Oklahoma shifts Bible rules after accusations of pro-Trump bias, but will schools comply?

Oklahoma is shifting its requirements for which Bibles will be put in classrooms in the face of criticism that it was essentially feeding the contract to former President Trump, while districts across the state are still refusing to even abide by the mandate.

Though he has threatened consequences for those who don’t comply, State Superintendent Ryan Walters has apparently been too busy fighting another controversy regarding which Bibles will be chosen to implement any punishments. 

“I can tell you that the majority of schools in my area are not adhering to his ‘mandate’. I have heard that there are several schools in far southeast Oklahoma that are doing it because their school boards are wanting to do it — not because of the mandate,” said Lee Northcutt, superintendent of Caddo Public Schools. 

Over the summer, Walters released mandatory guidance on how to incorporate lessons about Christianity and the Bible into K-12 education, threatening consequences for any school that refused to comply. 

“I will not hesitate to use every option available to ensure Oklahoma students get the best education possible,” Walters said when reached for comment.  

However, none of those consequences have come to fruition. 

“There’s no punishments or threats or anything else. He continues to say that we will do it when the law clearly says that he does not have the authority to make us do that,” said Rob Miller, superintendent of Bixby Public Schools. “Yeah, it would be a district-by-district decision.”

On Friday, The Oklahoman reported an eyebrow-raising wrinkle: The state criteria for the Bibles were so narrowly tailored — King James version, bound in leather or leather-like material and, most unusually, including the U.S. Constitution, the Pledge of Allegiance and Declaration of Independence — that the only ones found to qualify were those endorsed by Trump.

After that reporting, the Oklahoma Department of Education’s request for proposals (RFP) was amended Monday to say a publisher did not have to provide all the documents under one book.

“The left-wing media hates Donald Trump so much, and they hate the Bible so much, they will lie and go to any means necessary to stop this initiative from happening,” Walters said in a video on X.

The fight in Oklahoma may be coming to a tipping point as many superintendents in the state have made clear they feel Walters is just trying to insert a Christian education into public schools while civil rights organizations keep a close eye on the state and others that may want to mimic Walters’s move.

“The Bible does have a limited role in particular concepts. But again, we’re talking about purchasing Bibles for every single classroom,” Miller said. “So there hasn’t been an explanation as to how a math teacher or a kindergarten teacher would use that, especially the New King James Bible, which is really the comprehensive level. It would be well above most young elementary kids. And so, I don’t know what the teacher would even do with a Bible like that.”

Concerns are also rising that Oklahoma may be inspiring other states to go down similar routes, with opponents prepared to go to battle. 

“We’ve already seen the state of Texas push to mandate Bible-based curriculum in its public schools, that is ongoing. That is not final guidance, I believe that is draft guidance, which may be finalized in November, so within the next month or so, and that comes from the State Board of Education, and it’s a push to implement the Bible and biblical lessons into K -five public school settings,” said Azhar Majeed, director of Government Affairs at the Center for Inquiry (CFI). 

“CFI has started writing to public school districts in Texas, similar to our letters in Oklahoma, and we’re urging them to resist this state mandate. And then we’ll see if this comes up in other states as well,” he added.  

No lawsuits have yet been filed in Oklahoma, but many say they are prepared to take action as opponents watch and wait for the state’s next move.  

“We have received reports of a number of smaller school districts implementing the Bible mandate, as well as of individual teachers implementing it in school districts that are not officially implementing it,” said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “Walters has repeatedly threatened to take enforcement actions and to penalize school districts and teachers who aren’t enforcing the Bible mandate, but he hasn’t announced any specific enforcement actions yet, including, like, revoking teachers’ licenses, so we are all awaiting that.”  

“We exist to protect the religious freedom of Oklahoma families and families all throughout the country, so we stand ready to take whatever action is necessary to do that,” Laser added.