AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – The Texas State Board of Education gave final approval Friday to establishing Bible classes in public high schools, rejecting calls to draw specific guidelines and warnings that it could lead to constitutional problems.

The Legislature passed a law in 2007 allowing Bible courses to be offered as an elective. They are supposed to focus on the history and literature of the Bible without preaching or disparaging any faith.

State officials are still waiting for an attorney general’s ruling on whether the classes must be offered to students or left to school districts to decide.

Critics say the rule adopted 10-5 by the board doesn’t provide specific enough guidelines to help teachers and school districts know how to do that and avoid a First Amendment clash over freedom of religion.

Mark Chancey, associate professor in religious studies at Southern Methodist University, has studied Bible classes already offered in about 25 districts for the Texas Freedom Network.

The study found most of the courses were explicitly devotional with almost exclusively Christian, usually Protestant, perspectives.

It also found that most were taught by teachers with no academic training in biblical, religious or theological studies and who were not familiar with the issues of separation of church and state.

“Some classes promote creation science. Some classes denigrate Judaism. Some classes explicitly encourage students to convert to Christianity or to adopt Christian devotional practices,” Chancey said. “This is all well documented, and the board knows it.”

State Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office weighed in on the general guidelines earlier this month, saying they pass constitutional muster. Abbott’s office wouldn’t guarantee, however, that a specific course would be constitutional because none have yet been proposed or reviewed.