Oklahoma Supreme Court tosses Bible lawsuit after education leader declines to enforce mandate

OKLAHOMA CITY — Saying the issue is now moot, Oklahoma’s highest court dismissed a lawsuit challenging a requirement that public schools keep Bibles in classrooms and teach from them.

In a 6-2 decision, the Oklahoma Supreme Court wrote November 24 that newly appointed state Superintendent Lindel Fields and the six new members of the Oklahoma State Board of Education said they planned to nullify a 2024 mandate requiring Bible usage in schools. The new education leaders also told the justices that they were not pursuing other mandates issued by former state Superintendent Ryan Walters that would use taxpayer money to purchase classroom Bibles or “biblically-based character education materials.”

More than 30 Oklahomans of various faiths or no religious affiliation had sued State Department of Education leaders in October 2024, arguing that the Bible mandates issued by Walters in June and July 2024 violated the state Constitution’s prohibition on state-established religion. They asked the court to block the use of taxpayer dollars to purchase Bibles and declare the overall mandate unenforceable.

They argued the Education Department did not follow state requirements when implementing the Bible teaching requirements, and that state academic standards hadn’t been changed to justify Walters’ order. Many of those plaintiffs had children in public schools and said required school-based biblical instruction could interfere with their ability to teach their own religious or moral beliefs at home.

Walters resigned in September to become CEO of the Teacher Freedom Alliance. Gov. Kevin Stitt tapped Fields in October to finish the remaining 15 months of Walters’ term. He will lead the state agency and State Board of Education until January 2027. Oklahomans will elect the next state superintendent during statewide general elections in November 2026.

Attorneys with American Civil Liberties Union, the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, the Freedom from Religion Foundation and Americans United for Separation of Church and State represented the Oklahoma residents.

In a joint statement, the attorneys said they were pleased that Fields had “abandoned former Superintendent Walters’ attempts to incorporate the Bible into the public-school curriculum and classrooms, and to buy Bibles and biblical-instructional materials with state tax dollars.

They also said in a statement that they were pleased that Fields had rescinded and nullified Walters’ biblical policies.

“Fields’ actions and the Supreme Court’s order mean that Oklahoma families and students – not politicians – will get to decide if, when and how to engage with the Bible,” the attorneys said.

The State Department of Education didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

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.