Walters requests bid to supply Bibles to Oklahoma elementary schools

The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) submitted a request for a proposal on Friday, February 21, 2025, asking vendors to supply Bibles to Oklahoma public elementary schools, so as to implement them as instructional material for students.

The OSDE is requesting to make a one-year contract with a vendor that will provide Bibles to be used for teachings in social studies classes in all Oklahoma public elementary schools.

The vendor will have the option “of four one-year renewals for the contract,” reports Josh Wallace for KOCO 5 News. “The bidder is also required to be able to ship the materials to every school district in the state, with the quantities being ‘provided by OSDE.’”

The request also requires that each vendor bidding to provide Bibles to the OSDE must comply to every requirement listed in order for the vendors to be considered, including:

“Materials should contain age-appropriate biblical content, provide simple explanations that are easily understandable for elementary-age students, and demonstrate how biblical figures and stories have influenced historical events and cultural practices in the United States.”

“Materials shall emphasize the development of core virtues such as honesty, respect, responsibility and compassion and provide historical examples and historical figures to illustrate these virtues.”

“Materials should provide activities and exercises that help students apply these core virtues to their daily lives.”

“Materials should reference significant historical events that occurred in Oklahoma and key historical figures from Oklahoma.”

“Materials should reference key figures and events that have shaped the history and culture of Oklahoma.”

“Materials should provide a teacher guide to help teachers in integrating these topics into their classroom instruction and options for professional development.”

“Materials should align with relevant civics concepts in the Oklahoma Academic Standards for Social Studies. Provide examples.”

“The bidder’s entire order should be produced and delivered no more than 56 calendar days after the award date of the contract.”

Ryan Walters, Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction suggests that the King James Bible be used to teach Oklahoma students of all ages about the United States’ history, emphasizing the contributions it has had to America’s historical context, and comparing it to other significant historical documents.

“When you look at getting Bibles back to the classroom, I believe it’s essential. I believe that kids need to understand the foundation of American history. That’s the Bible, the Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence,” said Walters in an interview with News 9 on Feb. 5, 2025. “It is not to evangelize to kids. It’s not to push a religion on kids. We’re not going to teach history right if we leave the Bible out and the influence of Christianity.” 

Walters has been advocating for integrating the Bible into the Oklahoma public school curriculum since the summer of 2024, however this proposal prioritizes integrating Bibles into elementary schools, specifically; whereas previously, it was only proposed that Bibles be implemented in classrooms from grades five through twelve.

Walters asked for 3$ million to be given to the OSDE in order to purchase copies of the Bible, the Declaration of Independence, and the U.S. Constitution to put in every Oklahoma public school classroom.

“We want to estimate around $3 million. I think it can be done for less, but this is a maximum, and allow people to bid on it. See what kind of deals we can make; see who wants to offer it at a very cheap price; see what kind of agreements we can have with vendors here,” Walters continued.

“It’s the most published book in the world, so that gives an opportunity for competition. But it’s essential that our kids understand the foundational documents in American history. We’ve rewritten our history standards to reflect that, and I think we need to go back to having a Bible in every classroom.”