failed students this school year who have been utilizing this product,” said board member Tiffany Clark, a Democrat.
Aaron Kinsey, the Republican board chair, asked Clark if she was implying that correcting something seemingly trivial like copyright issues could potentially mean that “we failed our students and they are not going to pass” the state’s annual standardized test administered to public school students.
Clark retorted that something as simple as a typo — especially in math equations — can have consequences. “If we have been teaching incorrectly this is going to have an impact,” she said.
“I understand that some of these errors are minimal, some of them are for clarity and some of them are for accuracy. But still, an error is an error,” said Pam Little, a Republican board member.
Colin Dempsey, a Texas Education Agency official who helps organize the instructional material review process, acknowledged the “high number of updates” needed but insisted factual errors were “minimal” — although he did not provide an exact figure.
Board members said more than 4,000 corrections were needed. But Jake Kobersky, spokesperson for the Texas Education Agency, told The Associated Press that approximately 1,900 changes were made and that the figure includes duplicate corrections in the teacher guide, student workbook and other documents.
Kobersky said most changes were “proactive in response to teacher feedback or grammatical fixes, not a result of factual errors.”
It is unclear how many districts adopted the curriculum for the current school year, the first it became available. As of August, more than 300 school districts and charter schools indicated they would use it. That number represents about a quarter of Texas’ 1,207 districts and charters.
After Wednesday’s approval of changes, the education agency said online curriculum materials would be updated within 30 days. It did not say how long it would take to print and replace physical learning materials or how much it would cost.
Little, who voted for the proposed changes, said she worries the board has “set a precedent for sloppy publishing.”
Dempsey said that the agency has increased the number of reviewers from five to eight who will be assessing the material going forward.
“I’m hopeful that will improve our process, where these are caught in the summer and not later on,” he said.
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Cline reported from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
FILE - Students work under Ten Commandments and Bill of Rights posters on display in a classroom at Lehman High School, in Kyle, Texas, Oct. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Matthew Tkachuk grabbed an American flag, skated down the ice and presented a game puck to 101-year-old U.S. Army Air Corps veteran Jim Sileno.
That's how the Florida Panthers capped an Olympic gold medal celebration.
Tkachuk — part of the U.S. team that beat Canada to win gold at the Milan Cortina Games — was in the Panthers' lineup for their first post-Olympic game Thursday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Panthers had an Olympic celebration, starting with Tkachuk and U.S. captain Auston Matthews, who also captains the Maple Leafs, taking part in a ceremonial face-off just before game time.
Tkachuk picked up the puck, then got the flag and paid tribute to Sileno.
“I really think our team really showed what it’s like to be true Americans and the pride we played with and how we would do every single thing for our country,” Tkachuk said, gold medal dangling from his neck. “So, the support we’ve gotten is incredible.”
There were “U-S-A!” chants during the national anthem, and the arena was predictably loud when Tkachuk handed the puck to Sileno. Tkachuk said he thought “the roof might fall off before the game even starts.”
It has been a whirlwind since Sunday for Tkachuk: an all-night party in Italy before a charter flight back to the U.S., more parties with the team in Miami on Monday, then a trip to the White House for the State of the Union with most of his Olympic teammates.
And life has been one big celebration for Tkachuk in recent years anyway, with a Stanley Cup win in 2024, another in 2025, a wedding in there as well — and now, gold.
“The hardest thing to do in sports is winning the Stanley Cup,” Tkachuk said. “You go through an 82-game grind and then your four playoff series, some Game 7s probably, and just the physicality and the travel and everything, it’s crazy. Whereas you could almost argue it over there at the Olympics, it’s so hard because it’s just one-game elimination.”
Tkachuk is one of seven Panthers players who won Olympic hockey medals: Brad Marchand, Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett won silver medals for Canada, while Anton Lundell, Niko Mikkola and Eetu Luostarinen won bronze medals with Finland, with Panthers assistant Tuomo Ruutu serving as an assistant for that team.
The Canadian and Finnish players were honored during the first TV timeout Thursday — drawing loud cheers as well from the Florida fans.
“I thought our team played really well actually and sometimes you don’t get the bounces and that’s the game of hockey. Sometimes it doesn’t go your way,” Bennett said, reflecting on the loss to the Americans. “So, that’s what makes hockey incredible. You never know what’s going to happen. And they obviously played a great game as well and it was their night.”
Added Lundell: “Bronze is special too, and I'm slowly starting to understand it’s actually a kind of big deal.”
Panthers general manager and hockey operations president Bill Zito was part of the brain trust for the U.S. team in Milan, and equipment manager Teddy Richards had the same role for the Americans at the Olympics.
They were all part of Thursday's ceremonies. Zito and Richards took part in the pregame puck drop.
“It’s a weird dynamic,” Marchand — who scored Florida's first goal of the night — acknowledged after the team's morning skate. “Obviously we’re disappointed and you want a different outcome, but at the same time, trying to remember to be grateful for the incredible part of it all.”
AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
Referees try to break up a fight between Canada's Sam Bennett (9), United States' Charlie McAvoy (25) and Canada's Tom Wilson (43) during the second period of the men's ice hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Canada's Sidney Crosby (87), Connor McDavid (97) and Brad Marchand (63) leave the ice following Canada's overtime loss to the United States in the men's ice hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
ADDS NAME OF CHILD United States' Matthew Tkachuk (19) carries Noa Gaudreau, following a men's ice hockey gold medal game between Canada and the United States at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
United States' hockey player Matthew Tkachuk signs autographs after arriving at Miami International Airport from the Milan Cortina Olympics, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
United States hockey player Matthew Tkachuk arrives at E11EVEN after the team won the gold medal at the Milan Cortina Olympics, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
