Oklahoma Drops Requirement for Bibles in Every Classroom

The Oklahoma Department of Education has withdrawn a 2024 directive that required teachers to keep a Christian Bible in every classroom and incorporate it into lessons — a rule that had been challenged as unconstitutional.

The order was introduced by Ryan Walters, who resigned last month as the state’s Superintendent of Public Instruction. The Oklahoma Supreme Court had already blocked the directive after teachers and parents from various faith backgrounds sued Walters, arguing that the mandate violated the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition on government endorsement of religion.

The Oklahoma Constitution also stipulates that public schools and their funds must remain nonsectarian and must not favor “any sect, church, denomination, or system of religion.”

The state’s main teachers’ union criticized the directive as well, saying that decisions about classroom materials should be made by local school districts and teachers, not by the state.

The court gave the new superintendent, Lyndel Fields, two weeks to decide whether to continue defending the policy. Fields informed the court just a day later, on Wednesday, that he would not.

“We plan to file a motion to dismiss,” Fields said in a statement, adding, “We have no intention of distributing Bibles or Bible-based character education curricula in classrooms.”

Walters, a self-described Christian who had called the Old and New Testaments “foundational documents of Western civilization,” faced criticism even from Republican lawmakers, who noted that no funds had been approved for purchasing Bibles.

In a social media post, Walters expressed disappointment over the reversal, saying, “The war on Christianity is real.”