Stephanie Sy:
Amna, just weeks after Louisiana law mandated the display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms, Oklahoma is now requiring the Bible’s inclusion in lesson plans, not only in studying history or comparative religions, but — quote — “ensuring our students grasp the core values and historical context of our country.”
For more, we’re joined by the author of this new directive, Oklahoma’s state superintendent of public education, Ryan Walters.
Superintendent Walters, welcome to the “NewsHour.”
Let’s start with this new directive. Your memorandum says — quote — “Effective immediately, all Oklahoma schools are required to incorporate the Bible, which includes the Ten Commandments, as an instructional support.” It also says: “Immediate and strict compliance is expected.”
Sir, what does compliance mean? Because that’s wide open for interpretation. It could mean referencing how Shakespeare employs Scripture in his plays, or it could mean memorizing Bible verses. Which is it, and are teachers going to be able to decide for themselves?
Ryan Walters, Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction: Well, thanks for the question there.
We have issued this guidance, and we are issuing additional guidance to classroom on specificity in the upcoming weeks. So we have standards that are in place that talk about that our teachers are to teach the role religion played in the classroom. We have since seen that they are not doing that. They are not talking about in their classroom the role that the Bible played in American history.
So we will be offering additional guidance to districts that they will have to comply with, which is to ensure the teaching of our standards and the role the Bible played in American history, dating back pre-Constitution, whether it’s Mayflower Compact, the pilgrims, all the way up through Martin Luther King Jr. and civil rights movement, where he repeatedly quotes the Bible as a directive for what he’s trying to do there.
