‼️NORMAN BOOK BAN- A close source tells me an English teacher has already been removed at Norman High for providing students a qr code link to the Brooklyn Library and informing them there are free e-books there. This caused further fallout among other teachers in the district...
NPS, like many districts, is also making teachers review their classroom libraries and remove any titles that don’t have 2 research articles demonstrating their value. Teachers were given virtually no time to accomplish this so students returned to classes with empty bookshelves.
All of this comes as staff members tell me they are still reeling from the firing of a teacher over the summer. They tell me the district is "extremely retaliatory." @OKCFOX will be following up with district officials asap.
normantranscript.com/news/nps-board…
I’m told it was sharing this resource that sparked recent action against the Norman High English teacher: Brooklyn Public Library is offering any American teen unlimited digital + audio access to banned + challenged books. Called Books UnBanned. @OKCFOX bklynlibrary.org/books-unbanned
🚨UPDATE 🧵 I just spoke with the Norman High English teacher. She confirms she shared the library QR code. “Immediately after I was removed from my position and placed on leave. Teachers across the district have been told by administration …”
(Continued below 👇) @OKCFOX
“to either remove or restrict student access to classroom library texts for fear of a potential accreditation downgrade associated with any perceived violations of HB 1775.…” (continued 👇)
This teacher, now pulled from her a Norman High classroom, finished her comments- “Let me be absolutely clear: I place the primary responsibility for this chilling of free speech and free association at the feet of Ryan Walters, Governor Stitt, and their ilk at 23rd & Lincoln.”
NEW🌟 Many of you have reached out asking how to best support this teacher. I’ve spoken with her again. Here’s what I know- she has NOT been in contact with @ACLUOK. She IS a member of a teacher’s association, meaning she does have access to legal rep. She meets today with NPS.
In the meantime, she’s asking anyone who wants to help to donate to @ACLUOK as they are among those leading the fight against HB 1775, Oklahoma’s “anti CRT law.”
acluok.org
UPDATE- Here are copies of both the Norman district’s existing policy and the new form teachers were given to sign 1 day before school began. (The annotations are hers.) Many teachers told me signing the form made them worried about accepting personal liability. @OKCFOX
Lots of you are asking for the QR code. Here you go!
❗️JUST IN- Norman schools gave us this statement and said they have not yet taken action against the teacher. They were waiting to hear her side of the story during a meeting with her today. @OKCFOX
To be clear- this statement from NPS contradicts what we have learned from this teacher, her colleagues and several parents. The teacher was pulled after day 1 and told she was “on leave.” For whatever reason, the district is not calling this a “suspension.” @OKCFOX
⭐️NEW REACTION from Megan Lambert, ACLU of Oklahoma Legal Director: “….HB1775 will continue to impact the integrity of Oklahoma’s education system for years to come. Every young person should be able to read and learn about the history and viewpoints of all communities.” @OKCFOX
We hope to learn more after the district’s meeting with the teacher later today. We will update our web story here ⬇️ @OKCFOX
okcfox.com/news/local/nor…
🚨NORMAN TEACHER RESIGNS- Following her meeting with administrators today, she tells @OKCFOX “I will say that the district did offer me back my job, allowing me back in the classroom as of tomorrow morning. However….” (Continued ⬇️)
“There were some fundamental ideological differences between myself and district representatives that I just couldn’t get past. HB 1775 has created an impossible working environment for teachers and a devastating learning environment for students…” @OKCFOX (continued ⬇️)
The resigning teacher tells @OKCFOX, “For the 2nd year in a row, students at Norman High will be without a certified English teacher for a substantial amount of time. The fault for that lies with Governor Stitt and Republican state leadership.”
JUST IN- We just got an updated statement from Norman Public Schools that says, “… As educators it is our goal to teach students to think critically, not to tell them what to think. We addressed the issue and expected the teacher to return to class as normal Wednesday.” @OKCFOX
Good morning to those following along. This article by @pbmelendez adds some more details to the Norman Schools “book ban” saga. thedailybeast.com/summer-boismie…
"I knew it was a matter of time." I'm sitting down with the teacher at the center of the Norman Schools "book ban" controversy. I'll have a portion of my conversation with Summer Boismier at 5pm and the full story at 9 on @OKCFOX.
FORMER TEACHER: "No regrets. Would do it again," following CRT controversy. @OKCFOX okcfox.com/news/local/sum…
Now some Norman parents are speaking out against book banning and how Boismier was treated.
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