{"id":751958,"date":"2025-10-16T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/?p=751958"},"modified":"2025-10-15T20:06:32","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T01:06:32","slug":"no-plans-to-distribute-bibles-to-public-school-classrooms-new-superintendent-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2025\/10\/16\/no-plans-to-distribute-bibles-to-public-school-classrooms-new-superintendent-says\/","title":{"rendered":"No Plans to Distribute Bibles to Public School Classrooms, New Superintendent Says"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-custom-everlit-iframe-embed\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Everlit Audio Player\" src=\"https:\/\/everlit.audio\/embeds\/artl_2QdBkiZpg7a?client=wp&amp;client_version=2.6.0\" width=\"100%\" height=\"80px\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n<p>State Superintendent of Schools Lindel Fields said he\u2019ll abandon his predecessor\u2019s attempt to buy Bibles for public schools and wants a legal challenge over the Bibles dismissed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fields, appointed this month to fulfill the remainder of Ryan Walters\u2019 term, said in a written statement Wednesday he has no plans to distribute Bibles or a Biblical character education curriculum to classrooms.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The day before, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ordered the Department of Education to provide an update on whether Fields intended to withdraw or rescind mandates that schools teach from the Bible or efforts to buy Bibles and related materials.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The court gave the department a deadline of Oct. 28 to respond.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe action by the Supreme Court is brilliant, but very unusual,\u201d said attorney and historian Bob Burke. \u201cIn my 45 years as a lawyer, I have never seen such an order that will effectively end a complicated lawsuit with lots of lawyers involved.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles is-style-borders wpnbha show-image image-alignright ts-4 is-1 is-landscape is-style-borders\" style=\"\">\n\t\t<div data-posts data-current-post-id=\"752923\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"article-section-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span>the latest<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<article data-post-id=\"754196\" class=\"tag-attorney-general tag-cdc tag-covid-19 tag-george-monks tag-measles tag-oklahoma-news tag-oklahoma-state-department-of-health tag-oklahoma-state-medical-association tag-whooping-cough category-health category-publichealth type-post post-has-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"post-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2026\/01\/05\/oklahoma-health-department-refuses-to-share-county-level-measles-data\/\" rel=\"bookmark\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Monks_15-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-newspack-article-block-landscape-large size-newspack-article-block-landscape-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"Oklahoma Health Department Refuses to Share County-Level Measles Data\" data-hero-candidate=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Monks_15-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Monks_15-scaled.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Monks_15-scaled.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Monks_15-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Monks_15-scaled.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Monks_15-scaled.jpg?zoom=2&amp;resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1 2400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Monks_15-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 782px) 600px, (min-width: 600px) 42.5vw, 90vw\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure><!-- .featured-image -->\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2026\/01\/05\/oklahoma-health-department-refuses-to-share-county-level-measles-data\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Oklahoma Health Department Refuses to Share County-Level Measles Data<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/author\/paulmonies\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" alt=\"Avatar photo\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/cropped-Paul-Monies.jpg?resize=48%2C48&amp;ssl=1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/cropped-Paul-Monies-96x96.jpg 2x\" class=\"avatar avatar-48 photo\" height=\"48\" width=\"48\"><\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"byline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"author-prefix\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author vcard\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/author\/paulmonies\/\">Paul Monies<\/a><\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><!-- .author-name -->\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-01-05T06:01:00-06:00\">January 5, 2026<\/time><time class=\"updated\" datetime=\"2026-01-05T11:05:42-06:00\">January 5, 2026<\/time>\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-meta -->\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-wrapper -->\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\n<p>Burke said the court\u2019s order was a creative way to allow the new superintendent an avenue to right the ship on a controversial issue and save taxpayers thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A group of 32 parents, students, teachers and faith leaders <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oscn.net\/dockets\/GetCaseInformation.aspx?db=appellate&amp;number=MA-122592&amp;cmid=138737\">challenged the Bible mandate<\/a> under the state constitution, which prohibits public money from being spent for religious purposes. They brought the lawsuit following Oklahoma Watch\u2019s reporting on Walters\u2019 efforts to <a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2024\/10\/03\/state-education-department-seeks-bids-for-55000-classroom-bibles\/\">spend millions on King James Bibles<\/a> and a subsequent <a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2025\/02\/21\/education-department-seeks-to-buy-bible-lessons-for-elementary-kids\/\">attempt to buy Bible <\/a>character instruction manuals for elementary students.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Supreme Court in March temporarily blocked the state from moving forward with the purchases and from enforcing Walters\u2019 mandate until the lawsuit is resolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a joint statement, the legal groups representing the plaintiffs said they\u2019re encouraged by Fields\u2019 statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe promise of separation of church and state guaranteed by the U.S. and Oklahoma constitutions means that families and students \u2014 not politicians \u2014\u00a0get to decide when and how to engage with religion,\u201d the statement reads. \u201cThe attempts to promote religion in the classroom and the abuses of power that the Oklahoma State Department of Education engaged in under Walters\u2019 tenure should never happen in Oklahoma or anywhere in the United States again. We will monitor the State Department of Education\u2019s actions and discuss with our clients the next steps in the lawsuit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Walters\u2019 administration purchased more than 500 Donald Trump-endorsed Bibles for Advanced Placement government classes for $25,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Separately, the Supreme Court temporarily halted the new social studies standards, which would require schools to incorporate Bible stories and references to Christianity. Walters said it\u2019s necessary for students to learn from the Bible for its historical context and literary significance in American history.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Under state statute, when a public official who is party to a lawsuit dies, resigns or leaves office, the lawsuit continues and automatically substitutes the person\u2019s successor. In this case, Walters, each member of the Board of Education and Rick Rose, executive director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, have all left office since the lawsuit was filed in 2024. The court also requested an update on those substitutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\"><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"771\" height=\"771\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/StaffHeadshots2022_5194.jpg?resize=771%2C771&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-700097\" style=\"width:193px;height:193px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/StaffHeadshots2022_5194.jpg?resize=771%2C771&amp;ssl=1 771w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/StaffHeadshots2022_5194.jpg?resize=336%2C336&amp;ssl=1 336w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/StaffHeadshots2022_5194.jpg?resize=140%2C140&amp;ssl=1 140w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/StaffHeadshots2022_5194.jpg?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/StaffHeadshots2022_5194.jpg?resize=400%2C400&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/StaffHeadshots2022_5194.jpg?resize=200%2C200&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/StaffHeadshots2022_5194.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/StaffHeadshots2022_5194.jpg?resize=706%2C706&amp;ssl=1 706w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/StaffHeadshots2022_5194.jpg?resize=100%2C100&amp;ssl=1 100w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/StaffHeadshots2022_5194.jpg?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/StaffHeadshots2022_5194-771x771.jpg?w=370&amp;ssl=1 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><em>Jennifer Palmer has been a reporter with Oklahoma Watch since 2016 and covers education. Contact her at <a href=\"tel:4057610093\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">(405) 761-0093<\/a> or <a href=\"mailto:jpalmer@oklahomawatch.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">jpalmer@oklahomawatch.org<\/a>. Follow her on Twitter <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jpalmerOKC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">@jpalmerOKC<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:3px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles is-style-default wpnbha is-grid columns-3 colgap-1 show-image image-aligntop ts-3 is-3 is-landscape is-style-default\" style=\"\">\n\t\t<div data-posts data-current-post-id=\"751958\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"article-section-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span>MORE FROM Jennifer Palmer<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<article data-post-id=\"753221\" class=\"tag-brandon-pasley tag-domestic-violence-fatality-review-board tag-jacquelyn-campbell tag-laura-thomas tag-scott-hawkins category-criminaljustice category-domestic-violence type-post post-has-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"post-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2025\/11\/24\/domestic-violence-board-chairman-resigns-in-protest\/\" rel=\"bookmark\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/In-the-office-1-1.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-newspack-article-block-landscape-large size-newspack-article-block-landscape-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"Domestic Violence Board Chairman Resigns in Protest\" data-hero-candidate=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/In-the-office-1-1.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/In-the-office-1-1.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/In-the-office-1-1.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/In-the-office-1-1.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/In-the-office-1-1.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/In-the-office-1-1.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw \/ 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw \/ 12)), 100vw\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure><!-- .featured-image -->\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2025\/11\/24\/domestic-violence-board-chairman-resigns-in-protest\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Domestic Violence Board Chairman Resigns in Protest<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>A decision by the state\u2019s domestic violence board exposed a rift over how a mandatory protective tool is to be used and led chairman and domestic violence advocate Brandon Pasley to resign. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"entry-date published updated\" datetime=\"2025-11-24T06:00:00-06:00\">November 24, 2025<\/time>\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-meta -->\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-wrapper -->\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\n\t<article data-post-id=\"752624\" class=\"tag-charles-rust tag-deaths tag-guns tag-savannah-phillips tag-suicide category-health category-mental-health category-vulnerable-populations type-post post-has-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"post-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2025\/11\/07\/isolation-illness-and-guns-why-more-older-oklahomans-are-dying-by-suicide\/\" rel=\"bookmark\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025_1106_5D4B8204-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-newspack-article-block-landscape-large size-newspack-article-block-landscape-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"Isolation, Illness and Guns: Why More Older Oklahomans Are Dying by Suicide\" data-hero-candidate=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025_1106_5D4B8204-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025_1106_5D4B8204-scaled.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025_1106_5D4B8204-scaled.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025_1106_5D4B8204-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025_1106_5D4B8204-scaled.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025_1106_5D4B8204-scaled.jpg?zoom=2&amp;resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1 2400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025_1106_5D4B8204-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw \/ 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw \/ 12)), 100vw\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure><!-- .featured-image -->\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2025\/11\/07\/isolation-illness-and-guns-why-more-older-oklahomans-are-dying-by-suicide\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Isolation, Illness and Guns: Why More Older Oklahomans Are Dying by Suicide<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>More older Americans are dying by gun suicide. The rate is particularly high in Oklahoma, and especially in rural counties.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2025-11-07T06:00:00-06:00\">November 7, 2025<\/time><time class=\"updated\" datetime=\"2025-11-07T10:33:35-06:00\">November 7, 2025<\/time>\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-meta -->\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-wrapper -->\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\n\t<article data-post-id=\"752137\" class=\"tag-anthony-sykes tag-cameron-mcellhiney tag-dave-cuillier tag-gary-knight tag-incident-reports tag-lawsuit tag-mark-thomas tag-oklahoma-city tag-police tag-public-records tag-ron-bacy tag-valerie-littlejohn category-democracy category-democracy-democracy category-government category-transparency type-post post-has-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"post-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2025\/10\/24\/okc-police-are-withholding-reports-alarming-transparency-advocates\/\" rel=\"bookmark\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/TED_2490-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-newspack-article-block-landscape-large size-newspack-article-block-landscape-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"OKC Police Are Withholding Reports, Alarming Transparency Advocates\" data-hero-candidate=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/TED_2490-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/TED_2490-scaled.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/TED_2490-scaled.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/TED_2490-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/TED_2490-scaled.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/TED_2490-scaled.jpg?zoom=2&amp;resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1 2400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/TED_2490-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw \/ 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw \/ 12)), 100vw\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure><!-- .featured-image -->\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2025\/10\/24\/okc-police-are-withholding-reports-alarming-transparency-advocates\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">OKC Police Are Withholding Reports, Alarming Transparency Advocates<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>OKC police are withholding police reports unless there was an arrest, charges or a warrant, alarming transparency advocates. The public access counselor sided with police, allowing the practice to continue and, potentially, spread.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"entry-date published updated\" datetime=\"2025-10-24T06:00:00-05:00\">October 24, 2025<\/time>\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-meta -->\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-wrapper -->\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a major policy move, Superintendent Lindel Fields said his agency plans to abandon his predecessor&#8217;s attempt to buy Bibles for students and wants a lawsuit over it dismissed. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2622484,"featured_media":751959,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"gigafact_has_fact_brief":false,"gigafact_remote_fact_brief_post_id":0,"gigafact_remote_sync_timestamp":"","gigafact_remote_sync_status":"","gigafact_remote_sync_response":"","gigafact_has_been_published":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"everlit_article_id":"artl_2QdBkiZpg7a","everlit_hide_embed":false,"everlit_embed_size":"","everlit_generation_settings":{"primary_voice":"32","guest_voice":"48","default_sonic_optimization":false,"default_conversation_mode":false,"default_read_alt_text":false,"default_read_urls":false,"default_read_author_byline":false,"default_publication":"pblc_lV8RK9ULW4x","language":"en-US","intro_mixable":3,"outro_mixable":3,"intro_duration":15,"outro_duration":15,"intro_padding":3,"outro_padding":4,"default_skip_article_image":false,"skip_auto_generation":false,"disable_music":false,"disclaimer":"","disclaimer_voice":"","is_for_subscriber":false,"embed_ui_cover_art":true,"embed_ui_title_intro":"","embed_ui_title_icon":""},"_everlit_article_id":"","_everlit_hide_embed":false,"_everlit_embed_size":"","_everlit_generation_settings":[],"_everlit_content_hash":"","_everlit_metadata_hash":"09f20c424250ab2919c5a138d126f9de","_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[13],"tags":[20743,20477,20162,18781,21298,20502,8282],"series":[],"coauthors":[401],"class_list":["post-751958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","tag-bibles-in-classrooms","tag-bob-burke","tag-law","tag-lawsuit","tag-lindel-fields","tag-oklahoma-constitution","tag-ryan-walters","entry"],"fact_brief":null,"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - 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