Federal Judge Orders OSDE To Give Reasoning For Revoking Norman Teacher License

A federal judge is demanding answers from the Oklahoma State Department of Education after a former Norman teacher's license was revoked. 

Board members voted unanimously to revoke Summer Boismier’s teaching certification was pulled during the August board meeting. Boismier has not lived or taught in Oklahoma since she resigned from Norman Public Schools in 2022. 

Boismier first made headlines in August 2022 when she posted a QR code for banned books in her Norman High School English classroom. She was accused of violating House Bill 1775, the 2021 state law that prohibits teaches from making students feel discomfort on account of their race or sex. 

Shortly after the school began investigating the QR codes, Boismier resigned, saying in an 2022 interview, “Without explicit statements from the district that I was going to be protected, I was going to be defended, I didn’t feel comfortable going back into the classroom.” 

The Oklahoma State Board of Education launched an investigation into Boismier’s license, and a hearing officer ultimately recommended against the board revoking the license. State Superintendent Ryan Walters said he would be going against that recommendation. 

An agenda item to discuss Boismier’s license has been on State Board of Education meetings for months, but board members have not acted until the Aug. 22 meeting, where they unanimously voted to revoke the license. 

“When you have a teacher that broke the law, says she broke the law, says she will continue to break the law, that can't stand,” Walters said in August. “I want every parent to know they have the best teacher possible in their kids' classrooms, and unfortunately you have some that have broken the law, they have tried to push indoctrination on kids.” 

After that meeting, the Black Emergency Response Team (BERT) filed a lawsuit against the state, alleging that the “revocation hinged, in part, on a now-enjoined provision of (HB1775) implementing rules.” 

BERT, among a handful of other organizations, have filed a federal lawsuit against House Bill 1775, calling it unconstitutional. Almost three years after the law was passed, part of the law was blocked this summer. 

In June, a federal judge put a pause on sections of the law barring universities from teachings or orientations that “presents any form of race or sex stereotyping or a bias on the basis of race or sex.” 

The judge also halted two sections of the K-12 law discussing race, calling them “unconstitutionally vague,” in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th amendment. 

Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed an appeal against that ruling in the 10th circuit court of appeals in July, calling it complicated and nuanced. 

Superintendent Walters and state board members are given until Thursday to attach their response to the lawsuit, a copy of the revocation order for Summer Boismier, a copy of the relevant minutes of the Aug. 22, 2024 board meeting, and any other documents necessary for the court to consider the matter. 

“As the State Board made clear, Boismier lost her Oklahoma teaching certificate because she failed to uphold the standards we have for Oklahoma teachers. She and other left-wing radicals will stop at nothing to ignore parents and force porn into schools.” — OSDE spokesperson, Dan Isett 

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