TULSA — The request for proposals issued by the Oklahoma State Department of Education in an attempt to acquire Bibles for classrooms has quietly been withdrawn.
The RFP no longer appears on the OSDE website.
Spokesman Dan Isset told Oklahoma Watch that a new RFP would be forthcoming.
The original request included a number of specific requirements, e.g. that the Bibles be leather bound copies of the Old King James Version and include the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Pledge of Allegiance - all non-Biblical documents.
Critics pointed out that the oddly specific requirements seemed to limit the choice of vendors to one in particular - endorsed by President-elect Trump.
Those, according to the Associated Press, are manufactured in China at a cost of about $3 a copy, and are then sold for $60 in the U.S.
No word on when a new RFP for Bibles may get issued.
State Superintendent Ryan Walters continues to insist on his so-called Bible mandate, which would require that all teachers in public schools grades 5-12 use the Bible as a textbook.
A number of the state’s largest districts have essentially ignored the mandate, citing both state and federal law, though Walters has threatened to fire teachers who refuse to comply.
The issue has generated lawsuits, which some predict may end up in the U.S. Supreme Court.