Oklahoma —
The Eastern Oklahoma Youth Services (EOYS) confirmed that juveniles housed in EOYS facilities are not restricted to only Christian reading material as a reward for good behavior.
A concerned community member reported that an official EOYS policy appeared to favor Christianity and the Christian bible over other religions. FFRF learned that juveniles housed in EOYS facilities were subject to restrictions on which reading materials and media they could access based on good behavior.
Per official EOYS materials provided to FFRF, juveniles who received a ‘C level’ score were permitted to only access “a bible or self-help book,” with the policy referring to the Christian bible.
“While it’s understandable that EOYS wants to promote self-help materials to juveniles, it’s constitutionally problematic to specify that the only religious text available to “C level” residents is the bible,” FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence wrote.
FFRF’s concerns were addressed by Executive Director Linda Shaw, who confirmed that the document displaying the policy was not official. “Residents are not limited to only reading bibles, they may read any type of religious material requested,” Shaw confirmed.
