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A new proposal in Texas would make Bible stories required reading for the state’s roughly 5.4 million public school students.

The proposal, likely to pass on Friday in the Texas State Board of Education, sets out a required reading list from elementary school through high school, and includes Bible passages and stories for children as young as 6. If approved, the requirements will be implemented in 2030, applying to roughly 11 percent of the U.S. public school population.

The Texas State Board of Education gave preliminary approval to the proposed reading list on Tuesday, after a meeting on Monday that heard hours of testimony.

It is highly unusual for a state to implement a state-wide required reading list. Usually, reading lists are decided by educators on a more local level.

The reading list includes picture books about David and Goliath and “Daniel and the Lion’s Den” for elementary school students as young as 6, and passages about Jesus from the New Testament for fourth graders. The texts allotted for middle school students include sermons by Jesus, and discussions of God and heaven. And for high school students, texts include portions of the Book of Job, among others.

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