Oklahoma’s Bible-based K-12 social studies standards are invalid because the state Board of Education violated open meetings statutes in adopting the curriculum in February, the state Supreme Court ruled Dec. 16.
The conservative court ruled 5-4 to permanently revoke the standards requiring public schools to teach Scripture, to promote debunked conspiracies about the 2020 election and to say COVID-19 resulted from a laboratory leak in China.
The curriculum was the brainchild of former state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters, who was the most controversial and polarizing figure ever to serve in the position. With a tenure marked by attempts to spread evangelical Christianity in public schools and a penchant for alienating parents, educators and fellow conservatives alike, he resigned Oct. 1 to lead a conservative group dedicated to fighting teachers’ unions.
The conservative court ruled 5-4 to permanently revoke the standards.
It was the failure of Walters and Board of Education staff to adequately notify the public and board members about changes to the curriculum before the Feb. 27 vote that convinced the court to invalidate the standards.
“The Oklahoma State Board of Education violated the Open Meetings Act when it approved the 2025 Oklahoma Academic Standards for Social Studies. The subsequent silent acquiescence and deemed approval of these standards by the legislature did not cure the State Board’s violation of the Open Meeting Act,” the court said.
Legal opposition to the standards had its beginnings in Rev. Lori Walke v. Ryan Walters, an October 2024 lawsuit filed in state court by families, teachers and religious leaders to prevent Walters from using taxpayer money to place Bibles in all public classrooms. Plaintiffs in that case then filed a brief with the Oklahoma Supreme Court in March seeking an injunction when the curriculum plan became known.
Mitch Randall
But the December Supreme Court ruling came in the case of Rev. Dr. Mitch Randall v. Ryan Walters, a state lawsuit filed in July by more than 30 faith leaders, teachers and parents to block implementation of the Bible-infused social studies standards.
The lawsuit argued the curriculum not only violated the separation of church and state but also the state’s open-meeting laws and procedures for adopting new teaching guidelines.
“By voting to approve the 2025 Standards when at least half its membership did not know their content, the board violated a statute that requires it to maintain sole control and authority over Oklahoma academic standards,” the action argued.
“The new curriculum standards are replete with several dozen references to the Bible and Christianity while containing few mentions of other faiths,” plaintiffs’ attorneys with Americans United for Separation of Church and State and Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice explained in filing the suit.
The court responded in September by issuing a temporary restraining order preventing the Bible-based standards from going into effect in time for the 2025-2026 school year.
Opponents of the curriculum hailed the court’s latest decision as a win for students and families as the 2019 standards remain in effect.
“The wall separating church and state was upheld, an outcome every citizen should celebrate,” said Randall, executive director of Good Faith Media and an informal ministry partner of Baptist News Global.
The Dec. 16 decision “will ensure that Oklahoma families — not politicians — get to decide how and when their children engage with religion,” said Americans United President Rachel Laser. “These new social studies standards violated students’ and families’ religious freedom by promoting one version of Christianity and advancing Christian nationalist disinformation.”
However, the court did not actually consider the church-state and religious freedom issues raised in Randall v. Walters because it could resolve the case by focusing on the open-meetings violation. “We decline to assume original jurisdiction to analyze petitioners’ constitutional claims. We decline to assume jurisdiction and address petitioners’ claims based upon whether the content of the 2025 Standards violates state statutes. We also decline to assume jurisdiction and address whether the 2025 Standards violate the Oklahoma Administrative Procedures Act.”
But First Amendment rights have been upheld nevertheless, said Brent Rowland, legal director of Oklahoma Appleseed.
“This is a victory for transparency, fairness and the constitutional rights of all Oklahomans,” he said. “Public school classrooms may not be used to endorse religious doctrine — no matter what the religion is or how many people follow it. Overturning these standards means Oklahoma students can learn history and civics in a way that respects every family’s beliefs while inspiring them to think critically, ask questions, and engage as informed members of our democracy.”
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