news

A directive sent by Republican state Superintendent Ryan Walters said adherence to the rule was compulsory, requiring "immediate and strict compliance".

The rule will apply to lessons for all public school students aged from around 11-18.

It comes a week after Louisiana's governor signed a law directing all public schools in that state to display the Ten Commandments.

In a statement on Thursday, Mr Walters described the Bible as "an indispensable historical and cultural touchstone".

"Without basic knowledge of it, Oklahoma students are unable to properly contextualize the foundation of our nation, which is why Oklahoma educational standards provide for its instruction," he added.

Mr Walters, a former public school history teacher, was elected to his post in 2022 after campaigning on a platform of combating "woke ideology" and eliminating "radical leftists" from Oklahoma's education system.

His announcement, which covers grades five to 12, drew criticism from civil rights organisations and groups that advocate for a strict separation of church and state.

"Public schools are not Sunday schools," Rachel Laser, head of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said in a statement quoted by AP news agency.

"This is textbook Christian Nationalism: Walters is abusing the power of his public office to impose his religious beliefs on everyone else's children. Not on our watch," she added.

Mr Walters has previously argued that secularists in the US have created a state religion out of atheism, by driving faith away from the public square.

In an op-ed last year for Fox News, he wrote that US President Joe Biden and the teacher unions had supplanted biblical values with "woke, anti-education values that tell students that they should treat their classmates differently depending on their race and sex and that they should be taught graphic sexual content at a young of an age as possible".

The Oklahoma superintendent's directive comes a week after Louisiana ordered every public school classroom in the state to display a poster of the Ten Commandments.

The Republican-backed measure was the first of its kind in the US, and governs all classrooms up to university level.

Days later, nine families in the state sued Louisiana, marking the start of what some expect will be a protracted legal battle.

The complaint, backed by civil rights groups, argues that such a display violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion, and that the display "pressures" students into adopting the state's favoured religion.

There have previously been legal battles over the display of the Ten Commandments in public buildings, including in courts, police stations and schools.

In 1980, in the case Stone v Graham, the Supreme Court struck down a Kentucky law requiring that the document be displayed in elementary and high schools. This precedent has been cited by groups contesting the Louisiana law.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court said the requirement "had no secular legislative purpose" and was "plainly religious in nature" - noting that the commandments made references to worshipping God.

Richard Cuevas claimed he witnessed substandard manufacturing and maintenance work on a crucial section of Boeing 787 aircraft.

Boeing, which has been dogged by questions over whether its safety culture is rigorous enough, said the issues had been investigated and "did not present a safety concern".

Lawyers representing Mr Cuevas alleged he reported critical issues that could create a serious public safety risk and has filed complaints with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration.

Mr Cuevas, who has worked in the aviation industry for 40 years, was contracted to Spirit Aerosystems, to work on Boeing's 787 forward pressure bulkhead, a dome at the nose of the aircraft which serves as a barrier.

“He recognised the substandard work and expressed concern," Mr Cuevas' lawyers said. "But Spirit and Boeing failed to stop the faulty manufacturing processes."

According to the legal filings a colleague then remarked: “We’ve got a snitch among us.”

Mr Cuevas said he was sacked by Spirit Aerosystems in March 2024.

Boeing told the BBC: “A subcontractor’s employee previously reported concerns to us that we thoroughly investigated, as we take seriously any safety-related matter."

However, the issues raised were found not to present a safety concern and had been addressed, Boeing said.

Spirit Aerosystems spokesperson Joe Buccino, said the firm was "looking into the matter".

"We encourage all Spirit employees with concerns to come forward, safe in knowing they will be protected,” he said.

Mr Cuevas' lawyers Debra Katz and Lisa Banks have previously represented another Boeing whistleblower, Sam Salehpour, who earlier this year told US Congress he had been harassed and threatened after he alleged there were quality problems at Boeing.

Mr Salehpour's concerns were also focused on production of the Boeing 787 model.

That is a different model to the 737 Max which was involved in mid-air cabin blow out in January.

That incident prompted heightened scrutiny of Boeing's safety standards.

In April, Boeing said that it had seen a sharp increase in employees speaking up after it gave assurances there would be no retaliation for doing so.

Boeing said that signalled progress towards "a robust reporting culture".

"We continue to put safety and quality above all else and share information transparently with our regulator, customers and other stakeholders," the company said.