Oklahoma Schools Superintendent Sued Over Bible Mandate

Oklahoma’s schools superintendent has been sued over the State Department of Education’s (SDE) demand that all public schools teach the Bible in classrooms.
More than a dozen petitioners in Oklahoma, including religious leaders, public school parents and teachers, filed the lawsuit on Thursday in state Supreme Court. The group argues that the Bible Education Mandate signed by Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters on June 27 is unlawful. It has asked Oklahoma’s highest court to rescind the order and prevent the state from “taking any action to enforce” or advance the measure.
Walters said at the time he issued the mandate that the Bible “is an indispensable historical and cultural touchstone.” He has also said that teachers who refuse to teach the Bible could lose their teaching license.
The lawsuit claims that Walters’ mandate “interferes with the parents’ ability to direct the religious and moral upbringing of their children.” Petitioners also argue that it violates state law on government agencies’ passage of rules and regulations, noting that Walters did not include a “provision of notice” or “comment period” in issuing the mandate.
Among the petitioners is the Rev. Dr. Lori Walke, senior minister at Mayflower Congregational United Church of Christ in Oklahoma City. According to the suit, Walke “cares deeply about religious freedom,” and “believes that by mandating one particular religious text, and not others, the Bible Education Mandate promotes one set of religious beliefs over others.”
Cortney Cunningham, another petitioner listed on the suit, is a fifth-grade teacher at an Oklahoma public school. The suit states that Walters’ mandate would force Cunningham, who is agnostic, to teach a religion that she does “not subscribe” to in her classroom.
“Ms. Cunningham works hard to make her classroom a safe, welcoming environment for students of all religious and nonreligious backgrounds,” read the lawsuit. “She works hard to teach equality to her students … By promoting one particular religion over others, the Bible Education Mandate will worsen exclusionary social dynamics in Ms. Cunningham’s classroom and impair her ability to create an open, engaging educational environment.”
Several other suit petitioners filed on behalf of their children who attend public schools in Oklahoma. Walters, the SDE and the Oklahoma State Board of Education are among the defendants.
The SDE, at Walters’ directive, has requested to purchase 55,000 Bibles for public schools to help classrooms meet the requirements. The measure would cost $3 million in state funds, and Walters had originally requested that the religious texts fit certain criteria, including that the books contain a copy of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
Such historical documents are included in former President Donald Trump’s “God Bless the USA Bible,” which he has been selling during his 2024 presidential campaign for $59.99. The SDE has said its request is not “catered to one specific organization.”
The Associated Press reported last week that the SDE has amended its request to no longer require that the Bibles include historical documents. In a video posted Monday to his account on X, formerly Twitter, Walters repeated that the Bible will be used in the classroom “because of its historical significance throughout this nation’s history.”
“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 added.
In a statement emailed to Newsweek on Thursday night, Walters vowed to not “back down to the woke mob” and reiterated that teaching the Bible in school was essential to understanding American history.
“The simple fact is that understanding how the Bible has impacted our nation, in its proper historical and literary context, was the norm in America until the 1960s and its removal has coincided with a precipitous decline in American schools,” Walters said. “It is not possible for our students to understand American history and culture without understanding the Biblical principles from which they came, so I am proud to bring back the Bible to every classroom in Oklahoma.”
Update 10/17/24, 11:31 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional comment from Walters.