OSDE changes criteria for vendors to fulfill request for Bibles in public schools

OKLAHOMA CITY The Oklahoma State Department of Education has released updated requirements for vendor bids on Bibles for usein public school classrooms.

The updated RFP requirements come at the recommendation of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, following reports that only one Bible meets the initial criteria.

According to an OSDE release, the new RFP allows for copies of the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance, U.S. Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and U.S. Bill of Rights documents to be bound with the Bible or separately from it. It allows OSDE to consider multiple suppliers for provision of the aforementioned. Price has been added as evaluation criteria. Founding documents must be bound in “durable material.”

The RFP closing date is now extended from Oct. 14 to Oct. 21.

Walters’s push for Bibles in public schools made national headlines last week. He wants 55,000 Bibles for classrooms, and initially specified he wanted each copy to contain founding documents, which are not a part of scripture, but are included in a version endorsed by former President Donald Trump. The “God Bless the USA Bible” sells for $59.99.

The agency’s Tuesday release challenges recent local and national reporting on the issue.

“Unfortunately, there have been false reports that have been repeated by numerous, supposedly credible, news organizations that the state’s RFP was catered to one specific organization. This is not only untrue but a violation of Oklahoma law. OSDE is committed to a fair and transparent competition that protects the integrity of the purchasing process and appreciates the guidance from OMES throughout this undertaking,” the release reads.

Walters looks to spend $3 million on the Bibles and founding documents. The agency says Walters is not engaged in the RFP process, as that would violate state law.

In a release Tuesday, Walters said it’s disappointing that state news outlets have dodged accountability on misreporting of facts surrounding the RFP. He said there are numerous Bible vendors in the U.S. that have the capacity to fulfill their request, and the purpose of the process is to seek out a vendor that can provide what they need at the best value.

“There are numerous state employees engaged and committed to a process to determine who that best vendor will be, and I have no involvement in that process, as it should be,” Walters said in the statement. “My number one goal is to ensure that our classrooms have copies of the Bible so that it can be utilized as an appropriate tool to properly and accurately teach Oklahoma students of its important influence in the history of our country and its secular value.”

Walters' effort to purchase Bibles for classrooms with millions in state funds has caught the attention of civil rights organizations.

The ACLU of Oklahoma Foundation, the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and Freedom From Religion Foundation are requesting that the Oklahoma State Department of Education provide all records of expenditures during the current fiscal year related to the provision of Bibles for Oklahoma public-school classrooms, including communications, contracts, invoices, receipts and payment records.

The organizations have asked for a response by Oct. 17.

Megan Lambert, legal director of the ACLU of Oklahoma, said Oklahoma students deserve to learn in an inclusive environment “free from religious proselytization.”

“Not only should taxpayers be concerned that the state is spending millions of dollars of their money on religious texts, but religious institutions should also be concerned that Oklahoma is attempting to supplant their role as a religious authority,” Lambert said in a statement last week.

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