In an election year, it’s easy to feel as though the only thing that matters is our vote for president. But the truth is, the candidates on the next ballot often have a greater impact on our daily lives than anyone we send to Washington, D.C., like Oklahoma Gov. Ryan Walters, Trump’s Republicans allied with Trump will take office in 2023 and have called for the dissolution of the Department of Education. In June, Waters issued a memo to superintendents across the state letting them know that “effective immediately, all Oklahoma schools must incorporate the Bible, which includes the Ten Commandments, into grade-specific curriculum.” , as teaching support.
He clarified that the directive was in line with educational standards approved before he took office in 2019. “Compliance with this mandate is mandatory,” he concluded before continuing. “Strict compliance is expected with immediate effect.”
While many of Oklahoma’s largest school districts have announced they will not make any changes to their curriculum, some have blatantly defied the directive, but one smaller school district – Agra Public Schools , which educates about 325 pupils in three schools – has publicly embraced the idea.
Agra Superintendent Jeff Kelly responded to Waters’ memo in an email, writing “Thank you so much!! We desperately need Bibles back in our schools and this directive will provide us with the necessary protection/ Cover. Looking forward to implementing this important plan! According to News 9, Kelly is also a Baptist minister in the town.
The guide is intended for students in grades 5 through 12 and applies the Bible to the broader curriculum, including narrative and literary elements, the historical context of Bible stories, and how the Bible influenced music and art.
In Agra, there appears to be considerable support for bringing the Bible into the classroom, but not unequivocally. A quick look at the Facebook group ‘What’s going on in Agra?’ reveals the heated debate among residents surrounding the topic.
“Why is there a problem? It’s part of history,” one resident replied.
“The same goes for slavery, but we don’t teach that,” another replied.
However, as one commenter pointed out (and News 9 reporting confirmed this), when public discussions about biblical topics are held in class, only teachers and administrators participate.
While the guidelines state that the Bible “may not be used for religious purposes such as preaching, proselytizing or indoctrination” and that “neutrality and objectivity are essential,” from a legal perspective, the mandatory use of religious texts in the classroom does not Not well received, historically speaking. In 1962, Engel v. Vitale ruled that schools could not hold prayers in public schools even if participation was not required and the prayers were not related to a particular religion. Notably, it does not prohibit students from initiating prayer in schools, which has always been allowed and remains a First Amendment right.
In 1980, the Supreme Court ruled in Stone v. Graham that Kentucky could not require display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms. The state tried again in 2005, in McCreary County v. ACLU , but failed.
But since six of the current Supreme Court justices were appointed by conservative presidents — George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Donald Trump — right-wing lawmakers like Walters and Civil servants appear to be emboldened to pursue a more conservative agenda. For example, in addition to Oklahoma’s Bible initiative, Louisiana enacted a law earlier this year requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in all classrooms, in apparent defiance of a previous federal ruling.
So no matter where you fall on the political spectrum, it’s worth repeating: The president may be the most powerful person in government, but it doesn’t take the most powerful person to make a difference in our communities.
