Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters is touting a plan to spend $59.99 per book on bibles endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
A coalition of Oklahoma parents have filed a lawsuit against proposals to incorporate the Bible into public school lessons.
According to The Associated Press, the complaint was filed with the Oklahoma Supreme Court earlier this week. Attorneys are asking that the justices prevent state Superintendent Ryan Walters from executing a multimillion-dollar plan to purchase Bibles for students grades 5 through 12.
“The plaintiffs come from a variety of faith traditions, including Baptist, Catholic, Presbyterian (U.S.A.) and United Church of Christ, and some identify as atheist, agnostic or nonreligious. Some are of Indigenous heritage, and some have family situations – such as LGBTQ+ members or children with special educational needs – that cause particular concerns around teaching the Bible in public schools, especially around bullying,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit makes an obvious argument: that Walters’ mandate violates provisions of the Oklahoma Constitution by seeking to use public funds in furtherance of specific religious goals.
“The lawsuit asserts that the Bible-education mandate violates the Oklahoma Constitution’s religious freedom protections because the government is spending public money to support religion, as well as favoring one religion over others by requiring the use of a Protestant version of the Bible. The mandate also violates the Oklahoma Administrative Procedures Act and other state statutes because officials did not follow required rules for implementing new policies and for spending public money,” the plaintiffs and their counsel said in a press release.
Several plaintiffs have also issued individual statements emphasizing that parents—and parents alone—should have the final say in what religious beliefs their children should learn about.
“As parents, my husband and I have sole responsibility to decide how and when our children learn about the Bible and religious teachings,” plaintiff Erika Wright said in a statement. “It is not the role of any politician or public school official to intervene in these personal matters.”
Wright, notes The Associated Press, is the founder of the Oklahoma Rural Schools Coalition and the mother of two school-aged children.
She, along with the other plaintiffs, is being represented by attorneys from several civil rights organizations, including the Oklahoma chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law & Justice, and Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
Walters’ proposal, adds the A.P., sets aside about $3 million for Bibles that retail for around $59.99 each. He has since defended his initiative, pledging to never “back down to the woke mob.”
“The simple fact is that understanding how the Bible has impacted our nation, in its proper historical context, was the norm in America until the 1960s and its removal has coincided with a precipitous decline in American schools,” Walters wrote in a press release.
Sources
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