Superintendent backs bill requiring Ten Commandments display in Oklahoma schools

(The Center Square) - Oklahoma State Superintendent of Instruction Ryan Walters said Tuesday he is backing legislation requiring a display of the Ten Commandments in all public school classrooms.

Rep. Jim Olsen, R-Roland, filed the bill last week and called the document one of the "foundations of the country."

"Publicly and proudly displaying them in public school classrooms will serve as a reminder of the ethics of our state and country as students and teachers go about their day," Olsen said Tuesday. "It is my prayer that this display would inspire our young people during their formative years and encourage them to lead moral, principled lives."

Walters issued a statement in support of the bill on Tuesday.

"Our country is founded on Judeo-Christian values and we should place a priority on learning about this important historical precedent," Walters said. "The breakdown in classroom discipline over the past 40 years is in no small measure due to the elimination of the Ten Commandments as guideposts for student behavior."

Olsen's bill would require a poster or framed copy of the document at least 16 inches wide by 20 inches tall to be displayed. The bill did not specify how the display would be funded but said that schools could accept private donations as long as they met the requirements listed in the legislation.

Rep. Mickey Dollens, D-Oklahoma City, criticized the bill.

"Oklahoma lawmaker Jim Olsen, who cited the Bible on the House floor to justify the spanking of children with disabilities, has introduced a bill that would mandate the display of the Ten Commandments in all Oklahoma classrooms," Dollens said in a social media post on X, the site formerly known as Twitter. "State-endorsed religious indoctrination is unconstitutional, idolatrous, violates parents’ rights, and contradicts the teachings of the deity he claims to worship."

The bill will be debated by lawmakers when they begin the 2024 legislative session on Feb. 5.