State superintendent Ryan Walters reportedly wants the clip played in schools as part of the state’s plans to incorporate religion into education
A top education official in Oklahoma has released a video of himself praying for President-elect Donald Trump, which he reportedly wants to be played in schools.
In the recent clip shared on the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s YouTube page, the state’s superintendent, Ryan Walters, insisted officials wanted students to be “patriotic” as he revealed plans to incorporate religion into education in the state by announcing the Department of Religious Freedom and Patriotism.
“I will now say a prayer, and to be clear students you don’t have to join. But, if you so wish, I’m gonna go ahead and pray,” Walters said in the video.
“Dear God, thank you for all the blessings you’ve given our country. I pray for our leaders to make the right decisions,” he added.
Walters continued, “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,” he said in the clip.
In an interview with CNN’s Pam Brown, Walters mentioned Trump “has a clear mandate” and that he “wants prayer back in school.”
Per The Oklahoman, public school superintendents received an email on Thursday, Nov. 14, telling them to show Walters’ video to students.
The Office of the Oklahoma Attorney General said in a statement to PEOPLE: “There is no statutory authority for the state schools superintendent to require all students to watch a specific video.”
“Not only is this edict unenforceable, it is contrary to parents’ rights, local control and individual free-exercise rights,” their message added.
PEOPLE also reached out to Oklahoma State Department of Education spokesperson Dan Isett, but he did not immediately respond.
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Isett said, per the Oklahoma Voice, “Supt. Walters is ending the ongoing attacks on President Donald Trump and his agenda to get prayer back in schools.”
According to The Oklahoman, multiple school districts have said they have no intention of showing the video.
Per CNN, Walters is requiring that schools in the state include the Bible in lesson plans for students in grades five through 12. Parents and teachers are among those who have since filed a lawsuit with the Oklahoma Supreme Court, asking judges to deem the Bible Education Mandate “invalid” and “unenforceable,” per documents published last month by Fox News.
Walters first announced the inclusion of the Bible in the school curriculum in June.
Source people.com
