Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters' office is defending the criteria established for the Bibles recently mandated for classroom use after a report found the parameters are so specific that nearly no editions qualify — apart from the ones former President Donald Trump has endorsed.
On Friday, The Oklahoman reported that there are few Bibles on the market that check all the boxes Walters has called for: bound in leather or leather-like material; contains the Pledge of Allegiance, Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights; and uses the New King James version of both the Old and the New Testaments.
"The RFP [request for proposal] on its face seems fair, but with additional scrutiny, we can see there are very few Bibles on the market that would meet these criteria, and all of them have been endorsed by former President Donald Trump," Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice Executive Director Colleen McCarty told the news outlet.
"It would be inappropriate to comment while bids are being placed" for a contract to supply 55,000 Bibles to the Department of Education, Walters' office told The Hill.
"We are excited to bring back the Bible in its essential historical and literary context to Oklahoma classrooms," a DOE spokesperson said.
"Superintendent Walters has committed the agency to an open and transparent RFP process, consistent with the norms for state procurement, that will be adequate to meet the needs of Oklahoma classrooms. There are hundreds of Bible publishers and we expect a robust competition for this proposal."
A salesperson at Mardel Christian & Education told The Oklahoman that none of the 2,900 Bibles the company sells meet the standard the state has established.
However, the We The People Bible and God Bless the U.S.A. Bible — editions Trump has endorsed — both appear to pass muster. They retail for $90 and $60, respectively.
Walters, a Republican, mandated in June that schools incorporate the Bible into lesson plans. Under the guidance, a Bible is required in every Oklahoma classroom and lessons on the Christian text should focus on its historical context, literary significance, and influence on art and music.
A request for $3 million to purchase Bibles was included in the fiscal year 2026 budget request Walters' agency submitted to the Oklahoma Legislature, according to The Oklahoman.
Former state Attorney General Drew Edmondson told the outlet he is concerned about the legality of the Bible bidding process.
"It appears to me that this bid is anything but competitive," Edmondson said. "It adds to the basic specification other requirements that have nothing to do with the text. The special binding and inclusion of government documents will exclude almost all bidders. If the bid specs exclude most bidders unnecessarily, I could consider that a violation."
Nicole Wells ✉
Nicole Wells, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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