On Thursday, State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced the purchase of more than 500 Bibles for use in Advanced Placement (AP) classrooms.

This purchase is “the first in the nation to purchase a Bible explicitly intended for use in schools as an academic and literary resource and is the first step toward providing Bibles for every classroom in the state,” according to a press release from Walters.

In a statement, Walters said:

“We are focused on ensuring that we get Bibles into every classroom in our state as quickly as possible…I will take every step possible to ensure that Oklahoma students have the resources they need to enter America’s fully understand history. By acting now, Oklahoma is leading the nation on a path toward a greater focus on academic excellence by providing our students with critical historical, cultural, and literary context. We are not going to change our history, and the Bible is an important part of that.”

This purchase is separate from a larger purchase outlined in an upcoming Request for Proposal (RFP) from OSDE, which will provide Bibles as well as the Pledge of Allegiance, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution for every classroom . Oklahoma.