, The New York Times ; She Fought a Book Ban. She May Never Teach Again.
Summer Boismier, a high school English teacher in Oklahoma, lost her teaching license after she protested a book ban. Now she is fighting to return to the classroom.
"When Oklahoma passed laws that pressured teachers to remove books on race, gender and sexuality from their classrooms, she refused. Other teachers resisted, too — but Ms. Boismier did so loudly. She plastered her 10th-grade English classroom with signs of protest, posted to social media and advised her students on how they could find books online. Eventually she resigned.
She knew that in her conservative state she would be criticized, but the reaction was much more severe than she expected. And in 2024, the state took away Ms. Boismier’s teaching license.
It was an extraordinary punishment. More than 20 states, including Oklahoma, have passed laws over the past five years restricting the curriculum around race, gender, sexuality and American history. Hundreds of teachers have faced discipline or lost their jobs as a result of these laws. But Ms. Boismier is perhaps the only one whose certification has been fully revoked."
