Supreme Court asked to halt Ryan Walters' Bible-donation plan for Oklahoma schools

Yahoo

14-03-2025

Less than a week after the Oklahoma Supreme Court paused state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters' attempt to spend millions in taxpayer money on so-called 'Trump Bibles,' the plaintiffs in that lawsuit are asking the court to stop a Bible-donation plan implemented by Walters.
Walters said last week he's partnering with country music artist Lee Greenwood on a nationwide campaign to encourage donations of Bibles to Oklahoma classrooms. That announcement came after the Oklahoma Senate nixed a $3 million budget request by Walters' agency, the Oklahoma State Department of Education, to buy Bibles.
A news release from Walters' agency said 'Greenwood and his network' would facilitate the donation of Bibles to state classrooms as part of a 'Bibles Back in School Campaign.' The release encouraged 'individual and corporate' partners to buy a Bible at www.BiblesforOklahoma.com to donate to the state Education Department.
The website indicated the cost of a 'Trump Bible' is $59.99. The website tells people to give money for the Bibles because 'GOD, CHRISTIANITY AND MORAL VALUES ARE OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE.'
In a filing made Wednesday, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit — known as Walke v. Walters — asked the court to issue an order prohibiting Walters and other state officials from taking any action to implement the Bibles Back in School Campaign and from otherwise distributing Bibles to public schools.
'The costs of these outlandish actions by our State Superintendent continue to climb and he shows no signs of slowing,' said Colleen McCarty, the executive director of the Tulsa-based Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, one of the legal groups representing the more than 30 Oklahomans who sued Walters. 'We're facing a budget shortfall and Oklahomans simply cannot afford these stunts for much longer. Oklahomans need a leader who will maintain the rule of law and educate our kids.'
Walters responded by claiming it's "no surprise that the same left-wing groups pushing state-sponsored atheism are attacking our work to get Bibles back in classrooms. They've spent years trying to erase Bibles from our schools, and they can't stand seeing parents and educators fighting back."
Walters issued a Bible-teaching mandate for Oklahoma schools last June and has been persistent in attempting to get Bibles into classrooms. But it's not just any Bible Walters is pushing. Twice, his agency has created 'request for proposals' to purchase 55,000 Bibles appeared to be written for a specific copy of the Bible: Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" edition of the Bible, which has been endorsed by President Donald Trump.
That specific Bible includes all the non-biblical documents — the U.S. Constitution, the Pledge of Allegiance, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights — listed on the original request for proposals.
The plaintiffs sued Walters, the state Education Department, the state Board of Education and the state Office of Management and Enterprise Services on Oct. 17 over the mandate and the attempts by Walters and the agency to purchase Bibles with public money.
On Monday, the Oklahoma Supreme Court stayed the second 'request for proposals' for Bibles and another already issued for Bible-based curriculum for Oklahoma classrooms.
The OMES had asked the court to order it to stop working on processing the two requests for proposals, or RFPs, from the state Education Department until the court issues a final decision. The agency had told the plaintiffs it was legally obligated to proceed with processing the RFPs until a court directive ordering it to do otherwise is issued.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Walters' Bible-donation plan for Oklahoma schools draws a challenge