The Oklahoma Supreme Court has temporarily halted efforts by State Superintendent Ryan Walters and the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) to use taxpayer funds for purchasing Bibles and Bible-based educational materials. This decision is part of the ongoing lawsuit, Rev. Lori Walke v. Ryan Walters, initiated in October 2024 on behalf of 32 families, teachers, and religious leaders in Oklahoma.
The plaintiffs are represented by several organizations including Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Oklahoma Foundation, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law & Justice.
The court's ruling halts "work on any new request by the OSDE for the purchase of Bibles." It also pauses a request for proposals issued on February 21, 2025, which aimed to find suppliers for "supplemental instructional materials that effectively integrate the Bible and character education into elementary-level social studies curriculum."
The organizations involved have expressed their intention to continue opposing Walters' initiative with further legal actions expected soon. They released a joint statement highlighting this development as a significant step in safeguarding religious freedom: “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. Our diverse coalition of families and clergy remains united against Walters’s extremism and in favor of a core First Amendment principle: the separation of church and state.”
