{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-11-103.11","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 70, § 70-11-103.11","heading":"Elective course offering on Old and New Testament","body":"A. A school district may offer to students in grade nine or\n\nabove:\n\n1. An elective course on the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament)\n\nand its impact and an elective course on the New Testament and its\n\nimpact; or\n\n2. An elective course that combines the courses described in\n\nparagraph 1 of this subsection.\n\nB. The purposes of courses authorized by this section are to:\n\n1. Teach students knowledge of biblical content, characters,\n\npoetry, and narratives that are prerequisites to understanding\n\ncontemporary society and culture, including literature, art, music,\n\nmores, oratory, and public policy; and\n\n2. Familiarize students with, as applicable:\n\na. the contents of the Hebrew Scriptures or New\n\nTestament,\n\nb. the history of the Hebrew Scriptures or New Testament,\n\nc. the literary style and structure of the Hebrew\n\nScriptures or New Testament, and\n\nd. the influence of the Hebrew Scriptures or New\n\nTestament on law, history, government, literature,\n\nart, music, customs, morals, values, and culture.\n\nC. The Bible shall be the primary text of the course and may be\n\nsupplemented with additional resources. The primary text for the\n\ncourse will be a parallel translation Bible or multi-translation\n\nBible that uses more than one translation for side-by-side\n\ncomparison chosen by the school district. However, a student may\n\nnot be required to use a specific translation as the sole text of\n\nthe Hebrew Scriptures or New Testament and may use as the basic\n\ntextbook a different translation of the Hebrew Scriptures or New\n\nTestament from that chosen by the district board of education or the\n\nstudent’s teacher.\n\nD. A course offered pursuant to this section shall follow\n\napplicable law and all federal and state guidelines in maintaining\n\nreligious neutrality and accommodating the diverse religious views,\n\ntraditions, and perspectives of students in the school district. A\n\ncourse offered pursuant to this section shall not endorse, favor, or\n\npromote, or disfavor or show hostility toward, any particular\n\nreligion or nonreligious faith or religious perspective. Nothing in\n\nthis section is intended to violate any provision of the United\n\nStates Constitution or federal law, the Oklahoma Constitution or any\n\nstate law, or any rules or guidelines provided by the United States\n\nDepartment of Education or the State Department of Education.\n\nE. A teacher of a course offered pursuant to this section must\n\nbe certified to teach social studies or literature.","path":["OK Code","Title 70"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os70.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"864ef185705d95e1106adf200b42d15ffe64631e4c8572f95bcb518234576bc2","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-11-103.10","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-11-103.12"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}