Oklahoma superintendent rejects Bibles in schools despite Ryan Walters' demands

"Norman Public Schools is not going to have Bibles in our classrooms," said Superintendent Nick Migliorino

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A couple of weeks ago, Oklahoma’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, a proud Christian Nationalist, announced that he would soon force teachers across the state to use the Bible in their classrooms.

Now one superintendent says he won’t be telling his staff to make any changes in line with what Walters wants when the new school year begins.

Ryan Walters, about to say something thoughtless (screenshot via Facebook)

“The Bible is a necessary, historical document to teach our kids about the history of this country,” Walters told the State Board of Education last month. Therefore, he went on, “every teacher, every classroom in the state, will have a Bible in the classroom, and will be teaching from the Bible in the classroom.”

What exactly did that mean? Every teacher? Which version of the Bible? Would teachers have to rewrite their lesson plans? Would they be paid for that? Could teachers tell students that the Bible is bullshit? And what would be the penalty for teachers who didn’t obey?

There were so many questions and Walters never bothered answering them. Instead, his office released a memo that merely reiterated his earlier comments. He said the Bible would be referenced for, among other things, its “substantial influence on our nation's founders and the foundational principles of our Constitution.”

He added: “Adherence to this mandate is compulsory.” And then: “Immediate and strict compliance is expected.”

Church/state separation groups said they would take action if needed, but it’s not like anyone filed a lawsuit yet. That’s because Walters’ memo was nothing more than that. There was no law in place forcing teachers to listen to him. There was no enforcement mechanism. Even the office of the state’s attorney general said that Bibles were already permitted in schools and allowed in instruction, suggesting (very mildly) that Walters’ memo was pointless.

But with the new school year beginning in a few weeks, Nick Migliorino, superintendent of the Norman Public Schools, which serves over 15,000 students, said in an interview with the Norman Transcript that his district won’t be participating in this charade.

“I’m just going to cut to the chase on that. Norman Public Schools is not going to have Bibles in our classrooms, and we are not going to require our teachers to teach from the Bible,” Migliorino said. “The standards are clear and our curriculum is very clear. And we’re not going to deviate from that. I don’t know. I’m just going to be direct on that one.”

…

“We’re gonna follow the law, we’re going to provide a great opportunity for our students, we’re going to do right by our students and right by our teachers, and we’re not going to have Bibles in our classrooms.”

Migliorino said bibles would be available to students who wanted to check them out, and teachers could use them in the classroom in an appropriate way if they wanted to (like, say, in a literature class). But they wouldn’t be changing anything on account of what Walters said.

When news station KFOR asked Walters’ office for a response, it was Trumpian and typical:

“Oh yes they will,” is all OSDE spokesperson Dan Isett told News 4 in response.

There was no follow-up from his office.

Which takes us right back to Walters’ comments and memo: It’s all talk but nothing more. The reason a superintendent can confidently say he’ll ignore Walters is because Walters doesn’t really have any ability to push his plans through. He can pretend otherwise, but at this point, it’s not like Walters can fire that guy or go after his staff.

In fact, The Frontier, a non-profit journalism outlet, noted that Walters has no authority here. The state’s Board of Education can revoke teaching certifications if teachers don’t follow the law, but his memo isn’t a law. Furthermore, state law says instructional materials and curriculum decisions are determined by the school districts themselves. The Center for Education Law also said in a letter sent to all school districts in Oklahoma last week that Walters’ memo is “without legal authority.”

What needs to happen now is that more superintendents need to make the same comments as Migliorino. They need to declare that their districts won’t be listening to Walters either. Ideally, they’ll go even further and say they don’t take any marching orders from him because they serve the students, not some right-wing religious ideology promoted by a guy who doesn’t care about public education. But I’ll settle for more of them just publicly rejecting Walters’ demands.

As I’ve said before, Walters seems more interested in auditioning to be Donald Trump’s next Secretary of Education than doing anything to help the students in his state.

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