Oklahoma’s top education official, Ryan Walters, is proposing to buy 55,000 Bibles for public schools, specifying that each must include the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution—uncommon additions to most Bibles but present in a version endorsed by former president Donald Trump.
When asked whether the state's bid was tailored to fit the Trump-endorsed Bible, a spokesperson for Walters clarified that the proposal is open to all vendors. "There are hundreds of Bible publishers, and we expect robust competition for this proposal," said Dan Isett, spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of Education.
However, former Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson has raised concerns about the fairness of the process. He warned that the bid could be challenged if it is found to limit competition. "All fingers point to the Trump Bible that meets these criteria," Edmondson remarked.
Walters, who was elected in 2022, has pushed to integrate the Bible into the curriculum for grades five through twelve. The Bibles requested must include both the Old and New Testaments, the Pledge of Allegiance, the Bill of Rights, and other historical documents.
Critics, like Colleen McCarty from the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, argue that very few Bibles on the market meet these specific requirements, most of which are associated with Trump.
The Bible backed by Trump is named after country singer Lee Greenwood’s patriotic anthem, which often plays at Trump rallies. Despite its association with the former president, the Bible’s website states that the product is not political. Trump reportedly earned $300,000 from its sales, according to financial disclosures from August.
Walters has taken a strong stance against what he refers to as "woke ideology" and has advocated for banning certain books from school libraries. His push to require Bibles in classrooms has sparked resistance from some of Oklahoma's largest school districts.
The state plans to allocate $3 million to purchase the Bibles, which must be bound in leather or a similar durable material, according to bidding documents.
This proposal is part of Walters' broader campaign to reshape Oklahoma’s educational landscape, although it has drawn criticism from those who view it as an attempt to promote a specific political or religious agenda.
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