<body><div> A group of parents of public school students, teachers, and ministers are fighting to stop schools being forced to&nbsp;incorporate the Bible into lessons They are suing State Superintendent Ryan Walters, <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/oklahoma/index.html" rel="nofollow"> Oklahoma </a> 's top education official, to prevent him forcing the lesson plans on students in grades 5 through 12. The lawsuit filed with the Oklahoma <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/us-supreme-court/index.html" rel="nofollow"> Supreme Court </a> also asked the court to stop the state spending $3 million to buy Bibles in support of Walters' mandate. The suit claimed the mandate violated the Oklahoma Constitution because it involved spending public money to support religion and favored one religion over another by requiring the use of a Protestant version of the Bible. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3ftpfs_0wBc4nMo00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3ftpfs_0wBc4nMo00" width="634" height="951" ><figcaption>An Impeach Ryan Walters rally on the second floor of the Oklahoma State Capitol on August 24 </figcaption></figure><nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> It also claimed Walters, a Republican, and the state Board of Education didn't have the authority to require the use of instructional materials. 'As parents, my husband and I have sole responsibility to decide how and when our children learn about the Bible and religious teachings,' plaintiff Erika Wright, the founder of the Oklahoma Rural Schools Coalition and parent of two school-aged children, said. 'It is not the role of any politician or public school official to intervene in these personal matters.' The plaintiffs are represented by several civil rights groups, including the Oklahoma chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law &amp; Justice. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Walters is <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13578089/Oklahoma-superintendent-Ryan-Walters-require-schools-teach-Bible.html" rel="nofollow"> seeking to buy 55,000 Bibles </a> for public schools and specifying that each copy contain the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution. The lawsuit also noted the initial 'request for proposal' released by the State Department of Education to purchase the Bibles appeared to have been carefully tailored to match <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13241825/trump-endorsed-bible-sale-lee-greenwood-concertt.html" rel="nofollow"> Bibles endorsed by Donald Trump </a> that sell for $59.99 each. <div style="position:relative;width:100%; height:0; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><video allowfullscreen="true" controls="true" frameborder="0" poster="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/26/20/82924159-0-image-a-11_1711485571236.jpg" scrolling="no" style="width:100%; height:100%;top:0; left:0; position:absolute" title="'Make America pray again': Trump launches ad selling $60 Bibles"><source src="https://video.dailymail.co.uk/video/mol/2024/03/26/1946771144130541451/1024x576_MP4_1946771144130541451.mp4" type="video/mp4"></video></div><nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4DG18G_0wBc4nMo00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4DG18G_0wBc4nMo00" width="634" height="360" ><figcaption>The lawsuit also noted the initial 'request for proposal' released by the State Department of Education to purchase the Bibles appeared to have been carefully tailored to match Bibles endorsed by Donald Trump that sell for $59.99 each </figcaption></figure> The request for proposal was&nbsp;later amended at the request of state purchasing officials. It is the second lawsuit filed in Oklahoma seeking to challenge Walters' mandate, with another filed in June by a Locust Grove man pending in Mayes County. Walters declared on Twitter that he would 'never back down to the woke mob'. 'The simple fact is that understanding how the Bible has impacted our nation, in its proper historical context, was the norm in America until the 1960s and its removal has coincided with a precipitous decline in American schools,' he wrote. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Walters, a former public school teacher elected in 2022, ran on a platform of fighting 'woke ideology,' banning books from school libraries, and getting rid of 'radical leftists' he claimed were indoctrinating children in classrooms. <div style="position:relative;width:100%; height:0; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><video allowfullscreen="true" controls="true" frameborder="0" poster="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/10/05/04/90481839-0-image-a-2_1728098817852.jpg" scrolling="no" style="width:100%; height:100%;top:0; left:0; position:absolute" title="Oklahoma state mandates all classrooms must have and teach from Bible"><source src="https://video.dailymail.co.uk/video/mol/2024/10/05/7391048063048662583/1024x576_MP4_7391048063048662583.mp4" type="video/mp4"></video></div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=088OMm_0wBc4nMo00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=088OMm_0wBc4nMo00" width="634" height="341" ><figcaption>Locals are furious the Republican official wanted to force schools to use the Bible in lessons </figcaption></figure><nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0YyLK5_0wBc4nMo00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0YyLK5_0wBc4nMo00" width="634" height="486" ><figcaption>Sylvia Davis, a 9th grader at Edmond North, speaks at the Impeach Ryan Walters rally on the second floor of the Oklahoma State Capitol Saturday </figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13125189/oklahoma-trans-superintendent-nex-benedict-ryan-walters.html" rel="nofollow"></a><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13125189/oklahoma-trans-superintendent-nex-benedict-ryan-walters.html" rel="nofollow"> Walters initially made the decree </a> in June, hoping to get the mandate in place by the new school year. '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,' he said. 'The Bible is an indispensable historical and cultural touchstone,' Walters said. 'Without basic knowledge of it, Oklahoma students are unable to properly contextualize the foundation of our nation which is why Oklahoma educational standards provide for its instruction.' </div></body>

Mountain View, CA

Parents of public school students, teachers, and ministers are suing Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters to prevent him forcing lesson plans to incorporate the Bible.