In Oklahoma, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters is at it again. The man who has made controversial statements about Black history, who promotes a Christian nationalist agenda for curriculum and who demands teachers have Bibles in their classrooms…
Ryan Walters cites states’ rights in call to end U.S. Education Department
Donald Trump’s victory last Tuesday prompted embattled Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters to prepare parents there for elimination of the U.S. Department of Education. On Thursday, Nov. 7 — two days after the presidential election — Walters sent…
Ryan Walters faces challenges on two fronts
Oklahoma’s top education official is facing mounting opposition to his directive that every public school classroom have Bibles for teaching Scripture to students. Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters was sued Oct. 17 by more than 30 faith leaders,…
Only one Bible fits the $3 million bid for Oklahoma classrooms
Update: On Oct. 7, the state of Oklahoma amended the bid document for Bibles in response to massive pushback. Also, one other Bible was identified that meets the original criteria, one promoted by Donald Trump Jr. There’s a new…
Church/state mandates then and now: A tenuous freedom
Church/state mandates began early in the American colonies. On July 19, 1651, three Baptists — John Clarke, Obadiah Holmes and John Crandall — traveled from Newport, R.I., to Lynn, Mass., and the home of William Witter, who requested their visit…
Oklahoma school districts pushing back on Bible mandate
At least 13 large school districts in Oklahoma have told the state superintendent of public instruction they will not obey his order to place a Bible in every classroom and require every teacher to teach from it. Earlier this summer,…
Ryan Walters descends from the Capitol with new commandments for Oklahoma teachers
The handwriting is on the wall for Oklahoma teachers. Anyone who knows the Jewish and Christian Scriptures would understand that statement is a riff on a well-known passage from Daniel 5:5 where mysterious handwriting appeared on the wall with a…
David Barton is still wrong: American exceptionalism endangers America
How many times will evangelical Christians attempt to put the David Barton-inspired revisionist American history into public school curriculums? Every time a state official wakes up one morning and reads the Bible or the Constitution wrong, expect another outburst of…
Oklahoma schools chief mandates Bibles in every public school classroom
Two days after the Oklahoma Supreme Court swatted down an attempt to use public funds to support a Catholic charter school, the state superintendent of public instruction mandated all public schools have a Christian Bible in the classroom and teach…