OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma has changed its request to place 55,000 Bibles in public schools that initially matched a version of the holy book endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
The request was amended Monday and no longer requires that the Bibles include American historical documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution — requirements that match the “God Bless the USA Bible” that Trump endorsed this year and are several times more expensive than similar Bibles in which the American documents do not appear.
The new request says the historical documents can be included together or separately and extends the deadline for offers to deliver the items by one week, from Oct. 14 to Oct. 21.
The request is part of state Superintendent Ryan Walters’ effort to mandate Bibles in public school classrooms, which has met resistance from some of Oklahoma’s largest school districts.
Walters said Monday in a video on
“The left-wing media hates Donald Trump so much, and they hate the Bible so much, that they will lie and do whatever it takes to prevent this initiative,” Walters said.
Walters spokesman Dan Issett said in a statement that the changes to the “request for prop,” or RFP, were proposed by the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, which issues the requests, and that Walters agreed to them.
“Unfortunately, there have been false reports repeated by numerous supposedly credible news organizations that the state’s RFP was addressed to one specific organization,” Issett said, noting that tailoring the request so that only one Bible from the manufacturer was in would be eligible. illegal.
Christa Helfrey, a spokesperson for OMES, said the changes were made to the request to try to save taxpayer money.
“OMES worked with OSDE to modify the request to provide the listed resources at a much better value to Oklahomans,” Helfrey said.
The original request included requirements not often found in Bibles but included in the “God Bless the USA Bible,” which Trump urged his supporters to start purchasing earlier this year from a website that offered the book for $59.99 sells.
According to the original request, the Bibles must be bound in “leather or leather-like material for durability.”
Similar Bibles that do not include the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution are available online for less than $20.
