A coalition of parents, students, teachers and faith leaders are asking the state’s highest court to block the state superintendent’s mandate to teach the Bible in public schools and his agency’s impending $3 million purchase of Bibles.
They argued that the Bible mandate violates constitutional protections of religious freedom and that the Department of Education doesn’t have the authority to spend state funds on Bibles or dictate schools’ curriculum or textbooks. The Oklahoma Department of Education is soliciting bids to purchase 55,000 King James Version Bibles. Additional specifications appeared to point to one Bible: Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” Bible, endorsed by former President Donald Trump, for which he receives a fee.
The coalition asks the court for an injunction to stop the state from further implementing the Bible mandate, including buying Bibles, and for the mandate and request for proposals to be withdrawn. They are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Freedom From Religion Coalition, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, and the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice.
The petition was filed Thursday in the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Those suing include three faith leaders, 14 parents of public school students and four public school teachers. Some are Christian; some are nonreligious, atheist or agnostic.
“As parents, my husband and I have sole responsibility to decide how and when our children learn about the Bible and religious teachings,” one parent, Erika Wright, said. “We are devout Christians, but different Christian denominations have different theological beliefs and practices. It is not the role of any politician or public school official to intervene in these personal matters.”
Named as defendants are Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, the Board of Education, the Office of Management and Enterprise Services and several OMES employees.
Walters issued two memos to public school superintendents this summer, on June 27 and July 24, mandating they incorporate the Bible into schools’ curriculum immediately and maintain physical copies of the Bible and Ten Commandments in every classroom.
In September, the Board of Education, which Walters chairs, approved a $3 million line item to buy Bibles in the fiscal year 2026 agency budget. Walters said that money was to be combined with $3 million already set aside from the current year’s budget to purchase Bibles. Dan Isett, a Department of Education spokesman, told Oklahoma Watch that $3 million was obtained through personnel and administrative cost savings.
The state issued a request for proposals Sept. 30 to contract with the state for 55,000 Bibles that include the Pledge of Allegiance, U.S. Constitution, Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights and are bound in leather or leather-like material. The RFP requires delivery to each of the state’s 546 school districts within two weeks.
The state Office of Management and Enterprise Services modified the proposal to allow multiple vendors to supply the religious text and American historical documents. Bids are due Monday, a one-week extension from the original date.
Jennifer Palmer has been a reporter with Oklahoma Watch since 2016 and covers education. Contact her at (405) 761-0093 or jpalmer@oklahomawatch.org. Follow her on Twitter @ jpalmerOKC.
