What to know about Oklahoma’s top education official ordering Bible instruction in schools
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma’s top education official angered civil rights groups and others when he ordered public schools to take immediate action start recording the Bible in lesson plans for students in grades 5 through 12.
Republican State Superintendent Ryan Walters said in a memo to school leaders across the state on Thursday that the Bible is a cornerstone of Western civilization and its use in classrooms is mandatory.
“It is essential that our children understand the Bible and its historical context,” Walters says.
Here are some things to know about Walters’ ordinance, which requires schools to include the Bible as an “educational aid in the curriculum.”
Walters said Thursday that Oklahoma state law and academic standards are “crystal clear” that the Bible can be used to teach students in public schools. Oklahoma indeed social studies standards list various Bible stories and other religious scriptures from Buddhism and Hinduism as primary teaching materials for students.
What is not clear is whether Walters can mandate the use of the Bible in classrooms. Oklahoma state law says individual school districts have exclusive authority to determine curriculum, reading lists, instructional materials and textbooks.
Andy Fugitt, an attorney with the Oklahoma Center for Educational Law, said his organization has fielded numerous calls from districts asking for advice on Walters’ order. Fugitt said the order is likely to be challenged in court by First Amendment groups who believe the order could violate the Establishment Clause, which prohibits the government from “establishing” a religion.
A school district could also sue under the order if it were threatened with punishment for noncompliance, Fugitt said, but Walters’ order did not suggest any type of repercussion for noncompliance.
Oklahoma’s directive is the latest salvo in an effort by conservative states to crack down on public schools: Louisiana has required them to Ten Commandments in Classroomswhile others are under pressure to teaching the Bible And ban books and lessons on race, sexual orientation and gender identity.
Earlier this week, the Oklahoma Supreme Court an attempt blocked established by the state to establish the first publicly funded religious charter school in the country.
“It may well be that some of these developments are justified and others go too far,” said Richard Garnett, law professor and director of the Notre Dame Program on Church, State and Social Studies. & Society.
“There have been times in recent decades when people went too far in banishing religion from the public space. The Supreme Court has told people that that’s not what the First Amendment requires. Now you see adjustments.”
Walters’ order immediately sparked outrage from civil rights groups and those committed to the separation of church and state.
The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, which recently joined a coalition of Groups sue Louisiana over the new Ten Commandments law, vowed to take action to stop Walters from pushing the Bible into Oklahoma public schools.
‘Walters’ concern should be the fact Oklahoma ranks 45th in education,” foundation co-chair Dan Barker said in a statement. “Maybe education would improve if Oklahoma’s superintendent of education spent his time promoting education, instead of religion.”
Bob Gragg is superintendent of Seminole Public Schools, a central Oklahoma district with about 1,400 students in kindergarten through grade 12.
Gragg said he reads the Bible every morning at his kitchen table, but is also a strong supporter of the separation of church and state.
“I believe the separation between church and state is getting stronger,” Gragg said. “(Walters) is on a slippery slope that, even if he is even remotely successful, will have serious consequences for our schools, churches, families, state and nation.”
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