Oklahoma Schools Superintendent: Teachers Who Refuse To Teach From Bible Will Lose Their License

July 1, 2024 Christianists, Education

Oklahoma educators who refuse to teach students about the Bible could lose their teaching license, Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters said in an interview with NBC News on Friday.

Walters issued a memo Thursday instructing all Oklahoma schools to teach students in grades five through 12 about the Bible’s influence on the nation’s founding and historical American figures. Schools will also be required to stock a Bible in every classroom.

In an interview with NBC News, Walters said if a teacher refuses to follow the Bible instruction mandate, they’d face the same consequences as one who refuses to teach about the Civil War. The punishment could include revocation of their teaching license, he said, a process that requires a vote by the Oklahoma State Board of Education, which Walters chairs.

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OK Schools Superintendent Ryan Walters announcement today: “Every teacher, every classroom in the state, will have a Bible in the classroom and will be teaching from the Bible in the classroom.” pic.twitter.com/sOfbL3IMtJ

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) June 27, 2024