New state superintendent has ‘no plans to distribute Bibles’ in Oklahoma public schools

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma’s new education chief said Wednesday he has “no plans to distribute Bibles” or a biblical curriculum in public schools, reversing course from his predecessor, Ryan Walters.

State Superintendent Lindel Fields, who was appointed to the position this month, indicated Wednesday he will not fight in court to defend Walters’ order that Oklahoma public schools teach from the Bible and keep a copy of it in every classroom.

A lawsuit, which 32 Oklahomans filed with the state Supreme Court last year, challenged the mandate and Walters’ attempt to purchase 55,000 Bibles and a biblical curriculum through a public bidding process.

“We plan to file a motion to dismiss, and have no plans to distribute Bibles or a biblical character education curriculum in classrooms,” Fields announced in a statement Wednesday. “If resources are left to be allocated, the timing is fortunate since the team and I are currently reviewing the (Oklahoma State Department of Education) budget.”

The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday gave Fields until Oct. 28 to decide whether to resolve the lawsuit by withdrawing the Bible directives.

Represented by local and national legal groups, 32 parents, students, educators and faith leaders sued Walters, the Education Department, the Oklahoma State Board of Education and the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, which oversees bidding and purchasing for state agencies.

Requiring biblical instruction in public schools and purchasing Bibles with taxpayer dollars violates the Oklahoma Constitution’s ban on state-established religion, they contend.

The Supreme Court acknowledged there’s been “significant turnover” of the public officials involved in the case. Walters resigned from office Sept. 30 to lead a conservative nonprofit, and Gov. Kevin Stitt has replaced every member of the state Board of Education since the lawsuit was filed in October 2024. The head of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, Rick Rose, also recently resigned.

Fields became the lead defendant in the case when Stitt appointed him to finish Walters’ term as state superintendent.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs said they are “encouraged” to hear Fields’ comments and are discussing next steps with their clients, according to their joint statement Wednesday. The group includes Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice.

“The promise of separation of church and state guaranteed by the U.S. and Oklahoma constitutions means that families and students — not politicians — get to decide when and how to engage with religion,” their joint statement reads. “The attempts to promote religion in the classroom and the abuses of power that the Oklahoma State Department of Education engaged in under Walters’ tenure should never happen in Oklahoma or anywhere in the United States again.”

The state Supreme Court hasn’t reached a final decision in the lawsuit, but it agreed in March to block the Education Department from purchasing Bibles and a biblical curriculum while the case is pending.

Walters’ administration already purchased more than 500 Bibles to give to Advanced Placement government classes.

In a separate case, the Court temporarily barred the implementation of Walters’ new academic standards for social studies courses that would have required public schools to teach Bible stories and the teachings of Jesus.

Walters said this instruction would help contextualize the beliefs of America’s founding fathers and key historical figures. He also called the separation of church and state a myth.

Fields doesn’t oppose Bibles being present in public schools, said his spokesperson, Tara Thompson. Students already are permitted to bring their own copies to school or to access the Bible online, and many districts keep a Bible in their libraries.

However, Fields’ administration has raised doubts about whether purchasing Bibles and racking up legal fees are the best use of taxpayer dollars, Thompson said during a media briefing Wednesday afternoon.

The agency’s new leadership aims to quickly dismiss as many lawsuits as possible, she said. The Education Department’s lead attorney, Jacki Phelps, said five cases are still pending against the agency.

That includes two lawsuits challenging the social studies standards that Walters’ administration developed. Thompson said Fields would like to reach an amicable resolution with the plaintiffs in those cases, and permanently reverting to Oklahoma’s 2019 standards is a possible solution.

“Those were award-winning standards,” Thompson said. “Our schools have them, are familiar with them. And so, in the essence of time, that’s an option that’s on the table. Is that the one that gets selected? I don’t know yet. I hope to have that answered in the next couple of weeks.”

Oklahoma Voice (oklahomavoice.com) is an affiliate of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization, supported by grants and donations. Oklahoma Voice provides nonpartisan reporting, and retains full editorial independence.