The process for selecting Bibles in classrooms in the US state of Oklahoma is raising concerns due to strict criteria that seem to limit the options to just a few editions.
Critics argue hardly any Bibles meet the requirements with some saying only editions endorsed by former President Trump will qualify.
According to The Oklahoman, few editions meet the specific requirements outlined in the request for proposal (RFP), which calls for a Bible bound in leather or similar material, containing the Pledge of Allegiance, Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and Bill of Rights, and using the New King James version.
However, Oklahoma’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, Ryan Walters, has defended the state's process for selecting the Bibles.
A spokesperson for Walters’s office told The Hill it would be "inappropriate to comment while bids are being placed", but added: "We are excited to bring back the Bible in its essential historical and literary context to Oklahoma classrooms. Superintendent Walters has committed the agency to an open and transparent RFP process... There are hundreds of Bible publishers and we expect a robust competition for this proposal."
However, The Oklahoman found that none of the 2,900 Bibles sold at Mardel Christian & Education meet the state’s criteria. The two that do, We The People Bible and God Bless the U.S.A. Bible, are both endorsed by Trump and cost $90 and $60, respectively.
Walters has requested $3 million to purchase 55,000 copies of Bibles for classrooms. Some, including former state Attorney General Drew Edmondson, have expressed concerns about the legality of the process, with Edmondson noting: “It appears to me that this bid is anything but competitive.”
Earlier this year, Walters issued a mandate requiring schools to include the Bible in lesson plans, focusing on its historical, literary, and artistic significance. Some superintendents in the state have vowed to ignore the mandate, with one telling The Hill: "I would tell my teachers to just keep doing what they’re doing, teach the Oklahoma academic standards."