Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters’ directive to integrate the Bible into the public school curriculum isn’t meshing well with some districts.
At least eight large districts across the Sooner State are pushing back against the requirement, as it continues to receive criticism from some and support from others, reports say.
Walters, speaking to “Fox & Friends Weekend,” offered a message for those districts.
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Oklahoma’s directive that schools integrate the Bible into public curriculum has garnered controversy from some. (iStock)
“I’m going to tell these woke administrators, if they’re going to break the law and not teach it, they can go to California because… here in Oklahoma schools, we’re going to make sure that history is taught,” he told “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Sunday.
“What we’re doing is making sure teachers have resources in order to teach these concepts that the left has pushed out of our schools. We’re making sure that the guidelines were given out last week to make sure every individual teacher understands exactly what we’re talking about here, the historical references, where these are located in our standards. Because we need our kids to understand our history. We want our kids here in Oklahoma to understand American history better than any in the country, and we’re laying out a roadmap for every state to follow.”
Oklahoma educators are expected to incorporate the Bible into lessons about its influence on U.S. history and the Founding Fathers, per the directive.
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Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters speaks during a special state Board of Education meeting, April 12, 2023, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
It will also see that each classroom has a Bible from which to teach.
Walters insisted the requirement has support from parents across the state.
“When I ran three years ago, they were crystal clear. Why in the world are we not teaching our kids that our rights came from God? Why in the world are we not referencing all these unbelievable moments in American history where the Bible was cited? It is absolutely part of our history,” he said.
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He added, “Our kids have to understand the history of this country and what made it great in the first place, and we won’t allow the ACLU and the teachers unions to attack our schools and say, ‘No reference to God, no reference to the Bible, even when it was one of the most cited books in American history.’”
Louisiana garnered similar controversy earlier this year after passing a law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom.
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Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.