In a significant change, the new superintendent of Oklahoma’s public schools announced he would be rolling back a previous mandate requiring Bible lessons in schools. This declaration came on Wednesday, making it clear that he aims to steer education away from forced religious teachings.
Lindel Fields, the new superintendent, emphasized in a statement that he has no interest in distributing Bibles or rolling out a Biblical character education curriculum within classrooms. The original mandate, enacted by former superintendent Ryan Walters, encountered swift backlash from civil rights advocates and even resulted in a lawsuit initiated by parents, teachers, and religious leaders. This case is currently making its way through the Oklahoma Supreme Court and was supposed to encompass students from 5th to 12th grade.
Fields s ded Walters, who resigned last month for a position in the private sector, after being appointed by Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt.
The Oklahoma State Department of Education’s attorney, Jacki Phelps, mentioned plans to inform the court regarding the rescission of the mandate and to request for the lawsuit to be dismissed.
Interestingly, numerous school districts across Oklahoma had already chosen not to adhere to the Bible mandate.
Tara Thompson, a spokesperson for the state education department, conveyed that Fields thinks the decision of including the Bible in classroom discussions should lie with individual districts. He also pointed out that investing taxpayers’ money into Bibles isn’t an optimal use of resources.
Last March, Walters had attempted to engage with country music star Lee Greenwood to gather donations for providing Bibles in schools after a legislative committee struck down his proposal that sought $3 million to fund this initiative. Plaintiffs in the ongoing lawsuit challenging the Bible mandate have yet to release any comments.
Walters, known for his far-right Republican stance, had made opposition to so-called “woke ideology” a central issue during his time in office. This included banning specific books from school libraries and targeting what he called “radical leftists” alleged to be indoctrinating youth in classrooms. Since beginning his tenure in 2020, Walters pushed through several initiatives regarding public education, notably aiming to create new social studies standards that mandated teaching on conspiracy theories linked to the 2020 presidential contest, though these standards are now on hold due to ongoing legal challenges.
Thompson has indicated that the department intends to review all mandates introduced by Walters, including stipulations requiring job applicants for teaching positions from California and New York to take an ideology exam. The goal is to assess whether these directives should also be lifted.
“We need to examine all of these mandates thoroughly and give schools solid guidance moving forward,” she stated.
Murphy writes for the Associated Press.
This article originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
