Americans United, ACLU Ask Ryan Walters for Biblical Commandments Record

Four civil rights organizations and an Oklahoma law firm said they filed a joint records request with the Oklahoma State Department of Education on Friday, asking it to provide information about state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters’ recent order to include the Bible in classroom instruction.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the ACLU of Oklahoma, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law & Justice said their document requests focused on three areas:

June 27 directive requiring the inclusion of the Bible “as a teaching aid in the curriculum” for grades five through 12.
A “comprehensive review” of state standards in social studies and the establishment of an Executive Review Committee to oversee the changes.
The memorandum was sent to all school districts to provide guidance on implementing the initial directive to integrate Bible instruction into classrooms.

Megan Lambert, legal director for the ACLU of Oklahoma, said the groups filed a request under the Oklahoma Open Records Act. She said the groups are seeking all records related to each event, including records created after Jan. 8, 2023, sent or received by Walters or any other state Department of Education official or employee related to the teaching or use of the Bible in public schools, records related to the selection of an Executive Review Committee to oversee changes to Oklahoma’s social studies standards, and any communications with members or potential members, and records related to funding or paying for the Bible mandate.

More: At least eight large Oklahoma school districts condemn Ryan Walters’ order to teach the Bible

“All families and students should feel welcome in our public schools,” Lambert said in a media release announcing the action. “Courts have repeatedly held that public schools cannot ‘compel anyone to support, participate in, or practice a religion.’”

Lambert said Oklahoma children have the right to attend public schools and receive the full range of school services “without having government-sponsored religion imposed on them.”

“Religious freedom means that parents and faith communities — not politicians — have the right to direct the religious education and development of their children,” she said.

Walters spokesman Dan Isett said the groups are “out-of-state left-wing activists” who “are dedicated to blocking scientific progress in Oklahoma because they are wrong about the use of the Bible as a teaching aid in our classrooms.”

More: Fact Check: What Does Oklahoma Law Say About Bible Teaching in Public Schools?

“Superintendent Walters has made it clear that including the Bible provides an invaluable opportunity to deepen students’ understanding of historical and cultural events and to deepen their understanding of the historical and literary foundations of Western civilization,” Isett said in an emailed statement to The Oklahoman.

“These radicals would sacrifice the knowledge of our students on the altar of their own tyrannical version of atheism as our state religion.”

Ryan Walters recommends that every classroom have physical copies of the Bible, Constitution, and Ten Commandments.

The request comes just days after Walters released a document outlining how schools can implement his late-June directive to teach the Bible in every classroom.

“It is imperative that these guidelines be immediately and fully implemented for the 2024-2025 school year,” Walters wrote in a memo sent Tuesday to state school district superintendents.

“This memorandum and the accompanying standards must be provided to every teacher, as well as a physical copy of the Bible, the United States Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Ten Commandments as resources in every classroom in the school district. These documents are mandatory for the holistic education of Oklahoma students.”

Walters’ directive was met with resistance from several larger school districts in the state, which publicly announced they would not change their curriculum despite the directive.

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Colleen McCarty, executive director of the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, said Walters has made his plans in Oklahoma clear: partisan rhetoric, Christian nationalism and a statewide platform to advance his political ambitions.

“Walters’ track record of actually addressing the real concerns of students and parents is pathetic,” she said. “The people of Oklahoma deserve a state superintendent who is dedicated to providing Oklahoma’s children with a high-quality, accessible, and impartial education, not unconstitutionally tearing down the wall between church and state.”

Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United, said the joint motion was filed in the public interest so that the organizations and their Oklahoma members “can determine whether persons entrusted with the conduct of government affairs are honestly, faithfully and competently discharging their duties as public officials.”

“Public schools are not Sunday schools. Superintendent Walters has repeatedly made it clear that he is unable to tell the difference,” Laser said in a statement to the media. “His latest plan — mandating the use of the Bible in Oklahoma’s public school curriculum — is a transparent, unlawful effort to promote Christian nationalism and the indoctrination and religious coercion of public school students. Not under our watch.”

Organizations are asked to provide requested documentation by August 10, 2024.

Patrick Elliott, director of the Freedom from Religion Foundation, said he was concerned about Walters’ emphasis on the Bible in school curriculum. “Ryan Walters has no legal authority to order schools to do this,” Elliott said. “Walters is trying to jeopardize students’ education in order to score political points with his narrow Christian nationalist base.”

Education journalist Murray Evans contributed to this article.