Changes are coming to Mercedes Independent School District.

The school board approved implementing Bluebonnet Learning Materials, and some critics say it references religious teachings.

In a unanimous vote, Mercedes ISD's school board voted to approve the implementation of Bluebonnet Instructional Materials for kinder to 5th grade students.

The Texas Education Agency said Bluebonnet covers a broad base of topics including history, literature, the arts and culture.

"The state has identified these as high quality instructional materials. According to the state, they are a hundred percent aligned to the TEKS," Mercedes ISD Superintendent Dr. Benjamin Clinton said.

Clinton says the state is going to pay the district $60 for each of the district's students to print out and implement the curriculum.

Mercedes ISD currently has over 4,200 students.

"We can use those to print out K through 5 Bluebonnet reading and math," Clinton said.

But some critics say Bluebonnet references religious texts. Channel 5 News asked Clinton about the contents of the curriculum.

"There are actually no religious lessons in there; they use religious texts as source materials," Clinton said.

Clinton gave examples of Bluebonnet's instructional materials. Some of the kinder learning materials reads as follows, "one of the books of the Bible describes Jesus giving a talk atop a small mountain."

"The district has the option to review the materials, and we can pull and replace a text if we feel that is best for our community and if we need to," Clinton said.

Elsa Bravo, a mother of a second-grader at Mercedes ISD, doesn't mind her daughter taking part in the new curriculum.

"For the religious aspect, I don't see a problem. I think it's a good idea," Bravo said.

But others, like the ACLU of Texas, believe the curriculum is unconstitutional.

"It's deeply unconstitutional and really worrisome when you think about. The fact that it is not the role of the government to teach religion, it's the role of families and faith leaders to decide what religious understanding looks like," ACLU of Texas Engagement Coordinator for Free Speech Caro Achar said.

Achar says the curriculum also heavily preferences one religion over others.

TEA sent a statement to Channel 5 News. They say Bluebonnet can include "religious sampling from a wide range of faiths."

Read the full statement below:

"Bluebonnet Learning instructional materials cover a broad base of topics including history, literature, the arts and culture which, when contextually relevant, can include religious topics sampling from a wide range of faiths for historical and literary value.

For example, students learn about Judea and the Jewish people when studying Ancient Rome (Grade 3, Unit 4: Ancient Rome), explore Islamic civilization in the context of the Renaissance (Grade 5, Unit 2: The Renaissance: Art and Culture), and examine the role of religion and traditions for the Maya when studying early American civilizations (Grade 5, Unit 3: Early American Civilizations: Myths, Pyramids, and Kings.) 

These references create a strong background of knowledge for students with rich texts to further their understanding of our society, including our history, economy, and culture.

It is important to note that including content from or about religious source material in these instructional materials is not for the purpose of advancing any particular religious belief."

Mercedes ISD plans to implement bluebonnet in the upcoming 2025-2026 school year.

Watch the video above for the full story.