Teachers and school districts across Oklahoma are openly defying orders from Republican State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters to teach Bible lessons in public school classrooms.
Walters’ mandate to force Bible lessons on students comes as many Republican-led states have pushed for more religion — specifically Christianity — in public schools.
An Oklahoma Memo
Back in June, Walters issued a memo that directed all schools in Oklahoma to begin to incorporate the Bible and the Ten Commandments into class lessons.
This mandate pushed for these lessons to be taught in all public school classrooms from grades five through 12.
Guidelines Issued
After this mandate was announced by Walters, the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) then issued guidelines, seemingly to help all schools in the state.
These guidelines revealed how schools should incorporate Bible lessons in this 2024-2025 school year.
Immediate Backlash
Walters faced immediate backlash from parents in Oklahoma, as well as parents and citizens around the United States, after issuing this mandate.
Many Oklahomans announced their concern that this mandate violated their constitutional and state rights. Discussion of the separation of church and state also became common.
Oklahoma Schools Fight Back
As school districts began to prepare for students returning to school for the beginning of a new fall school year, various districts revealed that they would not be adopting Walters’ mandate.
These districts have stated publicly that they will not comply with this issued directive in any way.
A Majority of School Districts Won’t Teach Bible Lessons
A local news station in Oklahoma reported on a survey that was conducted by every single school district in Oklahoma.
This survey revealed that of the 54 superintendents who responded, 46 stated that they would not be pushing for their teachers to teach from the Bible.
Why Teachers Are Fighting Back
School district officials and teachers alike have fought against this mandate. They aren’t prepared to teach Bible lessons to their students for a variety of reasons.
This survey reported that many school districts were worried that the mandate would violate state laws. Schools don’t want to face these types of lawsuits.
An Infringement on Religious Beliefs
One respondent of this survey explained that they don’t know anyone who is okay with this mandate.
They wrote, “I have talked to my teachers, my board, and many community members. At best, they are uncomfortable with the mandate. At worst, they feel it is an infringement on personal religious beliefs and is subject to opening Pandora’s box.”
Providing a Bible to Students
Walters also mandated earlier this summer that all classrooms should have available Bibles to give to their students. Many districts have also stated they wouldn’t be doing this, either.
School districts have said that this mandate violates state law, which gives districts the power over instructional materials. Other schools explained they had no funds to purchase this mass amount of Bibles.
The Fear of Retaliation
Walters has threatened the school districts who have claimed they will not enforce Bible lessons in classrooms. In fact, Walters did this before the fall school semester even began.
As a result of these threats, many school district leaders have expressed their worry that OSDE will in some way retaliate against them for not following Walters’ order.
Walters’ Threats
In July, during a State Board of Education meeting, Walters issued one of his first threats against Oklahoma schools that don’t fall in line.
Walters said, “You’ve seen some rogue administrators making comments to the press and so I wanted to address those. Some of our worst-acting districts come out and say they are not going to teach history. They said they are not going to teach the Bible because they don’t want that. Just because they are offended by it doesn’t mean they won’t do it. We will enforce the law and they will be held accountable.”
Walters Isn’t Backing Down
Walters doesn’t appear to be backing down, even though many school districts are fighting back.
A spokesperson from his office recently said, “Oklahoma school districts are required by state law to teach the historical significance of the Bible. Superintendent Walters will hold teachers and administrators accountable.”
