Ryan Walters, the Christian nationalist head of Oklahoma’s State Department of Education (OSDE), asked the state government to give him $3 million to buy 55,000 copies of $60 Bibles signed by President Donald Trump so he could place them in classrooms statewide. The government recently refused his request, so now Walters has launched an independent fundraiser, asking online donors to individually purchase them for schools.

Walters issued a directive in late July requiring public schools’ 5-12 grade classrooms to teach about the Bible and the Ten Commandments — at least 13 of the state’s largest school districts all refused, saying his order violated various constitutional and state education laws. The state’s Supreme Court recently issued a stay on Walters’ order, preventing the OSDE from enforcing it.

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After initially issuing his Biblical directive, Walters then said that the schools’ Bibles needed to include reprints of the Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, and Pledge of Allegiance so that students could easily study the documents side-by-side. But these documents are found only in Christian singer-songwriter Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA Bible,” a product which was endorsed by Trump and from whose sale he reportedly receives financial royalties.

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When Walters requested funding from the state legislature, lawmakers asked why he didn’t consider less expensive options, like having religious organizations donate the Bibles or having students access the Bibles through online apps, according to The Oklahoman. Bibles without the aforementioned U.S. political documents retail online for around $7 with discounts for bulk orders.

In early March, an Oklahoma Senate subcommittee on state funding and education refused Walters’ funding request. Subcommittee member state Sen. Mary Boren (D) told KOCO, “The committee was really focused on budget requests that didn’t have a lot of legal complications affiliated with it. (We) really wanted to focus on reading and math.”

State Sen. Adam Pugh (R), who chairs the subcommittee, said that Walters should work within the OSDE to find funding for the Bibles. Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) said in a press conference this week that he doesn’t support the idea of spending $3 million of tax dollars on Bibles either.

So, Walters helped launch a page on the God Bless the USA Bible retail site asking users to purchase individual copies and donate them to state schools.

“God, Christianity, and moral values are of the utmost importance,” the web page says. “It’s crucial to educate America’s next generation of leadership: your children! The goal of this campaign is to provide copies of the god bless the usa bible to as many schools within the state of Oklahoma Department of Education as possible.”

This week, the state’s supreme court issued a stay prohibiting Walters from enforcing his orders on Biblical teaching in schools. The lawsuit challenging Walters’ order accused him of violating constitutional protections against government-mandated religious teaching and of illegally trying to circumvent required legislative processes to enact such a sweeping order on statewide public schools.

While Walters has pledged to continue pursuing his directive, a group of opposed organizations (including the ACLU), said in a statement on the court’s ruling, “This victory is an important step toward protecting the religious freedom of every student and parent in Oklahoma. Superintendent Ryan Walters has been abusing his power and the court checked those abuses today.”

Walters, who wants to ban LGBTQ+ books in schools, has previously pushed the transphobic lie about schools providing litterboxes to students who identify as cats. He also referred to teachers’ unions as “terrorist organizations” and illegally tried to make rules banning LGBTQ+ books and transgender bathroom access in schools.

He has appeared at events hosted by Moms for Liberty, a right-wing anti-LGBTQ+ “parent’s rights” group that has been called an extremist hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. He appointed Christian Nationalists to help re-write the state’s social studies curriculum. He also appointed Chaya Raichik, an anti-LGBTQ+ activist who goes by Libs of Tik Tok online, as a Library Media Advisor for the state (even though she has no educational experience, doesn’t reside in Oklahoma, and has made posts that have led to bomb threats against students).

Following the death of 16-year-old Nex Benedict in February, Walters’s anti-LGBTQ+ policies came under intense scrutiny, with many allies and advocates accusing him of fostering the environment of hostility toward LGBTQ+ students that contributed to the trans teen’s tragic death. The Human Rights Campaign and over 350 LGBTQ+ rights organizations, civil rights groups, and leaders sent an open letter to the Oklahoma state legislature demanding Walters be removed from office.

Last August, 21 Oklahoma Republican lawmakers called for an impeachment investigation into Walters’ handling of the Education Department.

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