Oklahoma’s new State Superintendent of Public Instruction is ending his predecessor’s plan to distribute Bibles to every classroom.
Ryan Walters’ controversial plan to put a Bible in every classroom last summer almost immediately met pushback. About a year ago, a coalition of parents, teachers and faith leaders filed a lawsuit against him and the state over the mandate.
The suit is ongoing, but because of Walters’ exit, Oklahoma’s State Supreme Court gave his replacement Lindel Fields, the opportunity to withdraw or resolve the case in the next two weeks.
But he ultimately took much less time. On Wednesday, Fields announced he would withdraw the mandate at the heart of the case.
“We plan to file a motion to dismiss, and have no plans to distribute Bibles or a Biblical character education curriculum in classrooms,” he said in a statement. “If resources are left to be allocated, the timing is fortunate since the team and I are currently reviewing the budget.”
There are currently more than a dozen pending lawsuits against Walters.
The Bible plan was slated to cost at least $3 million and appeared to be narrowly tailored to those endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
This article was originally published by KOSU, a partner of the Tulsa Flyer. You can see the original story here.