Okla. school boss defies Constitution as he seeks to lead pupils in prayer for Trump

Also, legal fights continue over Bible plan, taxpayer-funded Catholic school

Ryan Walters as seen in video distributed by the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

Public schools cannot sponsor prayers in the classroom — even if participation is not required and the prayer isn’t specific to a particular religion — the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in 1962’s landmark Engel v. Vitale decision.

That ruling remains the law of the land, but Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters is openly defying it with a video of him praying that he has told schools they should play to students.

The prayer is supportive of the presidency of Donald Trump, and his introduction to the prayer is indisputably political in nature as he denounces “the radical left” as well as “woke teachers’ unions.”

It is unclear how many school districts, if any, have complied with his request, which violates not only the U.S. Constitution but Oklahoma law as well.

Walters released the video as part of his promotion of a new entity, the Office of Religious Liberty and Patriotism.

Walters’ actions further put Oklahoma at the center of an effort by Christian nationalists to promote Christianity in public schools. Other actions taken by the state, both of which have drawn strong criticism and lawsuits, are:

• The beginning of implementing a plan to distribute Bibles to school throughout the state with the expectation that they would use them as a resource in teaching a variety of subjects. An initial shipment of Bibles was distributed last week for use in advanced-placement classes.

• The granting of a charter to the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which would receive funds for students to receive a Catholic education. Its opening has been delayed due to ruling by Oklahoma’s top court, and supporters are trying to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to consider an appeal. The charter school was approved by a board separate from Walters’ office. If the high court were to approve the Oklahoma charter, the ruling would open a pathway for other chuches to open taxpayer-funded schools.

Although it does not appear that a lawsuit has been filed yet to prevent schools from playing the Walters video, a coalition of organizations led by the American Civil Liberties Union has sent a letter to local school superintendents urging them not to use it.

The letter says in part:

The email request by Walters appears to further his personal political ambitions, but not any legitimate educational interest. Walters’s demand is harmful to your students and violates the U.S. Constitution, the Oklahoma Constitution, state law, and likely your school district’s policies.

The letter went on to list court cases supporting that view and claimed that Walters is exceeding his authority.

The groups that joined the ACLU in mailing the letter were the Freedom from Religion Foundation, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice.

Here is the full text of the video that Walters wants played in Oklahoma schools:

We are excited to announce a new office here in the Oklahoma State Department of Education that will be the Office of Religious Liberty and Patriotism.

For too long in this country, we’ve seen the radical left attack individuals’ religious liberty in our schools. We will not tolerate that in Oklahoma. Your religious liberties will be protected. We’ve also seen patriotism mocked and a hatred for this country pushed by woke teachers’ unions. We will not tolerate that in any school in Oklahoma.

We want our students to be patriotic. We want our students to love this country, and we want all students’ religious liberty to be protected.

I will now say a prayer, and to be clear, students, you don't have to join. But if you so wish I'm going to go ahead and pray.

Dear God: Thank you for all the blessings you’ve given our country. I pray for our leaders to make the right decisions. I pray in particular for President Donald Trump and his team as they continue to bring about change to the country. I pray for our parents, teachers and kids that they get the best education possible and live high-quality lives. I also pray that we continue to teach love of country to our young people and that our students understand what makes America great and that they continue to love this country. Amen.