Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters cannot mandate teachers to play a video of him praying for students, teachers, and President-elect Donald Trump, according to the office of state Attorney General Gentner Drummond.
Walters made a video announcing the creation of the Department of Religious Freedom and Patriotism, which will “oversee the investigation of abuses to individual religious freedom or displays of patriotism.”
After making the announcement, Walters bowed his head in prayer.
“In particular, I pray for President Donald Trump and his team as they continue to bring about change to the country,” Walters said.
The video was shared with Oklahoma school districts.
“In one of the first steps of the newly created department, we are requiring all of Oklahoma schools to play the attached video to all kids that are enrolled,” according to the email shared with CBS News.
“Not only is this edict unenforceable, it is contrary to parents’ rights, local control and individual free-exercise rights,” Drummond spokesman Phil Bacharach told CBS News.
Elected in 2022, Walters mandated in June that schools incorporate the Bible into lesson plans for students in grades 5-12. He currently is facing two lawsuits for that mandate.
The superintendent also made requests to purchase 55,000 Bibles to be placed in every classroom in Oklahoma. The request originally garnered criticism because the criteria Walters had set for the Bibles only seemed to match two Bibles that had been endorsed by and linked to Trump.
Last Thursday, Walters posted on X that the state had purchased 500 Bibles to be put into classrooms for Advanced Placement government classes.
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While at odds with Oklahoma school districts over the scope of his authority, Walters says he’s rooted in protecting the constitutional rights of students and teachers.
“It is the constitutional right of every Oklahoman to practice their religion,” Walters said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “I will continue to advocate that schools follow the guidelines that the agency sends out and we expect religious liberties to be protected.”
