Bidding opened Monday for suppliers to fulfill Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters’s request to have 55,000 Bibles in every classroom in the state.
The mandate requires that the Bibles must be the King James Version and include the Old and New Testaments, as well as copies of the Pledge of Allegiance, Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. They must also be bound in leather or leather-like material.
Mardel Christian & Education carries 2,900 Bibles, but not one of them fits these stipulations.
Only two Bibles appear to fit Walters’s criteria, and both have been endorsed by former President Donald Trump. They are Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless The USA Bible,” which retails for $60, and the “We The People Bible,” which is also endorsed by Donald Trump Jr., for $90.
Former Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson said Walters’s guidelines may actually cater to Trump-endorsed Bibles, and they might violate state law.
“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.”
In June, Walters announced his plan to have Bibles in all the state’s 43,000 teacher’s classrooms.
On Sept. 26, Walters requested $3 million in his fiscal 2026 budget request to purchase Bibles for the state’s classrooms, which could prove a bit too low for Greenwood’s Bible.
Funding for the Bibles comes from payroll savings, according to Dan Isett, Walters’s spokesman.
“We have talked about ensuring that our history courses include the role the Bible played throughout American history,” Walters said. “We’ve talked about the efforts of left-wing groups and the teachers’ unions to drive the Bible out of school. I believe it’s important for historical context for our kids to understand the role the Bible played.”
While Walters may request that the Bibles be in each classroom, the school districts have the ultimate say on what is included in their curriculum. Bixby Superintendent Rob Miller said on News Nation that the city would not incorporate the Bible or its teachings into its curriculum nor mandate that a Bible be displayed in every classroom.
“As a Christian myself, the idea of diminishing the word of God to a mere classroom prop is a little repulsive to me, so we will not be complying with that directive of having a physical Bible in every classroom,” Miller said.
With a $60,000 contract with D.C.-based Vought Strategies, Walters has appeared on television programs weekly, advertising his efforts and praising Trump.
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“We are going to be so proud here in Oklahoma to be the first state in the country to bring the Bible back to every single classroom, and every state should be doing this. … President Trump praised our efforts. President Trump has been the leader on this issue,” Walters said in an interview.
The former president licenses his name, image, and likeness to be used in the Greenwood Bible’s marketing. Financial forms reveal he has received $300,000 in royalties from the “God Bless The USA” Bible, according to the Oklahoman.