Banned book lesson thrusts Oklahoma teacher into campaign

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) – A high school English teacher from Norman, Oklahoma, intended to spark a discussion in her classroom when she covered her bookshelves with butcher paper and a sign that read: “Books the state doesn’t want you to read.“

Instead, Summer Boismier found herself out of a job and at the center of a political firestorm. The Republican candidate for state superintendent even called for Boismier’s teaching license to be suspended.

She and other teachers have found themselves at the center of a renewed conservative interest in public education as a political issue.

The movement has broadened, with some people focusing on issues they say clash with conservative values such as teaching about social justice, gender, race and history.