The Oklahoma Supreme Court has temporarily blocked state school officials from purchasing Bibles and Scripture-based instructional materials for use in public school classrooms.
The March 10 order bars Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters and the Oklahoma State Department of Education from spending millions in taxpayer dollars on the religious texts and on curriculum pending the outcome of a related lawsuit against the state.
Attorneys for the families, teachers and faith leaders suing the state in Rev. Lori Walke v. Ryan Walters said the justices’ order is a victory for religious freedom in Oklahoma.
“Walters has been abusing his power and the court checked those abuses today,” said lawyers with Americans United for Separation of Church and State, American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma, ACLU, Freedom from Religion Foundation and Oklahoma Appleseed. “Our diverse coalition of families and clergy remains united against Walters’ extremism and in favor of a core First Amendment principle: the separation of church and state.”
“Walters has been abusing his power and the court checked those abuses today.”
The brief resulting in the court’s temporary injunction was filed March 4 in response to news Walters had reopened the bidding process for Bibles initially halted by the October 2024 filing of the ongoing lawsuit. Plaintiffs also acted in response to the state Board of Education’s Feb. 21 Request for Proposal seeking teaching materials that include Scripture lessons for elementary school children.
In a motion to dismiss these requests, Walters and the state education board argued the search for Bible-based instructional material should not be covered by the injunction.
“But the Biblical Character Education RFP fits squarely within the scope of relief requested in petitioners’ original petition, which specifically asked for an injunction to ‘bar respondents from taking any action to implement or enforce the Bible Education Mandate, including spending any state funds to purchase Bibles … or to further the mandate in any other manner,” the order reads.
In fact, Walters’ legal challenges can be traced to his June 2024 mandate requiring Bibles in all public-school classrooms accompanied by lessons integrating biblical topics with Oklahoma and U.S. history. His order was accompanied by threats of punishment for any teacher or school district failing to heed the decree.
The edict was followed by a request for bids for leather-bound Bibles containing the Pledge of Allegiance, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
The cost to taxpayers was estimated at $3.3 million and critics noted the wording of the request required purchase of the so-called Trump Bible. However, the RFP later was amended after major public opposition.
The first signs of resistance, however, came in late June and early July when more than a dozen of Oklahoma’s largest school districts announced they would defy Walters’ mandate as unconstitutional.
The Oklahoman and KGOU public radio identified the systems as Piedmont Public Schools, Norman Public Schools, Moore Public Schools, Stillwater Public Schools, Bixby Public Schools, Yukon Public Schools, Jenks Public Schools, Deer Creek School District, Springs Public Schools, Broken Arrow Public Schools, Collinsville Public Schools, Owasso Public Schools and Tulsa Public Schools.
In August, educators, legislators and parents staged a rally at the state Capitol in Oklahoma City demanding Walters be impeached for his actions as state school superintendent. About two months later, he became the subject of a Change.org petition campaign seeking his impeachment.
“Everyone here is sick of Ryan Walters. I know I am.”
“Everyone here is sick of Ryan Walters. I know I am. It’s time to take action, and we need your help to make it happen. You do not need to be a Republican or Democrat to be horrified by what has been going on,” petition starter Stevie E. said. “It’s clear that Ryan Walters is using his role to pander politically instead of focusing on supporting the students in Oklahoma’s public schools. Oklahoma is ranked 49th in education — almost dead last in the nation. We cannot afford this kind of leadership any longer. Our children deserve better than this, and so do we.”
Walke v. Walters was then filed Oct. 17 with the Oklahoma Supreme Court by more than 30 religious leaders, teachers, parents and their children to stop implementation of the mandate and the plan to purchase Bibles.
But Walters stirred controversy again in November by emailing a “mandatory announcement” to all school superintendents with an attached video titled “Prayer for the Nation.” In it, he blamed “woke teachers’ unions” and the “radical left” for attacks on religious liberty and urged students to pray for Donald Trump.
The civil rights groups representing plaintiffs in the Walke v. Walters sent a letter to school districts explaining the prayer video is unconstitutional.
“The email request by Walters appears to further his personal political ambitions, but not any legitimate educational interest,” the letter said. “Walters’ demand is harmful to your students and violates the U.S. Constitution, the Oklahoma Constitution, state law, and likely your school district’s policies.”
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