OKLAHOMA CITY — A former Norman teacher accused of being too liberal to teach in Oklahoma could have her teaching license revoked in two months.

The Oklahoma State Board of Education agreed on Thursday to have a hearing to decide the state’s revocation case against Summer Boismier during its monthly meeting March 28.

That meeting will take place nine months after the state first held a revocation hearing against her. A judge who presided over the June hearing decided state officials failed to prove Boismier deserves to have her teaching license taken away.

State Superintendent Ryan Walters said Thursday he will encourage the board to revoke her license anyway. He called Boismier a “social justice warrior” who was “trying to literally turn kids over into being leftists rather than just good, academically sound students.”

“It’s about as open and shut a case as you have,” Walters said. “And frankly it’s been a very clear example of in Oklahoma we’re not going to allow that.”

Boismier and her attorney did not return requests for comment Thursday.

She resigned from Norman High School in August 2022 over her qualms with House Bill 1775, which prohibits certain race and gender topics from being discussed in classrooms. In response to the law, Norman Public Schools had instructed teachers to remove the books they kept in their classrooms until they could review each one for age-appropriate content. 

Before she quit, the former English teacher posted a QR code in her classroom that linked to the Brooklyn Public Library’s online catalog of banned books.

Boismier has maintained she never recommended any particular title from the library collection. She said she shared the QR code to stand against censorship.

Walters, who was a candidate running for office at the time, accused Boismier of having a liberal agenda and said she should never be allowed to teach in the state again.

Her case differs dramatically from most teachers at risk of revocation. 

The state Board of Education suspended seven teacher certificates on Thursday and scheduled revocation proceedings for seven others. Several had been charged with sex crimes against minors. Others reportedly had been found publicly intoxicated with drugs or alcohol. One pleaded guilty to causing a fatal accident while driving under the influence.

Boismier no longer lives and works in Oklahoma. She moved to New York City and accepted a job with the Brooklyn Public Library.

She sued Walters in Oklahoma City federal court last year. Her lawsuit contends Walters made slanderous and libelous statements when he accused her of sharing pornography with students and when he falsely claimed she was fired from Norman schools. She is seeking $75,000 or more in damages.

Her attorney, Brady Henderson, has said he would file a separate legal challenge to her revocation, should the state board go through with it.

Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: [email protected]. Follow Oklahoma Voice on Facebook and Twitter.