The Department of Education is, again, trying to spend public money on Bible lessons, Oklahoma Watch recently reported.

Last week, the agency issued a request for proposals for materials that will integrate the Bible and character education into elementary school social studies.

This vendor search is separate from the effort to buy 55,000 King James Bibles, which was canceled but which Superintendent Ryan Walters has vowed to reissue.

Here are three things to know.

• The request could violate the state constitution, which prohibits public money from being spent for religious purposes. The attorneys working on the Bible lawsuit plan to ask the judge to halt this RFP, too, said Colleen Mc-Carty with Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law & Justice.

• A recent Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling reaffirmed that library books are an issue of local control and up to school districts. Similarly, the authority to choose textbooks and supplemental materials is held by local school districts.

• The materials, according to the request, are to align with the state’s social studies standards. Those standards are under revision and haven’t yet been approved. The Board of Education is set to consider approval at its next meeting on Thursday.

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