Religion

NPR -  All Oklahoma schools are required to incorporate the Bible and the Ten Commandments in their curriculums, the state’s chief education officer announced in a memorandum Thursday. At a State Board of Education meeting, Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters said the Bible is “one of the most foundational documents used for the Constitution and the birth of our country.” The announcement drew immediate backlash.  Beth Wallis, an education reporter for nonprofit news outlet StateImpact Oklahoma, tells Up First that Oklahoma law is very clear that decisions on textbooks, curriculum and instructional materials fall exclusively under the purview of school districts — not the state department that Walters is in charge of. She adds that the civil liberty group Americans United for Separation of Church and State said in a statement it would do everything in its power to stop the mandate.

 NBC News - The order drew swift criticism from civil liberties groups. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a nonprofit, called it “textbook Christian Nationalism” and said the policy is “trampling the religious freedom of public school children and their families.” Read more about the order