OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma’s top education official is seeking to purchase 55,000 Bibles for public schools and specifying that each copy contain the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution, which are not commonly found in Bibles but are included in one endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
The request is part of Republican State Superintendent Ryan Walters’ ongoing efforts to require Bibles in every classroom, which has been met with resistance by some of Oklahoma’s largest school districts.
Walters is seeking to spend $3 million in state funds for Bibles that fit a certain criteria, including that the pages are supplemented with U.S. historical materials. The Bibles must also be “bound in leather or leather-like material for durability.”
