Oklahoma parents sue top education officials to stop Bible studies being introduced into class

A group of parents of public school students, teachers, and ministers are fighting to stop schools being forced to incorporate the Bible into lessons

They are suing State Superintendent Ryan Walters, Oklahomas top education official, to prevent him forcing the lesson plans on students in grades 5 through 12.

The lawsuit filed with the Oklahoma Supreme Court also asked the court to stop the state spending $3 million to buy Bibles in support of Walters mandate. 

The suit claimed the mandate violated the Oklahoma Constitution because it involved spending public money to support religion and favored one religion over another by requiring the use of a Protestant version of the Bible. 

A group of parents of public school students, teachers, and ministers sued State Superintendent Ryan Walters (pictured), Oklahoma s top education official, to stop him forcing schools to incorporate the Bible into lesson plans

An Impeach Ryan Walters rally on the second floor of the Oklahoma State Capitol on August 24

It also claimed Walters, a Republican, and the state Board of Education didnt have the authority to require the use of instructional materials.

As parents, my husband and I have sole responsibility to decide how and when our children learn about the Bible and religious teachings, plaintiff Erika Wright, the founder of the Oklahoma Rural Schools Coalition and parent of two school-aged children, said.

It is not the role of any politician or public school official to intervene in these personal matters.

The plaintiffs are represented by several civil rights groups, including the Oklahoma chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law & Justice.

Walters is seeking to buy 55,000 Bibles for public schools and specifying that each copy contain the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution.

The lawsuit also noted the initial request for proposal released by the State Department of Education to purchase the Bibles appeared to have been carefully tailored to match Bibles endorsed by Donald Trump that sell for $59.99 each. 

The lawsuit also noted the initial request for proposal released by the State Department of Education to purchase the Bibles appeared to have been carefully tailored to match Bibles endorsed by Donald Trump that sell for $59.99 each

The request for proposal was later amended at the request of state purchasing officials.

It is the second lawsuit filed in Oklahoma seeking to challenge Walters mandate, with another filed in June by a Locust Grove man pending in Mayes County.

Walters declared on Twitter that he would never back down to the woke mob.

The simple fact is that understanding how the Bible has impacted our nation, in its proper historical context, was the norm in America until the 1960s and its removal has coincided with a precipitous decline in American schools, he wrote.

Walters, a former public school teacher elected in 2022, ran on a platform of fighting woke ideology, banning books from school libraries, and getting rid of radical leftists he claimed were indoctrinating children in classrooms.

Locals are furious the Republican official wanted to force schools to use the Bible in lessons

Sylvia Davis, a 9th grader at Edmond North, speaks at the Impeach Ryan Walters rally on the second floor of the Oklahoma State Capitol Saturday

Walters initially made the decree in June, hoping to get the mandate in place by the new school year.

Effective immediately, all Oklahoma schools are required to incorporate the Bible, which includes the Ten Commandments, as an instructional support into the curriculum across specified grade levels, e.g. grades 5 through 12, he said. 

The Bible is an indispensable historical and cultural touchstone, Walters said. Without basic knowledge of it, Oklahoma students are unable to properly contextualize the foundation of our nation which is why Oklahoma educational standards provide for its instruction.