(TEXAS TRIBUNE) - The State Board of Education is preparing to vote next week on requiring Texas schoolchildren to read about a dozen Bible passages and religious stories, stepping into the long-running debate over religion's - and specifically Christianity's - place in the public school classroom.

A detailed look at the religious excerpts, part of about 200 passages that could become required reading in kindergarten through high school, shows a reliance on Christian perspectives without clear guidance on how to place the stories in historical or devotional context.

The new curriculum would have students as young as 6 interact with biblical stories titled "Noah's Ark," "David and Goliath" - meant to be read aloud from picture books - and "Daniel and the Lion's Den" in their English classes.