Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters is issuing an ultimatum to any teachers who are thinking about resisting his mandate to teach the Bible in public schools.
As Newsweek reports, Walters recently made an appearance on Fox News in which he suggested that school administrators who didn't love his new Bible-teaching mandate should leave the state.
"I'm going to tell these woke administrators, if they're going to break the law and not teach it, they can go to California," he said. "Here in Oklahoma schools, we're going to make sure that history is taught."
According to local news station KGOU, at least 13 different districts are pushing back against Walters' order, which mandates every teacher must be in physical possession of "the Bible, the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Ten Commandments."
ALSO READ: 'Major moment in this race': Trump's 'horrible Jew' agreement sparks immediate uproar
The districts in question justify their defiance by pointing to state law that gives local school districts authority over all "instruction, curriculum, reading lists and instruction materials and textbooks" that their students receive.
Walters, however, insists that his plan is in the best interest of educating students.
"We want our kids here in Oklahoma to understand American history better than any in the country, and we're laying out a roadmap for every state to follow," he said.
However, the chances of any state following Oklahoma's education policies appear remote.
Earlier this year, Forbes conducting a review of standardized test scores across the United States and found that Oklahoma finished dead last.
"Oklahoma placed at the bottom of our ranking, with 26.83% of fourth graders demonstrating proficiency or higher in math, and 24.02% performing the same in reading," the publication notes. "NAEP performances declined through the eighth grade, falling by 5.55% and 2.74% in math and reading, respectively."
Walters has long courted controversy with his ambitions to bring religion back into American classrooms, and last year he vowed to force Oklahoma teachers to undergo "patriotic education" that was based on "Judeo-Christian values."
