OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma's top education official is seeking to purchase 55,000 Bibles for public schools and specifying that each copy contain the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution, which are not commonly found in Bibles but are included in one endorsed by former President Donald Trump .
The request is part of Republican State Superintendent Ryan Walters' ongoing efforts to require Bibles in every classroom , which has been met with resistance by some of Oklahoma's largest school districts. Walters is seeking to spend $3 million in state funds for Bibles that fit a certain criteria, including that the pages are supplemented with U.S.
historical materials. The Bibles must also be “bound in leather or leather-like material for durability,” according to state bidding documents posted this week. The nonprofit news outlet Oklahoma Watch first reported Thursday that the requirements match the “God Bless the USA Bible" that Trump urged his supporters to begin buying earlier this year at a website that sells the book for $59.
99. Asked Friday if the state's bid was tailored for the Bible backed by Trump, a spokesman for Walters said the proposal was open to any vendor. “There are hundreds of Bible publishers and we expect a robust competition for this proposal,” said Dan Isett, a spokesman for the Oklahoma State Department of Education.
Former Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson, a Democrat, said the bid “does not pass the smell test” and sai.