Ryan Walters working with country singer Lee Greenwood to encourage Bible donations for schools
State schools Superintendent Ryan Walters said Thursday he's partnering with country music artist Lee Greenwood on a nationwide campaign to encourage donations of Bibles to Oklahoma classrooms.
The announcement came the day after the Oklahoma Senate nixed a $3 million request by the agency to place Bibles in classrooms. Walters had asked for the money in his proposed budget for the 2026 fiscal year, but Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond – who chairs the Senate education budget subcommittee – said that request wasn't considered by that body.
A news release issued Thursday morning by the Oklahoma State Department of Education, which Walters leads, said, 'The inclusion of the Bible in classrooms is viewed not only as a religious text but as a pivotal document that has shaped societal values, legal systems, and cultural norms. There is significant opposition from the Oklahoma Legislature and they have stripped all funding away from getting Bibles back into the classroom.'
Last June, Walters announced a Bible-teaching mandate for Oklahoma schools, although most districts haven't followed the mandate, saying they will stick to teaching the state's current academic standards. Walters' agency is trying to issue a second Request for Proposal to spend taxpayer money to buy 55,000 Bibles.
The Department of Education's original request, made in October, to purchase 55,000 Bibles appeared to be written for a specific copy of the Bible: the Lee Greenwood "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 proposal.
The release from Walters' agency was light on details, but it said 'Greenwood and his network' would facilitate the donation of Bibles to state classrooms. 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' on the website is $59.99.
The 'Trump Bible' uses the King James Version of the Bible, developed in 1611. According to the website, the campaign's goal is to provide copies of the 'Trump Bible' to as many schools within Oklahoma as possible.
More: Senate subcommittee nixes Ryan Walters' $3 million ask for Bibles in budget recommendation
The Bible mandate and the RFPs for Bible purchases have drawn two lawsuits, including one that's pending in the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
Last month, the agency announced the issuance of a RFP for Bible-infused instructional materials for use in elementary classrooms.
That followed an announcement last November that the agency had bought more than 500 Bibles for Oklahoma public school classrooms. His agency said Wednesday that it was distributing those Bibles to Advanced Placement U.S. Government classrooms in Oklahoma, even though a court hasn't yet ruled if using taxpayer money to buy Bibles for classrooms is legal.
Supporters and critics of the Bible mandate have asked Walters on multiple occasions about the possibility of donating Bibles, questions he's previously brushed off. The announcement Thursday would appear to indicate he's changed his thinking on that subject.
'The Bible is indispensable in understanding the development of Western civilization and American exceptionalism, history, and all similar subjects,' Walters said in a statement. 'The ongoing attempts to remove it from our classrooms is an attack on the foundation of our country."
The state agency said in the news release that, 'No profit or benefit is gained by Superintendent Ryan Walters, his family, or his affiliates. This is an endorsement of the historical and secular significance of the Bible in all areas of education. The Oklahoma kids and parents are the beneficiaries of this effort.'
Phil Bacharach, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Attorney General's office, said the setup appears to be legal and in keeping with the Education Department's policy, provided there is approval from the governor's office. Spokespersons for Gov. Kevin Stitt didn't immediately respond to a question about the setup on Thursday.
During his weekly press conference on Wednesday, Stitt – who's cultivated a reputation as a budget hawk – sidestepped a question about whether or not he felt Walters' $3 million request to spend on Bibles was appropriate. Stitt suggested using instead a popular Bible phone app, developed in Oklahoma.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Ryan Walters, Lee Greenwood asking for Bible donations for OK schools
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