Oklahoma’s new head of education, Lindel Fields, is dropping an unconstitutional requirement for schools to teach Bible-based social studies lessons. The requirement — issued by the state’s former head of education, Ryan Walters — resulted in lawsuits, alleging that it violated state policy-making rules and First Amendment protections against the establishment of a religion by the government.

Last month, the state Supreme Court ruled that Walters couldn’t force schools to accept his requirement. In June 2024, Walters and the Oklahoma State Board of Education (OSBE) issued a guidance saying that K-12 school lessons should focus on the Bible’s influence on history, literature, music, and other arts and culture. Walters’ guidance mandated that every classroom contain a physical copy of the Bible, as well as copies of the Ten Commandments, the U.S. Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence.

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After Walters released his guidance, about 33 Oklahoma parents, children, public school teachers, and faith leaders filed a lawsuit, alleging that the requirement violated the separation of church and state and state rule-making laws requiring the OSBE to provide proper public notice before voting on implementing any new curriculum standards.

In its ruling, the court prohibited the implementation of the new standards and instructed state officials not to spend any state funds on them. However, following Walters’ resignation in late September, the court gave Fields an October 28 deadline to decide whether the OSBE would still require schools to teach Bible lessons.

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“Superintendent Fields has no plans to distribute Bibles or a biblical education curriculum,” said interim Communications Director for Oklahoma State’s Department of Education Tara Thompson.

Now that the OSBE has dropped the requirements, the court is giving the lawsuit’s plaintiffs 10 days to say whether they have any claims left for the court to address, The Oklahoman reported.

Walters spent just under $25,000 to purchase 529 “God Bless the USA” Bibles for schools at the slightly discounted cost of about $47.25 a piece (even though one can purchase a new Bible online for around $5). Had Walters spent over $25,000, his purchase would’ve required additional approval from state lawmakers.

Walters had initially sought $6 million in taxpayer funds to purchase copies of a $59 “God Bless the USA” Bible that contained the Ten Commandments, the U.S. Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence, as well as the president’s signature. The president receives royalties from the sales of that Bible. However, legal threats and disapproval from state Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) got Walters to quietly drop his plan.

Thompson told reporters that the state Department of Education may next rescind Walters’ requirement that future social studies texts include statements that inaccurately proclaim the Bible’s and Christianity’s influence on the founding of America and the country’s laws, disproven contentions about the legitimacy of the 2020 election, and presenting as true the controversial theory that the COVID-19 pandemic originated in a Chinese laboratory. The new textbooks would cost state taxpayers $33 million.

“We are asking if we are spending taxpayer dollars wisely and as good stewards. And if the answer to that is no, then we need to start looking at rescinding or making changes to things that have been put in place,” Thompson said, according to KFOR.

Reporters also asked Thompson if the state would continue Walters’ “ongoing partnership” with right-wing propaganda group PragerU. Walters had allowed the conservative nonprofit’s controversial videos to be shown in state classrooms. Walters also asked Dennis Prager, the onetime syndicated talk show host who now hawks Christian Nationalist-inspired right-wing talking points through his PragerU foundation, to help refashion the state’s social studies curriculum.

“We have yet to find a PragerU contract, so I’m continuing to investigate that because I’d like to be able to give you that definitive answer. Is there a contract? Is there anything, or was it just conversations in the media? I haven’t found a contract yet,” Thompson said.

Walters resigned in late September to lead The Teacher Freedom Alliance, a right-wing anti-union group that bills itself as “an alternative to woke teachers’ unions,” leaving his position one year before the end of his tenure. In the wake of his resignation, “teachers are celebrating as if the Wicked Witch has been defeated,” the religious watchdog site The Friendly Atheist reported.

Walters had a notoriously scandal-ridden tenure

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) replaced Waters with retired school superintendent Lindel Fields. Soon after, the OSDE reversed one of Walters’ first actions by restoring the OSDE’s Hall of Fame, which honors the state’s past award recipients for Teacher of the Year. The OSDE also quickly revamped its website, removing numerous links that promoted Christian Nationalist misinformation, including Walters’ unconstitutional order for schools to display The Ten Commandments.

Additionally, State Attorney General Gentner Drummond has ordered the Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector’s Office to investigate the Education Department’s finances over the entirety of Walters’ tenure in charge. Drummond said, “[Walters had a] well-established history of mishandling tax dollars.”

During his tenure, Walters withheld $150 million in public school funds to ostensibly make security enhancements against school shootings, in defiance of legislation directing the funds to poorer rural schools. Walters hid information about his office’s travel budget and refused to spend money that he was legally obligated to spend on asthma inhalers for students, The Friendly Atheist added.

Walters sought to ban LGBTQ+ books but teach the Bible in public school history classes, and 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+ “parents’ rights” group that has been called an extremist hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. He also appointed Chaya Raichik, an anti-LGBTQ+ activist who goes by Libs of TikTok 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).

He also unveiled an ideological purity test to seek and remove “woke” teachers. (The test was criticized as “performative bulls**t” and as an advertisement “masquerading as an assessment.”)

The day before his resignation, he pledged to force all schools statewide to host student groups for Turning Point USA, the young conservatives group started by recently murdered anti-LGBTQ+ MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk.

Oklahoma ranks among the worst states for education and is facing a teacher shortage.

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