Oklahoma school districts have not changed their curriculum despite a mandate requiring the Bible to be taught during the 2024-2025 school year, according to the New York Times.
Oklahoma Education Superintendent Ryan Walters mandated in June that all schools are required to teach the Bible, including the Ten Commandments, in the upcoming school year. The school districts in Oklahoma have been slow implementing the mandate, as some teachers stated that there has been no direction, the NYT reported.
“We have not heard of one district saying publicly they’ll do what Superintendent Walters has said he’s mandating they do,” Katherine Bishop, president of the Oklahoma Education Association told the NYT.
Walters noted during a church service shortly after he announced the mandate in June that he was “incredibly proud to be the first state in the country to put the Bible back in the classrooms,” the NYT reported.
Rogue administrators will not reject the Bible from the classrooms. History will be taught and administrators will follow the law. The Bible, the constitution, and many other documents are essential to education and we will teach Oklahoma kids about the impact it has on history. pic.twitter.com/
— Superintendent Ryan Walters (@RyanWaltersSupt) July 31, 2024
Oklahoma teachers noted that the districts have not given any direction on how to address implementing the mandate, according to the NYT. Some teachers and school districts announced over the summer that they had no plans to change the curriculum around the mandate, with some publicly opposing it.
“Without a direct plan, nobody feels obligated to do anything, especially spending taxpayers’ money on purchasing new supplies,” Stacey Woolley, the president of the school board in Tulsa, told the NYT. “It’s largely propaganda.”
Earlier this month, the superintendent of Oklahoma City sent a letter to families and faculty stating that teachers should continue moving forward with their current lesson plans but that the district would work with the State Department of Education to address the mandate, the NYT reported.
“The Bible is an indispensable historical and cultural touchstone,” Walters said in a June press release on the mandate. “Without basic knowledge of it, Oklahoma students are unable to properly contextualize the foundation of our nation which is why Oklahoma educational standards provide for its instruction. This is not merely an educational directive but a crucial step in ensuring our students grasp the core values and historical context of our country.”
The Oklahoma State Department of Education did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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