Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters announced Thursday he is partnering with singer Lee Greenwood to send Bibles to all AP U.S. Government classrooms across his state.<\/p>\n
After state lawmakers this week signaled opposition to his $3 million budget request for Bibles in all classrooms, Walters announced the singer would donate his “God Bless The USA Bibles” for the cause. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Bible is the most influential document in our nation\u2019s history. Ryan Walters has committed to get every kid in Oklahoma a Bible and we need your help,\u201d Greenwood posted on X<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Walters said in a statement that he picked these Bibles due to the historical documents in them, such as the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThese are being sent to AP U.S. Government classrooms to enrich students’ understanding of America’s core principles,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n President Trump has teamed up with Greenwood to promote the “God Bless The USA Bibles.”<\/p>\n Walters was accused last year of narrowly defining the state’s bid so that only the Trump-Greenwood bibles would qualify. The initial request for 55,000 Bibles was amended<\/a> following blowback to the terms, then canceled a few weeks later<\/a> without explanation.<\/p>\n Appropriators in the state Senate this week reportedly recommended<\/a> cutting $3 million that Walters had requested toward the Bible purchasing program in the state’s budget.<\/p>\n Walters has aggressively pushed the boundaries between church and state in Oklahoma’s classrooms. He is in the middle of a related court case regarding his mandate to have schools infuse Bible lessons into curriculum. <\/p>\n