State Superintendent of Schools Lindel Fields said he’ll abandon his predecessor’s attempt to buy Bibles for public schools and wants a legal challenge over the Bibles dismissed.
Fields, appointed this month to fulfill the remainder of Ryan Walters’ term, said in a written statement Wednesday he has no plans to distribute Bibles or a Biblical character education curriculum to classrooms.
The day before, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ordered the Department of Education to provide an update on whether Fields intended to withdraw or rescind mandates that schools teach from the Bible or efforts to buy Bibles and related materials.
The court gave the department a deadline of Oct. 28 to respond.
“The action by the Supreme Court is brilliant, but very unusual,” said attorney and historian Bob Burke. “In my 45 years as a lawyer, I have never seen such an order that will effectively end a complicated lawsuit with lots of lawyers involved.”
Burke said the court’s order was a creative way to allow the new superintendent an avenue to right the ship on a controversial issue and save taxpayers thousands of dollars.
A group of 32 parents, students, teachers and faith leaders challenged the Bible mandate under the state constitution, which prohibits public money from being spent for religious purposes. They brought the lawsuit following Oklahoma Watch’s reporting on Walters’ efforts to spend millions on King James Bibles and a subsequent attempt to buy Bible character instruction manuals for elementary students.
The Supreme Court in March temporarily blocked the state from moving forward with the purchases and from enforcing Walters’ mandate until the lawsuit is resolved.
In a joint statement, the legal groups representing the plaintiffs said they’re encouraged by Fields’ statement.
“The promise of separation of church and state guaranteed by the U.S. and Oklahoma constitutions means that families and students — not politicians — get to decide when and how to engage with religion,” the statement reads. “The attempts to promote religion in the classroom and the abuses of power that the Oklahoma State Department of Education engaged in under Walters’ tenure should never happen in Oklahoma or anywhere in the United States again. We will monitor the State Department of Education’s actions and discuss with our clients the next steps in the lawsuit.”
Walters’ administration purchased more than 500 Donald Trump-endorsed Bibles for Advanced Placement government classes for $25,000.
Separately, the Supreme Court temporarily halted the new social studies standards, which would require schools to incorporate Bible stories and references to Christianity. Walters said it’s necessary for students to learn from the Bible for its historical context and literary significance in American history.
Under state statute, when a public official who is party to a lawsuit dies, resigns or leaves office, the lawsuit continues and automatically substitutes the person’s successor.
In this case, Walters, each member of the Board of Education and Rick Rose, executive director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, have all left office since the lawsuit was filed in 2024. The court also requested an update on those substitutions.
Oklahoma Watch (OklahomaWatch.org) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that covers public-policy issues facing the state.
