Three days after Oklahoma’s state superintendent, Ryan Walters, directed every teacher in the state’s public schools to teach the Bible this summer, he walked onstage to a standing ovation.

“We’re incredibly proud to be the first state in the country to put the Bible back in the classrooms,” Walters told the crowd at Sheridan Church, a large evangelical congregation in Tulsa.

The church’s pastor, Jackson Lahmeyer, who leads the national network Pastors for Trump, also hailed the new rule. “We are seeing a miracle take place in our state,” he said, comparing Walters’ mandate to the end of Roe v. Wade. “Just know that in our books, you’re a hero, man.”

Walters said when he announced the directive that “immediate and strict compliance is expected” for the 2024-25 school year. But as schools open around Oklahoma this month, there’s little evidence that the Bible’s presence is any changed from last year, or the year before. No Bibles appear to have been purchased, and no curriculum changes have been announced.

Some teachers said they had received no additional guidance from their districts, no new materials and no indication that they should teach differently. Many administrators across the state have said publicly that they will not comply, or that they will not change their curricula; others have said only that they are still examining the new guidelines. Over the summer, at least eight of the state’s largest districts made public statements indicating they had no immediate plans to alter their curricula.

“Without a direct plan, nobody feels obligated to do anything,” especially spend taxpayers’ money on purchasing new supplies, said Stacey Woolley, the president of the school board in Tulsa, the state’s largest district. “It’s largely propaganda.”

Instead, Walters has become embroiled in an escalating series of public disputes and lawsuits over his leadership, including with members of his own party who accuse him of obstruction and secrecy.

Last week, Republicans in the state House of Representatives circulated a letter calling for an investigation into what it called Walters’ “rogue behavior,” including allegations that lawmakers were prevented from attending the state Board of Education’s executive session meetings. In response, Walters called for his own impeachment, saying the proceedings would bring clarity to Oklahomans and accusing his fellow Republicans of a politically motivated attack.

In an interview, Walters described the mandate to teach the Bible as clarifying existing rights and standards that he claimed were imperiled by “radical groups.” He said “an overwhelming majority” of districts were going to comply or were complying already with the Bible mandate.

“Now, are they all putting out a big press release over it? No,” he said. “But that’s what we’re hearing, that’s what we’re sensing.” He declined to name those districts, calling the conversations private, but said that public schools in Oklahoma City, the state’s second-largest district, had announced they would follow the guidelines.

The superintendent of Oklahoma City, Jamie Polk, sent a letter to families and staff members this month saying that the district will work with the state Department of Education to “understand and implement” the guidelines, but that teachers have been asked to continue with their current teaching plans using existing resources. “We will maintain absolute neutrality and objectivity in our instruction,” Polk’s letter said.

“We have not heard of one district saying publicly they’ll do what Superintendent Walters has said he’s mandating they do,” said Katherine Bishop, president of the Oklahoma Education Association, a teachers union that calls the edict unconstitutional.

Several districts have pointed out publicly that state law already allows the Bible to be included in classroom lessons, though it does not require it. State law also gives school districts the authority to choose their own instructional materials.

Without directly announcing they will defy Walters’ new guidance, some districts have simply — but pointedly — said they would continue to meet existing standards approved by the Legislature and their local school boards.

“It is already permissible to teach objectively and accurately about the role of the Bible in the history of the United States and other countries,” a spokesperson for Broken Arrow Public Schools, Tara Thompson, said in a statement. “The district will continue to comply with the Oklahoma Academic Standards while also fostering a safe, respectful learning environment for all students and all staff members.”

Walters’ directive that every classroom in the state contain a copy of the Bible and every teacher teach from it came as a surprise to school districts, boards and educators across Oklahoma in June. Many immediately questioned its constitutionality. But the move also cemented Walters’ status as a darling in politically conservative Christian circles across the country.

The mandate comes amid a broader push by conservative groups to bring religion into classrooms, through entryways such as displays of the Ten Commandments and the hiring of chaplains as public school employees. Walters has also backed an effort to create the nation’s first religious charter school in Oklahoma.

Walters, a former high school history teacher, has called the separation of church and state a “radical myth.” On a visit to an elementary school in February, he bowed his head to pray before reading a book to the students. “God, I want you to please be with the state of Israel, our country, our nation, our state and our schools,” he said.

He is also a rising star in the orbit of former President Donald Trump. Trump praised his appearance on Fox News in June, when Walters defended Louisiana’s recent move to require public school classrooms in the state to display the Ten Commandments. “Strong, decisive, and knows his ‘stuff,’ ” the candidate wrote in a post on Truth Social. “I LOVE OKLAHOMA!”

In July, the state Department of Education issued additional guidance on teaching the Bible, ordering teachers of grades 5 to 12 to teach “only its historical, literary and secular benefits,” and breaking down how instructors should incorporate lessons on its historical context, literary significance and influences on arts and music.

Asked if he expected copies of the Bible to be available in math and science classrooms, which were not mentioned in the guidelines, Walters said, “We’re saying it needs to be in every classroom.”

Kelli Rogers, a veteran math and science teacher in the state, said she had made no moves to incorporate the Bible into her classroom.

As a regular churchgoer, she said she found it odd that Walters’ supporters were “very interested in having people they don’t know teach the Bible.”

Rogers, like other teachers interviewed for this article, did not want her school district named because she feared retribution from Walters. The superintendent has said the state could revoke the accreditations or certifications of teachers and districts who do not comply.