The new superintendent of public schools in Oklahoma announced on Wednesday that he is scrapping a mandate imposed by his predecessor that forces schools to place Bibles in classrooms and incorporate Scripture into students’ lesson plans.
Why It Matters
The issue of Bibles in classrooms in Oklahoma has stirred national debate on the role of religion in public education and religious freedom. The decision by new state Superintendent of Public Instruction Lindel Fields to revoke the order represents a victory for supporters of secular public education.
The previous superintendent who imposed the mandate, Ryan Walters, drew condemnation from civil rights groups and triggered a lawsuit from a group of parents, teachers and religious leaders that is still before the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
What To Know
“We…have no plans to distribute Bibles or Biblical character education curriculum in classrooms,” Fields said in a statement on Wednesday.
Fields’ predecessor, Walters, is a conservative Republican and staunch supporter of President Donald Trump who campaigned against what he saw as “woke” ideology and the influence of teachers’ unions in schools. He resigned at the end of last month to join a nonprofit with a focus on education.
In November, less than two weeks after Trump’s election victory, Walters announced that Oklahoma would be the first state in the nation to purchase more than 500 Bibles to be put into classrooms for students in fifth through 12th grades.
A group of Oklahoma parents, teachers and religious leaders challenged the mandate in the courts, arguing that it was unconstitutional, due to forcing Christian beliefs on public school students.
The groups that challenged Walters’ mandate in the courts, including Americans United, the American Civil Liberties Union Oklahoma, Freedom From Religion Foundation and Oklahoma Appleseed, welcomed Fields’ announcement.
“The attempts to promote religion in the classroom and the abuses of power that the Oklahoma State Department of Education engaged in under Walters’ tenure should never happen in Oklahoma or anywhere in the United States again,” they said in a joint statement.
Walters stirred more controversy shortly before resigning, with a plan to open a chapter of Turning Point USA—the conservative student organization co-founded by assassinated group CEO Charlie Kirk—in Oklahoma in every high school to resist “radical leftists … (who) push woke indoctrination.”
What People Are Saying
The groups opposed to Walters’ mandate, in their statement: “The promise of separation of church and state guaranteed by the U.S. and Oklahoma constitutions means that families and students – not politicians – get to decide when and how to engage with religion.”
Walters, in a post to X: “I could not be more disappointed in the decision to move away from empowering our teachers in Oklahoma to use a foundational document like the Bible in the classroom. The war on Christianity is real.”
What Happens Next
The debate over the place of religion in public educational institutions will likely continue in several states across the U.S.
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