Oklahoma Supreme Court Pauses State Bible Purchase For Classroom

Oklahoma Secretary of Education Ryan Walters suffered a setback for his plan to put state-purchased Bibles in classrooms.

In June, 2024, Walters issued a letter requiring schools “to incorporate the Bible, which includes the Ten Commandments, as an instructional support” in grades 5 through 12. There was pushback almost immediately from superintendents who announced that there would be no such change in their curriculum, along with civil liberties groups, citing the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of religion. Walters has previously written that the separation of church and state is a “radical myth.”

In October, 2024, the lawsuit Rev. Lori Walke v. Ryan Walters was filed on behalf of thirty-two Oklahoma families, teachers and faith leaders. In that same month, the department released the specifications for the Bibles, which appeared to narrow the field down to the Lee Greenwood “God Bless The USA” Bible (list price: $59.95).

In the meantime, Walters asked the legislature for $3 million of taxpayer money for purchasing the Bibles. That request was denied at the beginning of March, and Walters and Greenwood began campaigning for donations to purchase classroom Bibles.

“This Bible mandate is a deliberate power grab that violates Oklahoma law and flouts the separation of church and state,” said Daniel Mach, director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. “Public-school students, families, and teachers – and the taxpayers who support them – deserve better.”

According to an ACLU press release, the Court’s order temporarily stayed “work on any new request by the OSDE for the purchase of Bibles.” In addition, the order paused work on a request for proposals issued by OSDE on February 21, 2025. This request for proposals sought suppliers for “supplemental instructional materials that effectively integrate the Bible and character education into elementary-level social studies curriculum.”

Walters has had a contentious few months. Oklahoma teachers have criticized his work, which has also included calling teachers terrorists, pushing for a Catholic charter school (now before the Supreme Court), creating the Office of Religious Liberty and Patriotism, and announcing that office with a video that he required all schools to show–including a prayer. Last month he became involved in a public feud with Governor Kevin Stitt, once a strong Walters supporter.

The plaintiffs in the case are represented by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Oklahoma Foundation, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law & Justice. They issued the following statement after the decision.

“This victory is an important step toward protecting the religious freedom of every student and parent in Oklahoma. Superintendent Ryan Walters has been abusing his power and the court checked those abuses today. Our diverse coalition of families and clergy remains united against Walters’s extremism and in favor of a core First Amendment principle: the separation of church and state.”

In a statement after the court order was issued, Walters said, “The Bible has been a cornerstone of our nation’s history and education for generations. We will continue fighting to ensure students have access to this foundational text in the classroom.”

Students are permitted to bring their own Bibles into school, and free copies of the text are available on line. The central question appears to be two-part: should the Bible be required in classrooms, and should taxpayers be required to purchase a particular version.