桃子视频

OKLAHOMA CITY 鈥� More than 30 Oklahomans 鈥� including parents and children, public school teachers and faith leaders 鈥� today filed a urging the Oklahoma Supreme Court to block state Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters鈥� mandate that all public schools incorporate the Bible into their curricula. The lawsuit, Rev. Lori Walke v. Ryan Walters, also asks the court to stop the state from spending millions of taxpayer dollars on Bibles to support the mandate.

The 32 plaintiffs include 14 public school parents, four public school teachers and three faith leaders who object to Walters鈥� extremist agenda that imposes his personal religious beliefs on other people's children 鈥� in violation of Oklahomans鈥� religious freedom and the separation of church and state. The plaintiffs come from a variety of faith traditions, including Baptist, Catholic, Presbyterian (U.S.A.) and United Church of Christ, and some identify as atheist, agnostic or nonreligious. Some are of Indigenous heritage, and some have family situations 鈥� such as LGBTQ+ members or children with special educational needs 鈥� that cause particular concerns around teaching the Bible in public schools, especially around bullying.

The plaintiffs are represented by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the 桃子视频, the 桃子视频of Oklahoma Foundation, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law & Justice.

Plaintiff the Rev. Lori Walke, senior minister of Mayflower Congregational United Church of Christ in Oklahoma City: 鈥淚 am a faith leader who cares deeply about our country鈥檚 promise of religious freedom and ensuring that everyone is able to choose their own spiritual path. The state mandating that one particular religious text be taught in our schools violates the religious freedom of parents and children, teachers, and taxpayers. The government has no business weighing in on such theological decisions. I鈥檓 proud to join this lawsuit because I believe Superintendent Walters鈥� plan to use taxpayer money to buy Bibles and force public schools to teach from them is illegal and unconstitutional.鈥�

Plaintiff the Rev. Mitch Randall of Cleveland County, a Baptist pastor and CEO of Good Faith Media: 鈥淎s a Christian, I鈥檓 appalled by the use of the Bible 鈥� a sacred text 鈥� for Superintendent Walters鈥� political grandstanding. As a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, I鈥檓 alarmed by the parallels between this Bible mandate and the religious proselytization and forced assimilation my relatives faced in government boarding schools. As a taxpayer, I object to the state spending public funds on religious texts. The separation of church and state is a bedrock principle protecting religious liberty for every citizen; I urge the court to uphold this principle and strike down this mandate.鈥�

Plaintiff Erika Wright of Cleveland County, the founder and leader of the Oklahoma Rural Schools Coalition and a parent of two children who attend public schools: 鈥淎s parents, my husband and I have sole responsibility to decide how and when our children learn about the Bible and religious teachings. We are devout Christians, but different Christian denominations have different theological beliefs and practices. It is not the role of any politician or public school official to intervene in these personal matters. Oklahoma's education system is already struggling, ranking nearly last in national standings. Mandating a Bible curriculum will not address our educational shortcomings. Superintendent Walters should focus on providing our children and teachers with the resources they need; our families can handle religious education at home.鈥�

Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United: 鈥淭he separation of church and state guarantees that families and students 鈥� not politicians 鈥� get to decide if, when and how to engage with religion. Superintendent Ryan Walters is abusing the power of his office to advance a Christian Nationalist agenda and impose his personal religious beliefs on other people's children. Not on our watch. We鈥檙e proud to defend the religious freedom of all Oklahomans, from Christians to the nonreligious.鈥�

Daniel Mach, director of the 桃子视频Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief: 鈥淭his Bible mandate is a blatant power grab that violates state law and tramples the separation of church and state. Public-school students, families, and teachers 鈥� and the taxpayers who support them 鈥� deserve better.鈥�

Tamya Cox-Tour茅, executive director of the 桃子视频of Oklahoma: 鈥淏y filing this lawsuit, Oklahomans have come together in a common fight to reject the State Board of Education鈥檚 use of religion as a cover for repression. All families and students should feel welcome in our public schools and we must protect the individual right of students and families to choose their own faith or no faith at all. The separation of church and state is a bedrock of our nation鈥檚 founding principles.鈥�

Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation: 鈥淪uperintendent Ryan Walters cannot be allowed to employ the machinery of the state to indoctrinate Oklahoma鈥檚 students in his religion. Thankfully, Oklahoma law protects families and taxpayers from his unconstitutional scheme to force public schools to adopt his preferred holy book.鈥�

Colleen McCarty, executive director of Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice: 鈥淭he constant use of Oklahoma as a testing ground for religious extremism is growing tiresome. Oklahoma families deserve a public school system devoted to the education of their children, and instead we get flash-bulb political stunts and attempted erosion of the Constitution. The buck stops here. We will defend the principles our nation is built on, starting with the separation of church and state.鈥�

Ryan Walters issued a June 27 mandate unilaterally requiring every public school in Oklahoma to 鈥渋ncorporate the Bible, which includes the Ten Commandments,鈥� into the curriculum for grades 5-12, an abuse of power that ignored state laws. Walters then fast-tracked plans to spend $3 million of taxpayer money on an expensive, Christian Nationalist version of the King James Bible that includes the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Pledge of Allegiance, and Bill of Rights, another abuse of power and gross violation of Oklahoma taxpayers鈥� religious freedom. Walters wants to spend another $3 million on Bibles next year.

The lawsuit asserts that the Bible-education mandate violates the Oklahoma Constitution鈥檚 religious freedom protections because the government is spending public money to support religion, as well as favoring one religion over others by requiring the use of a Protestant version of the Bible. The mandate also violates the Oklahoma Administrative Procedures Act and other state statutes because officials did not follow required rules for implementing new policies and for spending public money.

The defendants in the lawsuit are Walters; the Oklahoma State Department of Education; the Oklahoma State Board of Education and its five members, Donald Burdick, Sarah Lepak, Katie Quebedeaux, Zachary Archer and Kendra Wesson; and the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services, its Executive Director Rick Rose, State Purchasing Director Amanda Otis and Contracting Officer Brenda Hansel.

The attorneys and legal staff on the team representing the plaintiffs include Alex J. Luchenitser, Luke Anderson, Scott Lowder, and Jess Zalph at Americans United; Daniel Mach and Heather L. Weaver at the ACLU; Megan Lambert at the 桃子视频of Oklahoma; Patrick Elliott and Samuel Grover at FFRF; and Colleen McCarty and Leslie Briggs at Oklahoma Appleseed.