"Immediate and strict compliance is expected," said Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters

Jun 28, 2024

No matter what’s happening in Oklahoma, you can always count on Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, a proud Christian Nationalist, to make everything worse.

The State Supreme Court just declared a taxpayer-funded Catholic charter school—one that he fully supported—to be illegal. A bill he supports to put Christian chaplains in public schools still hasn’t been signed into law. And a bill to force the Ten Commandments in public schools hasn’t gone anywhere (while Louisiana’s version was signed into law).

You can imagine it’s been a rough few weeks for him given that his attempts to shove Christianity in everyone’s faces just isn’t working out. That must be why, earlier today, he doubled down on religious indoctrination during a meeting of the State Board of Education.

(Follow above article link to view original article with photos/PDFs.)

He first said the state was preparing to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the decision blocking the opening of St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Catholic Charter School. His defense? “You’re not gonna find the separation of church and state in the Constitution.” (We’ve been through this before. The exact phrase isn’t in there, but the interpretation of the phrase is, and courts have historically and repeatedly said as much.)

But then he got even more extreme, saying he would soon force teachers across the state to use the Bible in their classrooms:

We're going to make an important announcement today regarding the Bible and the Ten Commandments…

The Bible is a necessary, historical document to teach our kids about the history of this country, to have a complete understanding of Western civilization, to have an understanding of the basis of our legal system, and it's frankly, we're talking about the Bible, one of the most foundational documents used for the Constitution and the birth of our country. We also find major points in history that refer to the Bible, that reference the Bible…

So we will be issuing a memo today that every school district will adhere to, which is that every teacher, every classroom in the state, will have a Bible in the classroom, and will be teaching from the Bible in the classroom, to ensure that this historical understanding is there for every student in the state of Oklahoma, in accordance with our academic standards and state law.

If there’s anyone who doesn’t understand state law, you’d think it’s the guy who just got trashed by his own state’s Supreme Court for breaking it…

Needless to say, everything Walters is saying is batshit insane and illegal.

The Bible is not “historical” even if people who didn’t understand evolution or toilets believed in it and made references to it. You certainly don’t need to read the Bible to get that our ancestors needed hope wherever they could find it and ancient mythology is all about suggesting answers for the unknown.

And why “every” teacher? Does that include math teachers? Science teachers? Physical education teachers?

Which version of the Bible does he want taught? Because even among Christians, many don’t accept the King James Version as legitimate.

Will he use the Trump Bible?

When in their crammed schedules are teachers supposed to carve out time to do this? Will they be paid for the extra work?

What if they go the malicious compliance route and teach kids that the Bible is full of lies?

It’s not just an illegal idea. It’s utterly stupid. It’s a waste of kids’ time. It’s the sort of decision that should make college admissions counselors think twice before admitting a student graduating from an Oklahoma school.

Walters is so desperate to play the persecution card that he came up with this blatantly theocratic idea because he knows the State Supreme Court won’t allow it, which will eventually give him a chance to whine about how they’re supposedly anti-Christian, which will help him win votes from the deranged conservative base when he inevitably runs for governor in a few years. (Or, even worse, gets appointed Secretary of Education in a second Trump administration.)

Ryan Walters is what happens when you put the most ignorant person in your state in charge of public education. The students come last; his religious agenda comes first.

The memo he sent out was somehow even more insane than his comments:

Effective immediately, all Oklahoma schools are required to incorporate the Bible, which includes the Ten Commandments, as an instructional support into the curriculum across specified grade levels, e.g., grades 5 through 12. This directive is in alignment with the educational standards approved on or about May 2019, with which all districts must comply.

The Bible is one of the most historically significant books and a cornerstone of Western civilization, along with the Ten Commandments. They will be referenced as an appropriate study of history, civilization, ethics, comparative religion, or the like, as well as for their substantial influence on our nation's founders and the foundational principles of our Constitution. This is not merely an educational directive but a crucial step in ensuring our students grasp the core values and historical context of our country.

Additionally, the State Department of Education may supply teaching materials for the Bible, as permissible, to ensure uniformity in delivery.

Adherence to this mandate is compulsory. Further instructions for monitoring and reporting on this implementation for the 2024/25 school year will be forthcoming.

Immediate and strict compliance is expected. 

That’s one way to make sure no good teachers go into the field... (Which, to be honest, is what Republicans want.)

To be clear, the Bible can already be used in school if teachers feel it’s relevant for, say, literary analysis or historical reference. Walters, however, is forcing the book—all of it, apparently—upon teachers even when they don’t need it. He pledges to use state resources to create material for them to use.

I thought people like him blamed “groomers” for wanting children to read about incest and genocide and rape. Why is a Pride flag in the classroom unacceptable but a mandatory Bible permitted?

Anyway, the threat is the story. Walters doesn’t say this is what educators are clamoring for. He doesn’t cite educational experts. He doesn’t explain why kids will benefit from being force-fed Genesis 38. He just demands this via fiat, acting like he (and only he) knows what’s best for students and any educators who stand in his way will be destroyed.

There’s just no thought going into any of this because Walters and the Republicans who support him and vote for members of his party do not give a shit about public education. They know young people are leaving organized religion, so they need to force it down their throats in other ways. They have no ability to ask themselves why so many kids are turned off by their religion when all they have to do is look in the mirror.

Remember that Walters is the same guy who approved the use of PragerU materials in public school classrooms. He claimed the Tulsa Race Massacre had nothing to do with race. He’s falsely insisted that President Joe Biden “wants to destroy our Christian faith.” He formed a faith committee to examine prayer in public schools; the committee, full of conservative Christian pastors, then recommended putting the Ten Commandments in every classroom. He appointed the troll who runs Libs of TikTok to a statewide library advisory board. He sent out a “sample prayer” for teachers to use for the people of Israel (and definitely not the innocent people living in Gaza). He’s a YouTube comment thread come to life.

Naturally, his Christian threats today were condemned by a variety of groups, some of whom say they will sue to put a stop to this if they need to. (Walters released that memo to the press but The Oklahoman reported that he didn’t actually send it to school districts. They obtained it from a different source.)

The Freedom From Religion Foundation said it would take action if this memo went into effect:

“Walters’ concern should be the fact that Oklahoma ranks 45th in education,” comments FFRF Co-President Dan Barker. “Maybe education would improve if Oklahoma’s superintendent of education spent his time promoting education, instead of religion.”

Barker is being generous. Rep. Mickey Dollens, an Oklahoma Democrat, said the state was ranked 49th in education and that Walters “should focus on educating students, not evangelizing them.”

Americans United for Separation of Church and State President and CEO Rachel Laser called the scheme a “transparent, unconstitutional effort to indoctrinate and religiously coerce public school students”:

“This is textbook Christian Nationalism: Walters is abusing the power of his public office to impose his religious beliefs on everyone else’s children. Not on our watch. Americans United is ready to step in and protect all Oklahoma public school children and their families from constitutional violations of their religious freedom. It won’t be the first time: We’re already facing Walters and other state officials in court to stop the nation’s first religious public charter school.

It’s hard for these groups to say they’ll file a lawsuit because a memo isn’t policy. There’s no law requiring teachers to listen to Walters. There’s no enforcement mechanism he has outlined if anyone violates “strict compliance.” Even the office of the state’s attorney general said today that Bibles are already permitted in schools and allowed in instruction, suggesting (very mildly) that Walters’ memo was pointless.

This is nothing but a game to Walters, who doesn’t take his job seriously but treats it like a stepping stone to some higher position where he can do even more damage in the name of Jesus.

But he won’t stop unless people in Oklahoma stop rewarding the Republican Party for putting irresponsible wingnuts in leadership positions.