Former teacher and employee sue State Superintendent Ryan Walters

Walters now named defendant in
seven lawsuits.
A former Norman Public Schools teach-
er and a former Oklahoma State Depart-
ment of Education employee have sued
State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Ryan Walters, alleging defamation and
wrongful and retaliatory termination.
On Aug. 30, Summer Boismier, a for-
mer high school English teacher at Nor-
man Public Schools, sued Walters for pro-
moting “false or misleading statements”
and “false criminal allegations” in August
2022 during his state superintendent cam-
paign. In two letters posted on his Twitter
(now known as X) account, Walters asked
the Department of Education to immedi-
ately revoke Boismier’s teaching certifi-
cation, accused her of “sexualizing” her
classroom by “providing access to banned
and pornographic material to students,”
and stated that “[t]here is no place for a
teacher with a liberal political agenda in
the classroom.”
Walters’ statements came after Boismi-
er shared a QR code with her students that
would allow them to access free e-books
from Brooklyn Public Library’s Books
Unbanned initiative. Boismier states that
she was motivated to make this QR code
available in her classroom in response to
HB 1775, the state law which, among oth-
er things, prohibits classroom and educa-
tional material regarding race or sex that
could make individuals “feel discomfort,
guilt, anguish or any other form of psy-
chological distress.” In a prior statement
to Fox 25 News, Boismier characterized
HB 1775 as a “widespread censorship”
law that “has created an impossible work-
ing environment for teachers and a devas-
tating learning environment for students.”
After sharing the QR code, Boismier
stated that NPS placed her on temporary
leave (although NPS denies this claim)
and that NPS offered her job back. How-
ever, Boismier chose to resign on account
of “fundamental ideological differences”
between herself, her school district and
state leaders.
Following the posting of Walters’ let-
ters, Boismier “received numerous threat-
ening messages and harassment that
referenced [his] allegations.” Her home
address was soon publicized, and she was
forced to flee the state “due to the threat of
violence against her.”
At no point did Boismier distribute
“pornographic material,” nor did she cir-
culate literature that could be perceived
as prohibited under HB 1775. In response
to Walters’ claims to the contrary, Bois-
mier is suing him for defamation, false
representation, slander and libel, and is
requesting a minimum of $75,000 in dam-
ages.
Two days after Boismier filed her law-
suit, Janessa Bointy sued Walters for
wrongful and retaliatory termination.
Bointy, a former school counselor special-
ist at the Oklahoma State Department of
Education, was fired from her position on
March 9 for allegedly violating the De-
partment of Education’s media policy and
her confidentiality agreement.
Three days prior to her termination,
Bointy attended and spoke at a school
board meeting for Edmund Public
Schools, where her four children are en-
rolled, to express her concerns following
a student’s attempted suicide and subse-
quent passing. At the meeting, Bointy
“spoke for approximately two minutes
on child and adolescent mental health,
including the importance of providing
mental health resources to students, the
availability of such resources, and ideas
for implementation.”
The board meeting’s comment section
is a public forum during which Bointy
spoke as a concerned parent and not as
a state representative, and while FOX 25
News aired some of her comments, she
“did not interview with the news channel,
and was unaware of any news presence
when making her comments.” Neverthe-
less, the Department of Education, led by
Walters, cited her remarks as a basis for
her termination.
In her lawsuit, Bointy accuses the
Department of Education of retaliating
against speech protected under the First
Amendment and requests a minimum of
$10,000 in damages. When she announced
her intent to sue earlier this summer,
Bointy stated, “I knew that what happened
to me wasn’t right. I feel I’ve done noth-
ing wrong. I was a concerned parent, and
I spoke up to share information and re-
sources to my children’s school district.”
In response, Department of Education
Spokesperson Justin Holcomb described
Bointy as a “political activist” who has
“no business being funded by Oklahoma
taxpayers.”
In light of Boismier’s and Bointy’s law-
suits, Walters, who took office in January
2023, is now a named defendant in a to-
tal of seven lawsuits. The other five law-
suits include two additional cases alleging
wrongful and retaliatory termination, a
case regarding the state’s alleged failure
to enforce Title IX, a constitutional chal-
lenge to the public funding of St. Isidore
of Seville, a religious charter school and a
constitutional challenge to HB 1775.