The Americans for the Separation of Church and State and the American Civil Liberties Union have claimed that Oklahoma’s recent state mandate to teach the Bible in schools is unconstitutional.

Both organizations have filed a lawsuit on behalf of parents, teachers and pastors, claiming the mandate violates Oklahoma’s public funding laws in their state constitution.

As previously reported by the Daily Citizen, Oklahoma superintendent Ryan Walters sent a directive to all public schools requiring them to use the Bible as an instructional component in the classroom.

In a press conference, Walters stressed the importance of the Bible as “a necessary historical document to teach our kids about the history of this country, to have a complete understanding of Western Civilization, to have an understanding of the basis of our legal system” and as one of the foundational documents in American history.

In the lawsuit, opponents argue that the state’s action violates the state constitution because they plan to use public money to buy Protestant Bibles which they allege favors one religion over another.

They also contend that the state doesn’t have the authority to require the use of the Bible as instructional material.

Oklahoma law already permits the Bible to be used as an instructional resource in classrooms. The new directive, however, would require public schools to do so.

According to major news outlets, defense sources suggest President-elect Donald Trump will issue an executive order banning “transgender” troops. The order is expected shortly after Trump is sworn into office January.

Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt tempered expectations, telling Newsweek, “No decisions on this issue have been made. No policy should ever be deemed official unless it comes directly from President Trump or his authorized spokespeople.”

During his first administration, the 45th president enacted a similar policy, but allowed other sexually confused military personnel to remain in their positions.

Sources suggest this latest order will be wider reaching, impacting upwards of 15,000 individuals.

President Biden previously reversed the first Trump ban just days after taking office in 2021. During his latest campaign for president, Donald Trump made clear his intentions on the issue, lamenting the evolving wokeness of our armed forces:

“I will ban the Department of Veterans Affairs from wasting a single cent to fund transgender surgeries or sex change procedures,” President-elect Trump said.

“Those precious taxpayer dollars should be going to care for our veterans in need, not to fund radical gender experiments for the communist Left.”

He added, saying, “I’ll also restore the Trump ban on transgender in the military.”

North Carolina’s General Assembly voted to overturn Governor Roy Cooper’s veto of legislation increasing funding for the state’s Opportunity Scholarship Program.

The measure, HB 10, adjusted the state budget, increasing funding for the program from $191.5 million for the 2024-2025 school year to $625 million for the 2025-2026 school year, growing the program to $800 million over the next seven years.

Opportunity scholarships are available for K-12 students attending private schools.

North Carolina Family Policy Council commented on the move to increase educational freedom:

“This provision will help give more families who want to participate in education freedom the financial means to choose the educational environment that best meets the needs of their children.

“NC Family is one of a number of organizations that strongly advocated for the passage of this important legislation, and we are grateful that the North Carolina General Assembly took the initiative to override Governor Cooper’s veto of HB 10.”

The scholarship program now offers opportunities for all students in the state, with scholarship allocations based on family size and income. Scholarships range from $3,360 for higher income families to $7,468 for families with lower income and families with more children.

The American Psychological Association (APA) published its first “Recommendations for Healthy Teen Video Viewing” this month, a resource to help parents protect their kids from inappropriate online content.

Parents certainly need all the help they can get.

Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt estimates American teenagers spend, on average, five hours per day on social media.

Research links excessive screentime to negative physical and mental health consequences including increased depression and anxiety, poor body image, low self-esteem, poor sleep, suicidal ideation and lower life satisfaction.

But the APA isn’t a neutral organization.

It embraces gender ideology and identity politics in ways that frequently lead parents astray.

In particular, APA encourages parents to “affirm” children’s gender confusion, up to and including subjecting them to dangerous transgender medical interventions.

APA’s bias bleeds into its “Recommendations for Health Teen Video Viewing,” but the resource isn’t entirely devoid of helpful tips. Here’s what parents should take away, and what they should disregard.

Throwaways
The resource gets the following points wrong.

Don’t teach your kids to rely exclusively on “experts.”