The Oklahoma Bible saga continues.
Despite a lack of funding in the state budget, Oklahoma education head Ryan Walters is moving ahead with his yearlong quest to put the Holy Bible in Oklahoma classrooms.
Oklahoma recently finalized their 2026 state budget, and the millions of dollars requested by Walters for classroom Bibles was nowhere to be found. Nevertheless, he says he’s moving ahead with his plan anyway – though it’s unclear at this point how he’s going to fund it.
After more than a year of fighting, will Walters finally get the Bible in every Oklahoma classroom?
What is Going On?
Let’s back up. What’s going on in Oklahoma, and why are they putting Bibles in school?
Last year, Oklahoma’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, Ryan Walters, mandated that the Holy Bible be available in every Oklahoma classroom across the state. Walters argued that the history and culture of the United States is so intertwined with the Christian faith that every Oklahoma schoolchild will need to read the gospel just to understand American history.
Putting the Bible in classrooms came with a hefty price tag: $6 million dollars, in part because Walters was initially trying to purchase the "Trump Bible", a King James Version of the Bible that is sold exclusively by President Trump.
Both taxpayers and teachers balked at the mandate, and some of the state’s biggest districts pledged to ignore Walters’ demands that teachers incorporate the Bible into their instruction, despite the superintendent's insistence that adherence to the new policy was “mandatory.”
Tightening the (Bible) Belt
Walters’ attempts to force taxpayers to fund his mass Bible purchase was temporarily blocked by the Oklahoma Supreme Court, though further developments are pending.
That may be why the state decided not to incorporate the funding into the state budget, despite the recently lowered price-tag: Walters is now requesting just $3 million to purchase tens of thousands of "Trump Bibles".
But he says that isn’t stopping him.
“The Legislature can put the money there or not," Walters stated at a recent press conference. "We're going to have a Bible in every classroom this fall. So that's going to happen. So we're doing that. We've been very straightforward on how we're doing that.”
“We’ve already been exhausting multiple avenues to [fund the plan],” Walters explained. “We’re going to make sure that Oklahoma children understand the role the Bible played in American history.”
But how? Walters is currently partnered with country musician Lee Greenwood in an effort to spur donations. The results? Walters has reportedly purchased just over 500 Trump Bibles at a cost of $25,000, likely funded through personal donations.
That's still tens of thousands of Bibles short of the goal.
Putting aside Walters’ funding woes, critics of the plan say it’s not even legal to put the Bible in every classroom and make teachers teach from it. And yet, he’s forging ahead, and seems confident Oklahoma students will soon be learning about Jesus alongside reading, writing, and arithmetic.
What is your opinion? Does the Bible belong in the classroom?
3 comments
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Marilyn
I believe firmly in separation of church and state. I've noticed recently many churches are consistently voyaging into politics and when they do , they should lose their tax exempt status. As for schools , that's a big NO if you are using taxpayers money. As a follower of Christ, I believe the Bible should be available in every library along with all other age appropriate books, however not in the classroom at taxpayers expense.
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Reverend Paula Copp
Separation of church and state is part of the bedrock of our country’s Constitution. The stupidintendant of the school system needs to go back to school himself and take a class on the Constitution.
Public schools are not for politics or religion. Only reading, writing, arithmetic, music and History. (My opinion).