Children's Books discussion
Banned Books: discussions, lists
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Discussion of censorship, equity, and other concerns.
ColoradoJefferson County school librarians are trying to repeal a policy in the district that gives “district personnel” equal authority in selecting books for the libraries as their trained and educated librarians.
https://coloradocommunitymedia.com/20...
Jeffco librarians claim policy rollback opened door to censorship
Policy rollback and opaque decisions spur Jeffco librarians to seek clarity
Tiffany LoSasso stood before the Jefferson County school board flanked by fellow Digital Teacher Librarians from across the district. The Mandalay Middle School librarian delivered a carefully sourced, deeply personal plea: restore transparency and professional oversight to how Jeffco handles school library books.
“We implore you to make these changes as soon as possible,” LoSasso said, referencing the recent passage of Senate Bill 25-063, which requires Colorado school districts to adopt clear procedures for the acquisition, removal and review of library materials by Sept. 1.
LoSasso, who testified in favor of the bill before the Colorado Senate Education Committee in February earlier this year, said she now feels misled.
“I told lawmakers that Jeffco already had strong, protective policies in place,” she said. “But I didn’t know they had been removed. I felt betrayed.”
Jeffco once had such a policy, LoSasso explained. Known as IJL, it required the formation of trained review committees and offered clear protection for DTLs and the materials they managed.
But in June 2023, during a period without a district-level library coordinator, IJL was repealed and replaced with a more generic policy, IJ.
The new version contains just one sentence referencing library materials: “The teacher librarian, along with district personnel, have shared authority for selecting and eliminating library materials.”
LoSasso and other librarians said they were never informed of the change, and only discovered it recently when their decisions were overruled without explanation.
“We didn’t know the change had been made. We didn’t know that we had lost so much,” LoSasso said.
The turning point came in January 2024, when they were asked to remove a popular manga series, Assassination Classroom. Manga is a style of Japanese comics and graphic novels.
A district book review committee, following Jeffco’s existing procedures, determined the series should only be available in high schools. But shortly after the committee’s decision, all librarians with the title in their collections received a district directive to remove it entirely, citing an undisclosed decision by a “district leadership team.”
“We were told it was not appropriate for any Jeffco school, which directly contradicted the committee’s recommendation,” LoSasso said. “The rationale given referenced the district’s tragic history with Columbine, which made no sense to me given the book’s premise.”
LoSasso said the book is a science fiction story in which a powerful alien becomes a junior high school teacher and challenges his students to assassinate him before he destroys the Earth.
Tara Degelmann, Jeffco’s Library Services Coordinator, in an email to the board, said the book was removed districtwide because it depicts students attacking and attempting to kill a teacher, which she described as fundamentally inappropriate for a school library collection, regardless of the book’s fictional and fantastical framing.
When LoSasso and others questioned the reversal, they received identical, copy-and-pasted responses. DTLs serving on the review committee were not consulted.
Then, in October 2024, principals at multiple schools were reportedly directed by district administrators to remove additional books without following Jeffco’s published challenge process.
Emails posted as evidence online after LoSasso gave public comment showed they received an email from the Degelmann stating that they were to ‘spend the next day reviewing their library catalogs for books with controversial topics’ and that the provided list of flagged keywords, such as p---graphy, violence and cruelty, ‘should not be printed or shared.’
LoSasso said the exercise ignored standard weeding criteria, such as condition, age and circulation data.
“It felt like censorship,” LoSasso said.
In February, a group of secondary DTLs wrote to Superintendent Tracy Dorland, Deputy Superintendent Kym LeBlanc-Esparza and Chief Academic Officer Renee Nicothodes to raise concerns.
They received no reply. A later meeting arranged through the teachers’ union resulted in a promise of follow-up that never came, according to LoSasso.
In a message to the board, Nicothodes said that district leaders recognize the concerns raised by DTLs and emphasized that Jeffco remains committed to continually improving its library policies.
She encouraged collaboration and professional dialogue moving forward, but did not directly respond to specific complaints about previous removals or communication gaps.
LoSasso added that no one from the district or board has contacted her since she spoke at the May 29 meeting.
“That silence is disappointing. We are putting ourselves out there to help, and we’ve been met with silence.”
Board pledges review; district defends process
In response to LoSasso’s public comment, board members acknowledged the confusion at their next meeting and expressed a desire to involve DTLs in future policy revisions.
Board Member Erin Kenworthy said she had already reached out to some librarians and urged a collaborative approach.
“They are the experts and I think we need to value their professional input,” she said.
Board members Paula Reed and Mary Parker also voiced concern about how the policy change was handled and whether DTLs had been given adequate notice or opportunity to contribute.
Degelmann told the board that the district’s current policy acknowledges the importance of collaboration between teacher librarians and district personnel, but stated that she believes several aspects of LoSasso’s public comment were inaccurate or lacked context.
For example, she stated that the October 2024 email, which asked librarians to review catalog entries, was intended as a voluntary resource audit aligned with guidance from national organizations, not a directive to censor books.
Degelmann also emphasized that district leaders have not removed books arbitrarily and that formal review processes remain available to staff. She said district staff plan to work with the school board and review guidance from the Colorado Association of School Boards to ensure alignment with state law.
“We are confident that Jeffco Public Schools has a strong process in place for the selection and review of library materials,” Degelmann said.
In the meantime, LoSasso said they are operating without clear guardrails and with fear that student access to books could be subject to behind-the-scenes decisions without due process.
“We are the experts on what is appropriate for our students and our communities,” LoSasso told the board. “Please let us do our jobs.”
Kelly Jensen of BookRiot reports:"The latest from Christian County Library District (Missouri), which right-wing extremists have taken over. They’ve burned through not one, but two, interim executive directors in a couple of months."
https://sgfcitizen.org/government/chr...
Elizabeth Dudash-Buskirk, president and founder of the grassroots organization U-Turn in Education, sat with volunteer Joanne Philips outside the Christian County Library District’s Nixa Branch on the evening of June 16.
Earlier in the day, the district’s Board of Trustees announced that interim executive director Tory Pegram would depart from her position at the library. Dudash-Buskirk and Philips held signs displaying the messages “Libraries are for everyone” and “We love our librarians.”
A young mother, walking to her vehicle with children in tow, stopped to ask Philips and Dudash-Buskirk if there had been a recent development in what has been a tumultuous two years for the library’s Board of Trustees. The women shared the dates and times of the upcoming County Commission meeting — June 19 at 9:30 a.m. in Ozark’s Historic Courthouse — and the next library board meeting, which will take place on June 24 at 6 p.m. in the Nixa Branch library.
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KSMU reported that Pegram, who previously worked as the district’s director of development and strategic partnerships, had been fired. The Board of Trustees, per its bylaws, has the authority to hire, evaluate and terminate the district’s executive director. Pegram declined to comment on her departure at this time.
Ongoing controversy about the materials in the Christian County Library District has put public scrutiny on the district’s staff. The previous executive director, Renee Brumett, resigned in January. Two people have served as interim director since Brumett’s resignation. Dana Roberts, who initially stepped in as interim director, resigned in March, handing the reins to Pegram.
A new executive director, Will Blydenburgh, is expected take the helm of the Christian County Library District on July 14, according to the Board of Trustees’ statement. Blydenburgh most recently worked as the principal librarian of Northwest Regional Library in Lee County, Florida. He will determine the library’s next course of direction in several areas, including a strategic plan for the district’s growth over the coming years.
Dudash-Buskirk explained that she decided to come to the library and hold a sign in support of the library’s staff after she learned Pegram had been terminated.
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Philips, who routinely attends library board meetings along with Dudash-Buskirk, expressed her frustration with the Board of Trustees’ actions over the past several months.
“What makes this country actually great is the ability to have discussion, to have discourse, to have give and take and come to an agreement or a compromise. The problem here is that there is no compromise, and that’s fairly evident right now,” Philips said.
When controversy around the Christian County Library District’s materials first boiled over in 2023, the public submitted requests for reconsideration of 20 different library materials. Of the materials in question, 16 contained LGBTQ+ characters and 13 of the requests specified objections with the LGBTQ+ themes. The Board of Trustees subsequently considered developing a system to label books shelved in the children’s and young adults’ sections.
Brummett rejected this proposal. She noted that it would require district staff members to review 70,000 titles and create a unique rating system when there was no “existing comprehensive, objective rating system” to compare it to. However, some members of the public continued applying pressure to the district to establish a rating system.
The library’s Board of Trustees first announced a plan to label books containing LGBTQ+ characters and themes in an Aug. 27, 2024 meeting, leaving room for the possibility of developing labels for additional themes, such as violence and s--ual content, in the future.
The labels would have been based on the broad subject headings used within the Library of Congress to classify materials by topic. Board members went on to research and compile a list of LGBTQ+ related Library of Congress subject headings, considering a selection of stickers that could be used to label the books.
The rest is paywalled
VirginiaThe latest from Samuels Public Library, the much-beleaguered library which has been targeted and devastated by a handful of far-right religious folks.
https://royalexaminer.com/supervisors...
Some good news from Samuels, though: two library supporters have won their republican primary races.
https://royalexaminer.com/library-sup...
Henry has long supported the library’s mission and public access to information. His campaign focused on community values, educational opportunities, and keeping the library open and well-funded.
Pennefather, who had aligned with critics of the library’s leadership and materials policy, had called for more oversight and budget tightening.
In the Happy Creek District Carter’s return to the Board of Supervisors would mark a continuation of his long-term support for the library and other public services. Known for his past efforts on the board, Carter’s campaign emphasized experience and trust in established institutions. His opponent, Cameron Williams, had made calls for stronger control over public spending, including in areas like library funding.
Kelly Jensen reports on the library situation in Ohio:"NOW it looks like folks are fighting against the provision in the Ohio budget that would require removing all LGBTQ+ books in public libraries from the view of minors. This was thrown under the bus in favor of the budget for libraries earlier in this battle, but hey, even that didn’t really matter since the budget looks like it’ll screw libraries over anyway. But here’s the reality: LGBTQ+ folks already know they were sacrificed."
https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2025/0...
A funding plan that was opposed by Ohio librarians and advocates alike has been included in the Ohio Senate’s budget plan, and could stay on as the Ohio House and Senate combine their budget drafts into a final version. It also includes a contentious provision to move certain materials deemed not fit for children.
According to budget documents, the Senate proposal works the same as the House’s, meaning public libraries would receive monthly payments paid directly through transfers from the General Revenue Fund.
That move was criticized by libraries and advocates, at first when an initial House draft of the budget eliminated the Public Library Fund all together, instituting a mechanism that would have been based on population. While the House revised their draft to return the Public Library Fund, it changed the mechanism to the lump-sum GRF funding, rather than the previous funding mechanism, funding the libraries with a percentage of the tax revenue received by the state. Critics said moving to a line-item in the General Revenue Fund leaves the funding more open to elimination entirely, while legislators who supported the idea said tax revenue percentages were more fiscally unpredictable.
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It was evident even before Senate discussions on the budget had begun that a change to the library fund was likely to be kept. At a gathering of Ohio public libraries at the Statehouse that just happened to fall on the day the House released their final budget draft, Senate Finance Committee Chair Jerry Cirino told reporters he supported the move as was written in the initial House draft.
“I think like everybody else that we appropriate, it should be a biennial appropriation process that’s justified based on input and feedback that we get, not an automatic number,” Cirino told media in April.
The Senate proposal also creates a State Library Operating Expenses Fund, which neither Gov. Mike DeWine’s executive budget nor the House budget included. The provision would transfer $9 million over the next two years away from the Public Library Fund to the new expenses fund for the State Library of Ohio.
The State Library works to conserve historical documents for the state, as well as working as a resource-sharing entity with libraries across the state. The agency receives funding from both the state and from federal grants.
State Librarian Mandy Knapp said the budget draft cuts the library’s operating expenses by $245,000 in fiscal year 2026 and $331,000 in 2027, compared to the House budget draft. The cuts come alongside rising staffing and health insurance costs, and at a time when the current library facility is “no longer suitable to house the State Library’s collection,” Knapp told the Senate Finance Committee.
“State Library is already maximizing every dollar of funding,” Knapp said. “Without the modest increase to State Library’s operating expenses … that were included in the previous budgets, services will be reduced.”
Knapp also pushed back on the change to put the State Library of Ohio expenses under the Public Library Fund, saying its current line-item in the General Revenue Fund is more appropriate.
“The Public Library Fund was created to support Ohio’s public libraries as defined under the (Ohio Revised Code),” Knapp said. “As the State Library is a state agency that operates a research library and supports a federally funded grant-making program for all types of libraries, it is more appropriate to fund the State Library through the General Revenue Fund rather than the Public Library Fund.”
The State Library is still in danger of federal funding losses as well. It receives funding through the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, an institute that has had an uncertain future under the Trump administration, facing threats of total elimination as part of federal funding cuts.
In May, the State Library said it had “received reassurances” that it would be getting the remainder of their IMLS grant funding for the fiscal year. But the federal legislation that authorizes the grant funding the State Library of Ohio receives is set to expire in September, according to a spokesperson for the library.
“This act requires reauthorization for the State Library of Ohio to maintain its services to Ohio libraries of all types and to provide library databases for all Ohioans,” wrote Marsha McDevitt-Stredney, spokesperson for the library. “Additionally, reauthorization is essential for the State Library to continue the distribution of federal grant funds to libraries.”
As of June 6, a federal judge allowed cuts to the Institute of Museum and Library Services to continue temporarily while a lawsuit brought forth on behalf of the American Library Association goes forward.
With the Senate and House funding mechanisms matching in each state budget draft, it’s likely the levels will be maintained through the conference committee process to harmonize both versions into a final draft to be sent to Gov. Mike DeWine for his signature, and/or for line-item vetoes.
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Also included in both the House and Senate versions of the budget was a provision that requires public libraries to place “material related to sexual orientation or gender identity or expression” in a part of the library “that is not primarily open to the view of minors.”
Library leaders decried the move, saying smaller libraries couldn’t accommodate a request, and even the ones that could said it would come at significant administrative cost to move the materials. They also criticized the provision for being vague about what materials would be included in such a requirement.
Ohio Library Systems, Advocates Push Back on House Provision to Hide LGBTQ+ Materials A provision in the Ohio budget proposal would require libraries to place LGBTQ+ content out of view of minors.https://goodmenproject.com/featured-c...
South CarolinaKelly Jensen summarizes: "The Oconee County Public Library (SC) canceled Pride displays in 2023, and they also canceled supporters of LGBTQ+ people, patrons, children, and so forth, by firing some of the librarians who voiced inclusivity. Now, one of those librarians is suing."
https://www.postandcourier.com/greenv...
Free speech group demands Utah allow students to have personal copies of banned books at schoolThe Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression sent a letter to Utah school officials, saying the state is violating students’ First Amendment rights.
https://www.sltrib.com/news/education...
A free-speech advocacy group is demanding the Utah State Board of Education change its guidance that says students can’t bring personal copies of banned books to school — arguing the guidance violates the students’ First Amendment rights.
The group — The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE — sent a letter Monday to Davina Sauthoff, the USBE’s library media specialist. FIRE asserts that while “obscene” materials and speech are not protected under the First Amendment, Utah’s definition of “sensitive materials” doesn’t meet the legal standard for obscenity — so students still have the right to bring those books to school.
“[Schools] are not just removing books from classroom instruction — they are entirely banning students’ personal possession of non-obscene books on all school property,” the letter states.
USBE did not immediately respond Tuesday to requests for comment.
Eighteen books are currently banned from Utah’s public schools in accordance with a law passed last year. The titles include books written by acclaimed authors like Margaret Atwood, Judy Blume and Ellen Hopkins. The most recent book added to the list, in May, was Sara Gruen’s “Water for Elephants.”
Under Utah law, a book must be removed from all public schools in the state if at least three school districts (or at least two school districts and five charter schools) determine it amounts to “objective sensitive material” — p----graphic or otherwise indecent content, as defined by Utah code.
Materials can be considered “objective sensitive material” in Utah if they: (view spoiler)
In its letter, FIRE argues that while many of Utah’s banned books contain sexual content, they do not, when considered as a whole, meet the legal definition of obscenity.
That definition has been shaped by decades of court rulings, most notably the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Miller v. California, Stephanie Jablonsky, senior program counsel for FIRE, said in an interview.
In that case, the court established a three-part test — known as the Miller test — to determine whether a work is legally obscene and therefore not protected by the First Amendment.
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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, which governs Utah, also upheld an adaptation of the Miller obscenity test tailored for minors, FIRE’s letter argues.
The minor-specific version upheld by the Tenth Circuit considers:
Whether the material appeals to the prurient interest in s-- for minors, judged by what the average adult would think applying contemporary community standards.
Whether the material is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community with respect to what is suitable for minors.
Whether the material lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.
“They can certainly ban obscene books, and we’re not refuting that,” Jablonsky said. “The problem is that the law defining indecent materials is not the same legal test for obscenity. So, while a Margaret Atwood book might have a chapter that has some kind of s-xual content, … it certainly wouldn’t qualify as legally obscene.”
FIRE’s letter concludes by demanding USBE revise its guidance.
“School districts and the state of Utah have authority to exclude books from the curriculum or instructional use, and to prevent substantial disruption of school operations,” the letter states. “But Utah schools must not infringe students’ First Amendment right to receive ideas, which entails the ability to possess and read books at school on personal time.”
FIRE requested a “substantive” response from USBE no later than June 30. Jablonsky said if USBE does not revise its guidance, the group could take legal action.
Utah an audit found educators were removing books from shelves without being forced to out of fear of the law. https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-n...
It started with a Utah law, which has been revised, about banning material in schools that contain what some consider p---graphic or indecent, as laid out in Utah code. The auditors examined the processes and procedures in place for removing books from libraries and found some issues.
"We feel that with proactive policies put into place, we can prevent some of the reactive issues that we did see,” said Morgan Hagey, with the office of the Legislative Auditor-General.
Auditors said there needs to be a clearly outlined approval process for teachers and librarians to pick books, without having to go back and remove them. "It would hopefully prevent some of the material from coming in and provide those librarians the support that these decisions aren’t all on them,” added Leah Blevins, also with the office of Legislative Auditor-General.
In the audit, some teachers reported removing their classroom libraries or received backlash from the public because of books on their shelves. The Utah State Board of Education responded to the audit and said there is a criterion for schools when it comes to choosing books.
"We put it in our model policy, our model police that we prepare for LEA's for their reference, does include selection criteria but it is up ultimately to the LEA to make a decision if it’s going to go in their policy or not,” said Dr. Molly Hart, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Utah State Board of Education.
"I’ve seen some of these books that are in elementary schools and they're not appropriate for high school, let alone in an elementary school,” said House Speaker Mike Schultz (R-Hooper). “And I’m grateful to the districts that work to get those out, and worked on by a lot of people to get those books out."
"We can’t control every move a person does, we can do the best preventative factors as we like, but people have cell phones,” said House Minority Leader Angela Romero (D- Salt Lake City)
Another recommendation of the audit was looking at keyword filtering, which needs to be done by schools on every website and database that students can access on their school devices.
"While we did not find anything that we would be able to probably call sensitive within the database, the fact that students area able to search this and find what could be non-educational materials was our major concern,” said Hagey.
Corinne Johnson, President of Utah Parents United, shared a statement with FOX 13:
“Parents in Utah have been sounding the alarm on harmful content in school libraries for years. Today’s audit shows schools are working to follow policy, but it also shows there’s still more work to do. We appreciate Senate President Adams for extending the audit to address library content, and Speaker Mike Schultz’s call for more proactive steps to keep inappropriate materials out of our schools in the first place. Protecting kids from harmful content requires ongoing attention—and we’re glad to see our leaders taking it seriously.
Let Utah Read Co-Founder Rebekah Cummings also shared the following statement:
Let Utah Read appreciates the careful work of the USBE and auditors in collaboration with Utah teachers and librarians. As every audit has found since 2018, this most recent one affirms that the schools’ current online filters successfully block inappropriate material. However, we find the auditor’s recommendation to “proactively” vet book selections by committee to be unnecessary and administratively burdensome.
Librarians are trained and hired to select books in compliance with existing LEA selection policies. Far more concerning than anything else the audit uncovered is that some teachers have purged their classrooms of libraries and have ceased making reading recommendations for fear of running afoul of Utah law.
Auditors aren’t done yet, they will continue to examine the processes that decide what books wind up on shelves. Lawmakers may also address the audit in the public education committee.
Supreme Court set to rule on if Maryland parents can opt kids out of LGBTQ books in schoolhttps://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/s...
Thank you, people, for being in line with the rest of the region but where were you on election day?‘We’re not Nazi Germany': Protestors call on Ayotte to veto book ban bill | New Hampshire Public Radio
https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2025-06-...
A bill that would ban some books and materials available in New Hampshire schools drew more than 50 protestors to the door of Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s office Thursday. They demanded she veto the legislation if it reaches her desk.
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The legislation, House Bill 324, would prohibit schools from having materials that depict nudity, sexual conduct, and other content that is “obscene” or intended to arouse sexual desire. The bill would also require schools to adopt a policy allowing parents to request materials be removed.
Janet Kibbee, of Penacook, was holding Judy Blume’s "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret,” which has been challenged in some states for its discussion of puberty, menstruation and religion.
“I'm here because I just think we're not Nazi Germany,” she said. “We're New Hampshire, and we should be allowed to read any book we want.”
The bill has passed both chambers of the state Legislature. Ayotte’s spokesperson did not respond when asked if the governor would sign the bill.
CRUD! Absolutely horrific news from the Supreme Court today. What can you expect from nut jobs who don't know how to read? They just gave a free pass to make Don't Say Gay the law of the land. This ruling is so stupid. It's public school not religious school. SCOTUS: Parents can opt kids out of classes with gay book characters : NPR
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/27/nx-s1-...
The court's decision has, for months, had public school boards, administrators, and teachers worried about how to navigate opt-out demands of all kinds—from courses that include LGBTQ characters in books to science classes that teach Darwin's theory of evolution.
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Writing for the court majority, Justice Samuel Alito agreed, saying parents challenging the board's introduction of the "LGBTQ+-inclusive" storybooks, along with its decision to withhold opt-outs, are allowed to excuse their children from the classes related to the books while the litigation proceeds.
"The parents are likely to succeed on their claim that the Board's policies unconstitutionally burden their religious exercise," Alito wrote. He said the storybooks conveyed a "normative message" that seeks to separate gender from biological sex, contrary to their parents' religious beliefs.
Writing for the three liberal justices, Justice Sonia Sotomayor accused the majority of seeking to insulate children from the United States' multicultural society in its public schools, something that is "critical to our Nation's civic vitality."
"Yet it will become a mere memory if children must be insulated from exposure to ideas and concepts that may conflict with their parents' religious beliefs," she wrote.
The school board, backed by other parents, had argued that opt-out provisions were impractical. The board noted that it initially allowed parents to opt their children out of select lesson plans. But, the school system removed the opt-out provision when accommodating requests became too difficult and disruptive to class time. The board argued that while it is easy enough to facilitate single-class opt-outs, as the school district provides for sex education, it is much more challenging to take children from the classroom every time that a book mentions same sex parents or gay and lesbian kids.
But parents objecting to the storybooks maintained that the Supreme Court has long held that parents should be in charge of value-setting for their children and that forcing children to read LGBTQ-friendly storybooks, against their parents' wishes, violated families' First Amendment rights to religious freedoms.
The Supreme Court just imposed a “Don’t Say Gay” regime on every public school in America
The Republican justices’ decision fundamentally altered how public schools must operate.
https://www.vox.com/scotus/417974/sup...
The Mahmoud case highlights the Republican justices’ impatience to remake constitutional law in a more socially conservative image, especially in cases involving religion. It is certainly possible for public school instruction to violate a religious child’s constitutional rights. The Constitution, for example, forbids government institutions like public schools from coercing students into violating their religious views. As Justice Samuel Alito notes in the Mahmoud opinion, the Constitution would also forbid teachers from openly mocking a student’s faith.
But, as a federal appeals court which previously heard the Mahmoud case warned, we don’t actually know whether the Constitution was violated in this case. Although Montgomery County, Maryland, approved several books with LGBTQ+ characters for use in public schools, the lower court found that the record in this case contains no information “about how any teacher or school employee has actually used any of the Storybooks in the Parents’ children’s classrooms, how often the Storybooks are actually being used, what any child has been taught in conjunction with their use, or what conversations have ensued about their themes.”
Nevertheless, Alito handed down a fairly broad opinion which is likely to impose substantial new burdens on public schools, and he did so without waiting until the record in this case was more fully developed by lower courts. The result is that many schools may struggle to comply with the new obligations that were just imposed, and most schools are likely to exclude books that introduce queer themes or that even mention LGBTQ+ characters.
The plaintiffs in Mahmoud include Muslim and Christian parents who do not want their children exposed to these books. And their lawyers came to the Supreme Court with an audacious request — seeking a broad decision that parents who object to any form of classroom instruction on religious grounds must be notified in advance, and be permitted to opt their child out of that instruction.
The problem with this request is that schools cannot possibly know, in advance, which religious views are held by which parents, and which books or lessons those parents might find objectionable. In the past, parents have sued school districts objecting, on religious grounds, to lessons that touch on topics as diverse as divorce, interfaith couples, and “immodest dress.” They’ve objected to books which expose readers to evolution, pacifism, magic, women achieving things outside of the home, and “false views of death.”
Courts have historically been very cautious about ruling in favor of parents who raise these sorts of objections, in part due to concerns that schools would be overwhelmed by administrative burden.
Nevertheless, the Court’s decision in Mahmoud largely embraces the plaintiffs’ request — Alito orders the school board to notify parents “in advance whenever one of the books in question or any other similar book is to be used in any way and to allow them to have their children excused from that instruction.”
Alito’s opinion does not discuss how this rule should apply to parents with more uncommon religious beliefs, but the Constitution forbids the government from treating people with idiosyncratic religious beliefs differently than people with more common beliefs. The upshot is that a school may also need to warn parents if a teacher wants to read from a Harry Potter book (because those books are about magic), or if they want to teach a lesson about a famous pacifist like Martin Luther King Jr. Schools may even need to warn parents if any of their children’s teachers are women, just in case a parent objects on religious grounds to women having achievements outside of the home.
That said, Alito’s opinion is slightly narrower than the Mahmoud plaintiffs’ proposed framework. Alito argues that the books at issue are objectionable, not just because they feature LGBTQ+ characters, but because they suggest that certain aspects of queer culture should be “celebrated.” One of the contested books is a medieval fairy tale about a prince who marries a knight. According to Alito, the book “relates that ‘on the two men’s wedding day, the air filled with cheer and laughter, for the prince and his shining knight would live happily ever after.’”
Thus, Alito claims, this book is objectionable not because it includes a same-sex wedding, but because it portrays this wedding as a good thing. Under Alito’s framework, a book that featured a same-sex wedding without portraying it as desirable might not trigger the new rule. Similarly, Alito would likely permit women to work as teachers without warning parents of their femininity, so long as the teacher does not do anything to celebrate their womanhood or suggest that being a woman who works outside the home is a good thing.
Still, schools will likely struggle to determine when they are required to warn parents of a particular lesson under Mahmoud. And schools that draw the line in the wrong place now risk being dragged into an expensive lawsuit.
One very likely consequence of Mahmoud is that schools will be very reluctant to teach any lesson that mentions homosexuality, transgender people, or anything else that touches on queer sexuality or gender identity. Mahmoud is likely to impose a Florida-style “Don’t Say Gay” regime on every public school classroom in America.
The reason why is fairly straightforward. While it is somewhat unclear how Mahmoud applies to parents who object to fantasy novels or working women, the decision quite clearly limits schools’ ability to teach books with queer characters. Nor is it clear when a book crosses the line from merely mentioning a gay character to celebrating some aspect of gay culture. So schools that want to avoid lawsuits will need to exclude these sorts of books from their classroom altogether.
Lawyers, meanwhile, have a financial incentive to sue schools that behave more boldly. Federal law typically allows the “prevailing party” in a civil rights lawsuit to collect attorney’s fees from the losing party. And suits enforcing Mahmoud are considered civil rights cases because they arise under the First Amendment’s religious liberty provisions.
So, lawyers can search for schools that teach books with LGBTQ+ characters, find a parent who objects to those books, and then sue and demand that the school district pay their client’s bills. School districts that don’t want to be treated like an ATM for anti-LGBTQ+ lawyers, meanwhile, will only be able to avoid these lawsuits by excluding queer-themed books from the classroom entirely.
The Supreme Court, in other words, has decided that in order to accommodate one identity group — religious conservatives — schools should be hypercautious about teaching books that feature members of another identity group — LGBTQ+ people. Given the Court’s Republican majority, that decision is not a surprise. But it is likely to impose very difficult burdens.
Ohio libraries in last-minute campaign to pressure Gov. DeWine to veto book segregationhttps://www.news5cleveland.com/news/l...
Ohio's public libraries are in an urgent push to put pressure on Governor Mike DeWine to veto a provision in the Ohio budget.
Buried in HB 96 (ORC Section 3375.47), which would require public libraries to segregate materials related to sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, guaranteeing they are not visible to anyone under 18.
The Ohio Library Council argues the language "is dangerously vague, overly broad, and ultimately unworkable. It opens the door to unconstitutional censorship and undermines the core mission of libraries—to provide free and open access to information."
In a release, the organization calls on users to contact the governor.
"Legal experts have already raised constitutional red flags, warning that the HB 96 language could violate both state and federal free speech protections. In Arkansas, a similar law was struck down in federal court for violating the First Amendment," the release said.
Implementing this mandate in Ohio could come with an extraordinary cost, they argue, stating that some library systems estimate it would require up to six years of staff time and millions of dollars to audit and relocate materials. One large system project's compliance would cost over $3.1 million, which is additional funding not provided in the budget.
"We have over 100,000 items in our collection, just in this building alone," said Danielle Welling-Harris of the Cuyahoga Falls Library.
Items that staff would need to review one by one, ensuring the content and title are in compliance. The Cuyahoga Falls Library is setting up a display to show library patrons the books that may have to be moved to an "over 18" area of the library because of the words in their titles.
"For example one of our most popular books down here, all of the kids will recognize this one is 'Dog Man,' but it has the word 'man' in the title so because of the vague language in the bill this may be one that we need to move upstairs to the adult section," said Amy Galluch, the library's children's department manager.
"Little Women" is another, and something as simple as "Meet the Policeman." The library is also displaying what would happen to their hold section, which has been essentially self-serve: pick up your book on hold from the shelf and check yourself out. Under the new law, those books that fall into this category would need to be moved behind the front desk out of the view of minors, requiring staff to retrieve them.
"Not to mention, do we need to renovate our spaces to move teen books, and where are we going to put all of these children's books on the adult level?" Welling-Harris said.
The language was put in the budget by State Representative Gary Click, R-Vickery, after what he said he saw in his library's children's section.
"I found these books promoting the idea that girls could become boys and boys could become girls and putting all of this adult material in the children's section of the library," he said.
When he complained, he was told he could write a letter to the library's board and ask them to reconsider.
"I said to myself I got a better way, and its now in the budget that we're going to take the mature content, that mature material and we're going to put them in the section for the adults," he said.
In Cuyahoga Falls, the adult section would be located on the upper floor, separate from the lower level where the children's books are stored.
...
... libraries across the state are educating their users and urging them to pressure DeWine to use his line-item veto to eliminate the provision before signing the budget into law.
Mod
Totally sad! I feel intense anger and rage, but if I actually actively ill-wished Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump and company, I would be exactly like them, and no thank you. But frankly, this is utterly and totally ridiculous, and I do not only hugely blame Hegseth, Trump and everyone who voted for him, frankly, anyone involved with stripping Harvey Milk's name off of the ship and anyone in the navy etc. not vociferously complaining regarding this are also blameworthy and need public condemnation (even if they are just "following orders").
And I would also not be at all surprised if Donald Trump were to posthumously pardon Harvey Milk's murderer.
I sincerely don't understand these adults who have their heads stuck in the sand with regards to modern teens. They're fussing about BOOKS when any kid with a phone can see ACTUAL p----gry at any time and see depictions of s-e-x. I play one game - a Harry Potter game- and it gives you ads for other games and not all those games are family friendly even though the game is based on the Harry Potter movies and books.Alabama library battle: Should teens have access to sex education books?
https://www.al.com/news/2025/06/alaba...
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Alabama state library officials say there is no intention to ban sex education books from libraries. Still, they remain adamant that children should be protected from books they believe normalize sexual behaviors at young ages.
The issue flared up in Fairhope earlier this month and is expected to take center stage again at a July 18 meeting of the Alabama Public Library Services board. At stake is whether libraries will lose state funding for refusing to relocate books, including sex education titles, flagged by conservative groups like Moms for Liberty.
“The APLS board believes these sensitive topics should be addressed with care that parents, not government institutions or advocacy groups, should guide those conversations based on their child’s age and maturity,” said John Wahl, chairman of the APLS board who is also chairman of the Alabama State Republican Party.
The controversy also comes just weeks after a heated showdown in the Alabama Senate over a proposed abstinence-only sex education policy. ...
Library officials defending Doing It! say the 2018 book by YouTuber and author Hannah Witton contains no obscene content, but only straight answers to questions teens are already asking.
Amy Minton, an APLS board member, said the book and likely other sex education novels like it, are “s--ually explicit” in the eyes of Alabama law.
A new code, adopted by the APLS last year, prevents a book with any references to s-x within sections of a library accessible to youths under age 18.
“There is definitely not an exception for sx education in the APLS policies,” Minton said.
Minton emphasized that, “we want every family in Alabama to feel welcome in our public libraries. Parents who want their children to have broader access to materials have that ability, but at the same time, parents who do not want their children exposed to s--ually explicit content should have confidence that their child will not accidentally stumble across inappropriate books in our youth sections.”
Okarmus said the few adults who are aiming to make decisions “for everyone’s children,” on topics like sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and anything else related to s-x, are missing realities of teenage development and lifestyles.
“After 14 years in sex education, I can tell you that young people don’t need protection from these conversations,” she said. “They are already thinking about these topics and discussing them with their peers. And they’re looking to their peers and the internet to answer their questions because the adults in their lives are too afraid to speak about it.”
...
“We all know that information from peers and the internet may or may not be accurate, and can certainly be harmful, especially with the prevalence of young people accessing p---n online,” Okarmus said. “As a parent, I would much prefer for my child to read about something in a book, and hopefully I’ve created an environment where we can speak about it, or where they can speak with another trusted adult.”
Angie Hayden, co-founder of Read Freely Alabama, said a book like “Doing It” should be shelved in age-appropriate sections within a library, for ages 13-17.
“It’s meant to be informative and not explicit or titillating in any way,” she said, adding that her organization has concerns the APLS board wants to deny sex education material to any teenager in Alabama.
However, Minton and Wahl have said that their intent is not to ban the books from Alabama libraries. They want the titles that include any references to s-x to be reshelved in adult sections and have said there are ways youths can still access the books if they receive permission from a parent or guardian.
Libraries in Alabama allow all-access library cards, which if approved by a parent, gives a minor access to any section of a library. The cards can be applied for and received at their local library.
“They remain available in adult sections, and children can still access them with parental consent,” Wahl said. “This policy ensures that families who want broader access to sex education materials have that ability, while also protecting the rights of families who do not want their children exposed to such content without their knowledge.”
Hayden said she is perplexed by the APLS board’s stance. She said there appears to be no reason for local library boards to conduct reviews of book challenges if the state already has a preconceived view over what constitutes “s--ually explicit.”
“It’s the vagueness that is intentional,” Hayden said. “It’s meant to create a sense of fear in our public library directors because their funding is very much on the line including in Fairhope.”
She also notes there are complications and inconsistencies between Alabama law and what the APLS is doing. For one, she notes the age for legal consent for s-- in Alabama is 16, and so is the age to marry.
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“We’d like to know why they want to deny this where pregnancy and (STI) rates are in the top 5 of the country,” Hayden said, referring to the APLS board and s-x education books within teen sections. “If they apply the definition of s--ually explicit, it would in fact mean no s-x materials for anyone under age 18.”
She added, “Keep in mind, the age of consent is 16. It’s where teenagers are expected to give birth but are not allowed to read about sex education our public libraries.”
... critical to thoughtfully consider what our children are being exposed to, especially in public spaces like libraries,” he said. “One of the primary goals of the APLS code changes was to protect children from early s--ualization, something that is becoming increasingly common in youth media and literature. Children should be allowed to develop emotionally, mentally and physically without being exposed to graphic or adult content before they are ready. Books that promote or normalize s--ual behavior at a young age can cause serious harm.”
The focus on a sex education book also comes at a time that the topic is being discussed in the halls of power in Montgomery.
One of the fiercest debates on the Alabama Senate floor this session involved legislation sponsored by Republican Sen. Shay Shelnutt that mandated Alabama schools teach “sexual risk avoidance.”
The legislation mirrored a social conservative push in other states to push for an abstinence-only education and away from the comprehensive sex education model that researchers credit as a better approach toward driving down disease rates, unwanted pregnancies, bullying and more.
The legislation died in the Senate after a lengthy debate in late April. Shelnutt, during the debate, said that students who didn’t want to be taught sexual risk avoidance could opt out, and have their parents teach them “the crazy stuff.”
The debate featured similarities to the current library content issue, with Shelnutt arguing in favor of an opt out clauses for parents who sought a different approach toward sex education.
Opponents, meanwhile, argued that the legislation prevents sex education altogether, which is something that not all parents in Alabama support.
Alabama’s sex education has not scored well by researchers for years. In 2020, a report from Human Rights Watch found that the state’s schools were failing to educate young people about their sexual and reproductive health, citing standards that were not inclusive of LGBTQ youth along with the focus on abstinence-only education.
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Alabama’s score likely avoided a lower score thanks to the approval of HB385 in 2021, which requires sex education instruction, if it occurs within a school district, to be medically accurate.
The state, since 1987, also requires AIDS education in health classes, starting in the fifth grade. Further instruction about reproductive health and the risks of sexual activity is required in middle and high schools, but local districts can come up with their own sex ed policies as long as they meet basic requirements.
Some school systems like Shelby County Public Schools, do not have a policy but follow state standards in their approach with sex education. ...
During April’s Senate floor debate over sex education, Democratic Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison of Birmingham argued that an approach of “just saying no” about s-- isn’t working, and that teenagers are going online and turning toward pop culture to seek information.
“So, if none of this is being talk about in the schools … where do they learn about it?” Coleman-Madison said. “If you don’t tell them, they’ll seek the knowledge on their own. My fear is if you don’t (educate) the kids, they will go to other sources. The world has changed from what we grew up in.”
Several states are already here and the entire country will be there soon enough if we're not careful. One guess as to which books are deemed harmful to public morality?
Malaysia cracks down on books deemed harmful to public morality
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-2...
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At least 13 books have been banned in Malaysia this year — ranging from romance books that have gone viral on TikTok, to children's and young adult fiction that explore gender and sexuality.
Melbourne-based children's author Scott Stuart woke up in February to discover his picture book My Shadow is Purple had been prohibited from sale in Malaysia.
Australian children's publisher Larrikin House, which published it back in 2022, described it as a book that "considers gender beyond binary in a vibrant spectrum of colour".
"It wasn't a book about murder, or assault, or any crime that got banned for harming morality," Stuart said in an Instagram post several days after his book was banned.
The ABC contacted Stuart for comment.
Malaysia's Ministry of Home Affairs said the book had been banned because it "may be harmful to morals".
Same-sex acts are illegal in Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country, although convictions are rare.
This week's round-up from BookRiotGeorgia
Closed-door library board meeting draws public concern over book guidelines
https://www.wfxg.com/community/closed...
Questions over transparency and book access are mounting in Columbia County after the Greater Clarks Hill Regional Library Board held a special called meeting Thursday morning behind closed doors.
The board did not allow public or media access during the session, prompting backlash from community members who say they were left in the dark about potentially significant policy changes. The meeting follows weeks of debate surrounding the county’s current shelving guidelines, which determine where books are placed across public libraries.
“It was very frustrating,” said Karin Parham, CEO of the Freedom to Read Coalition of Columbia County. “They decided to vote on… changing the guidelines, but they have not released whatever they were voting on today… So as far as I know, they were voting on some super secret document.”
Parham, whose organization has been vocal about recent policy changes, said the current guidelines have already moved more than 40 titles from children’s and young adult sections to the adult shelves—some of which, she argues, are intended for preschool-aged readers.
“One of the books was a first book about teaching your private parts,” said Parham. “It’s a basic book for three-year-old's—and they moved it to the adult section.”
Other attendees raised concerns over why Columbia County has created its own local standards, despite existing state-issued guidelines curated by trained media specialists.
“There are already state guidelines… appropriate for reading age as well as maturation age,” said Karen Phelps, a Columbia County resident who attended the meeting. “We should be free to read.”
Both Phelps and Parham questioned whether it’s appropriate for a taxpayer-funded board to withhold the specifics of a vote from the public.
“This is a taxpayer-funded institution,” Parham said. “We should know what you’re voting on.”
The board ultimately voted 5–4 to withhold the contents of Thursday’s discussion. Advocates are now calling for greater transparency and public accountability in future meetings.
Follow-up
https://theaugustapress.com/columbia-...
Columbia County library to continue using reshelving guidelines after vote
PennsylvaniaUpper Adams Schools aren’t content enough with their content ban in school libraries. They want to expand it now to classroom libraries.
https://gettysburgconnection.org/uppe...
Following the adoption of a policy limiting explicit content in library books, the Upper Adams School Board is weighing how to apply the same parameters to classroom resources.
On Tuesday, the board broached the first read of Policy 109 regarding classroom materials. Like the library book restrictions approved in February under Policy 109.1, Policy 109 seeks to avoid classroom materials with “s--ually explicit content” and “excessive profanity,” according to board documents.
While board members did not debate the content restrictions Tuesday, there was confusion over whether the proposed revision to Policy 109 would require teachers to inventory all of their classroom materials.
Policy committee chair Susan Crouse said the teachers association conducted a survey of its members regarding the potential impact of the proposed changes. Survey feedback was recently shared with the board after the May 1 policy committee meeting.
Policy committee member Kay Hollabaugh said she would like to revisit the proposed changes to Policy 109 with this new feedback in mind. She said it would be a “huge disservice to them” not to read what the teachers had to say and take it into consideration.
The teacher survey results were not publicly available as of Tuesday’s meeting, but interim Superintendent Don Bell said an overview would be shared at the next meeting in August.
Policy committee member Marya Djalal said she appreciated the teachers’ feedback greatly but feels there is a misunderstanding.
“What it seems to me is the real crux of the issue is teachers worried about having to catalogue every single resource before it being used,” Djalal said. “That has not been proposed.”
The proposed policy states that the “superintendent and/or a designee shall develop selection procedures which…insure an inventory of classroom resource materials.”
Joseph Albin, director of curriculum, instruction and assessment, said the proposed language could imply that all classroom materials would need to be inventoried — which he said would be quite the lengthy list. Albin said it might not be “realistic” to expect teachers to know the details of every single book in their rooms. Some teachers, he said, have large classroom libraries that students may browse and borrow from independently.
Albin said the policy committee could revisit the language in the proposed policy to make the inventory guidelines clearer.
Board member Tricia Plank said the core issue is regarding the parameters on explicit content. She believes the policies surrounding library materials and classroom materials “should be consistent across the board.”
Plank recounted an experience in which her daughter encountered a book she found to be inappropriate.
“I had an eighth grader who had to read a book about (view spoiler) That should never have happened,” Plank said. “There is a problem that books like that are in the classroom and parents are unaware.”
Upper Adams Middle School Principal Shane Brewer said the book was not required reading but a suggested book for that student’s reading level.
“The point is…that book was one that was selected for her to read as an eighth grader that detailed s--ually explicit material. That is the problem,” Plank said. “I was supposed to trust the teacher.”
Kelly Jensen reports: "Jackson County, North Carolina, county commissioners are considering leaving the library’s consortium–where and how the library shares resources among other libraries–over concerns that other libraries in said consortium don’t ban books. The library and the consortium held a meeting last week–naturally, opponents of staying in the consortium are spewing the same nonsense they’re hearing on Fox news about libraries pushing LGBTQ+ agendas."Special joint Fontana Regional Library and Jackson County Commissioners meeting Thursday
https://www.bpr.org/bpr-news/2025-06-...
The Jackson County Board of Commissioners is holding a special joint meeting with the Fontana Regional Library (FRL) Board to discuss library operations as local leaders have floated the idea of breaking away from the library system.
https://smokymountainnews.com/news/it...
Finally face to face amid a simmering standoff over library governance and subjectively inappropriate material in a regional library system that’s served locals for more than 80 years, Jackson County commissioners spent nearly three hours in a joint meeting with the Fontana Regional Library Board of Trustees on June 19 learning just how much they don’t know about running a library.
It was billed as a joint meeting. It ended up more like a joint reckoning.
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Eight regional library systems dot the landscape of rural North Carolina, founded decades ago to help small counties muster the combined resources to provide library services to impoverished residents. Counties provide the cash and the buildings and by ceding administrative functions to a regional library board receive shared infrastructure and turnkey local operations provided by trained professionals.
Opponents, many standing behind their own Christian ideology, say the FRL system is pushing LGBTQ+ ideology and offering indecent content to minors.
The Fontana Regional Library System is made up of three counties.
Discussions about the library system – which includes six libraries in Macon, Jackson and Swain counties – have been fierce since 2022. Macon County ultimately decided to stay in the system in 2023 and elected leaders signed a new regional agreement among all three counties in November.
At the beginning of May, Jackson County Commissioners discussed leaving the Fontana Regional Library System, citing issues with “left-leaning content” as well as what they call general mismanagement. Commissioners addressed the topic at their May 20 meeting. The crowd was so large that the meeting had to be moved to a larger room, explained Sylva Herald Editor David Russell who has been following the story.
“It was kind of overwhelming in the support of the pro-library people,” Russell said.
The next meeting, in June, was moved to Southwestern Community College to be able to accommodate the expected crowd size. The crowd was a mixture of yellow shirts in support of the library and “J-EXIT” signs calling for Jackson County to exit the library. Russell says there ultimately were more supporters of the county not leaving the regional library structure.
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Deputies and police, Russell said, encountered no violence but were on hand because of “Antifa” protest rumors.
The root of issues with the library stems from progressive-leaning works and alleged “p--graphic” materials at the library, Russell said. He wrote a column searching for p---graphy at the library in May.
“I found nothing in the children’s section - not even cleavage,” Russell said. “I went up the young adult section, where the books are geared to 12 to 18-year-olds, and there's some things up there that I didn’t find objectionable, but I could see how other members of the community would.”
The FRL has a collection policy that allows community members to submit a request that a book be removed from circulation or moved to another section of the library. FRL confirmed to BPR that one book – out of thousands available for library checkout – has been requested for review in Jackson County since 2023.
The library also has a “Safe Child” policy, most recently updated in November 2023, that requires children under 12 to be supervised in the library.
On May 1, Fontana Regional Library introduced a new limited library card for children under 15 years old. Parents can opt for the card so that children will only be allowed to check out items from the children’s section.
At the County Commissioners June 3 meeting, County Manager Kevin King shared that if the county leaves the FRL system the county will need to pay at least an additional $500,000 to run the library plus additional costs for the transition.
“Commissioners have been made aware of how much information and services [Jackson County] might lose if we leave the FRL,” Russell said.
The 2024 FRL regional agreement explains that if a local government removes itself from the system, shared library resources will stay with the library system. If a building or other property is owned solely by the county, it will remain with the county.
The agreement is tied to the fiscal year, with the annual deadline to withdraw being June 30.
Elected leaders in Sylva have not formally weighed in on the issue, despite the fact that the Jackson County library branch sits on Main Street.
A proposed resolution to express support for the Fontana Regional Library system by the Sylva Town Council was killed during the meeting on June 12, the Smoky Mountain News reported.
Russell says it’s unclear what will happen at the upcoming Thursday meeting between the regional library system’s board and Jackson County officials.
“I think now they are looking into a compromise…,” Russell said. “They will talk to them about some changes in leadership and restricting certain displays in the library. I think if a compromise along those lines can be met, I think the Jackson County Public Library might stay in the FRL.”
https://smokymountainnews.com/news/it...
Finally face to face amid a simmering standoff over library governance and subjectively inappropriate material in a regional library system that’s served locals for more than 80 years, Jackson County commissioners spent nearly three hours in a joint meeting with the Fontana Regional Library Board of Trustees on June 19 learning just how much they don’t know about running a library.
It was billed as a joint meeting. It ended up more like a joint reckoning.
The unusual confluence came about after months of debate and public comment over Jackson County’s continuing membership in the Fontana Regional Library system, which also includes Macon and Swain counties.
Eight regional library systems dot the landscape of rural North Carolina, founded decades ago to help small counties muster the combined resources to provide library services to impoverished residents. Counties provide the cash and the buildings and by ceding administrative functions to a regional library board receive shared infrastructure and turnkey local operations provided by trained professionals.
Opponents, many standing behind their own Christian ideology, say the FRL system is pushing LGBTQ+ ideology and offering indecent content to minors.
Supporters raise a host of objections which began as allusions to discrimination and homophobia but have increasingly come to center around censorship and potential First Amendment violations.
This isn’t an isolated issue; across the country, lawsuits are mounting in response to book bans and restrictions, many of which are aimed at LGBTQ+ content, racial themes or materials labeled “sexually explicit.”
In South Carolina, the ACLU filed a federal suit against the Greenville County Library for removing LGBTQ-affirming books, citing systemic discrimination. In Tennessee, plaintiffs are challenging the ban of more than 100 books by a local school board, alleging viewpoint discrimination. Then there’s Idaho. And Tennessee. And Minnesota. And Iowa. Even military schools are involved — families have sued the Department of Defense over the removal of hundreds of books on race, gender and sexuality.
In North Carolina, House Bill 636, titled “Promoting wholesome content for students,” passed its second Senate reading on April 16 and is likely headed to Gov. Josh Stein’s desk. The bill would prohibit school library content deemed sexually explicit or “pervasively vulgar” for any age group, but if other states are any indication, the bill also appears to be headed headlong into a lawsuit.
Regionally, residents of Yancey County are prepared to file suit over the county’s withdrawal from its regional library system last year over similar concerns.
The Jackson County debate intensified at a packed public meeting on June 3 at Southwestern Community College, where roughly 200 people entered through metal detectors. More than 50 people spoke for the second meeting in a row, both for and against FRL — but mostly for.
As that meeting drew to a close, Commissioner Todd Bryson was joined by Chairman Mark Letson in calling for a joint meeting with the FRL board — one last-ditch effort to compromise, or to save face in light of some damning financial data presented by County Manager Kevin King. King didn’t say it outright, but withdrawing from the library would likely cost the county about $500,000 annually on top of the $1.4 million it already spends, due to the loss of shared resources. In essence, the county would be entering the library business, alone, for the first time in more than 80 years and by doing so would also incur around $300,000 in start-up costs. ...
In a May 30 email sent by Commissioner John Smith to members of the Jackson County Library Board, he opined that “Jackson County could provide the same level of library services for less tax dollars.”
Smith has not publicly revealed why he believes the county could run the library for less money, even as his own county manager provided evidence to the contrary — but he and other commissioners would eventually get the opportunity to learn what it would take to provide the same level of services. And it’s a lot.
The Jackson County Library provides more hours of service than any other library in the FRL system, driven by customer demand.
Beyond simply lending books, the library provides a wide range of services. These include free internet access, technology training and one-on-one help with tasks like setting up email accounts, writing resumes and applying for jobs. Staff handle thousands of reference questions annually, all reported to the State Library of North Carolina. The library also conducts outreach to local organizations such as the Department on Aging, Circles of Jackson and area schools.
Educational programs are extensive, including story time, toddler activities, art and even cooking classes. Services generally align with the library’s mission to offer educational, recreational and informational support to the community. The library also rents out community rooms for events at nominal rates — sometimes even for weddings.
In her opening statement, Womble said she wanted it noted that since becoming acting chair of FRL in January, she’d not had any specific feedback from any commissioner from any county about the system. ... “So I welcome the chance to be able to find out exactly what your concerns are that are so severe that it’s brought you to consider removing yourselves from the Fontana Regional Library.”
Despite the transitions, the board has remained active over the past two years, reviewing and updating several important policies. The board also launched a juvenile library card program on May 1 after extensive coordination with the State Library.
The Fontana Regional Library system has a clear and legally vetted process for challenging books alleged to be indecent, outlined in its collection development policy. That policy, updated twice in the last two years, stresses intellectual freedom and is available online and at all six library front desks. “Access is provided readily and equitably to users, regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, age, disability, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status or political views,” it reads.Patrons can file a formal request for reconsideration using a form that initiates the review process. Often, concerns are resolved informally at the desk, according to Fitzmaurice, but if a formal challenge is filed, it goes to the library director, who reviews it and passes it to the regional board regardless of outcome.
The policy, reviewed by legal counsel, ensures compliance with state and federal laws and guarantees that decisions aren’t made unilaterally.
All challenges are documented and reviewed by the nine members of the FRL board, who read the book in question before voting.
Hooper attempted to portray the multi-level process as dictatorial, saying “there’s only one opinion there,” despite the participation of at least 10 individuals.
“If a librarian, no matter who you are, decided that it didn't need to be looked at any further, and they just put it back on the shelf, would it stop there?” she asked.
“No,” several FRL Board members answered in unison.
“Okay, if it goes to the director and they decide, does it stop there?” Hooper asked.
“No,” several FRL Board members again answered in unison.
“It’s very clear in the collection development policy,” Womble said. “It follows the chain of command.”
Fitzmaurice said that no books had been formally challenged for at least a decade prior to 2022 but that five books have been challenged in the last four years, four in Macon County and one in Jackson County. All were brought to the board for consideration. None were removed.
At this point in the meeting, Jackson County Commissioner Michael Jennings, who said in the June 17 meeting that he was likely to vote for withdrawal from the FRL, entered the room more than 45 minutes late, offering no explanation for his tardiness.
Commissioner Todd Bryson, who’d called for the joint meeting, moved on to discuss how new books make it into the library.
“That’s in the collection development policy,” Womble said, before asking Fitzmaurice to elaborate.
In Jackson County, for instance, both the children’s and adult departments have designated staff responsible for choosing books, using peer-reviewed journals, patron requests and staff recommendations to guide selections. While individual staff members place orders, suggestions are welcome from any library employee or patron. Front desk staff regularly relay community input, and NC Cardinal, a statewide consortium, helps supplement local collections by allowing interlibrary borrowing from 63 other counties.
Books are periodically reviewed and removed through a process called "weeding," which eliminates outdated or unused materials. This is especially important for medical, legal or financial works that must remain current so as not to become misleading.
Items not checked out in three years are typically removed, meaning those who borrow LGBTQ+ books to prevent others from accessing them — as has happened in Yancey County — are actually prolonging their shelf life and possibly generating new sales if the books don’t come back.
Donated books are evaluated according to the same collection development policy. Books that are outdated, damaged or irrelevant are declined, while appropriate items are added, recorded and reported to the state. Donations can also include designated funds or materials, and libraries ensure those are used exactly as intended.
“Friends of the library”-type groups and individuals may donate funds or materials, but they don’t purchase books independently for the system.
This year to date, Jackson County has purchased roughly 4,700 books. Bryson asked if there was any way the Jackson County Library Board could review new additions. Fitzmaurice said no — and not just because of the logistics of a nine-member volunteer advisory board having to review an average of 26 books a day, every single day of every single year.
“They are not trained,” she said. “They do not have an MLIS or other training that the library folks have.”
Training is ongoing for all staff involved in collection development and purchasing, ensuring adherence to professional standards. Though routine, the process is transparent and well-regulated, combining local input with professional expertise to maintain a balanced and responsive collection that minimizes exposure to legal liability for discrimination.
“What does MLIS stand for?” Hooper asked. A master of library and information science degree is generally required to become a librarian in North Carolina.
After a recess, Letson asked about the reclassification process. In library terms, reclassification refers to changing how a book is categorized, shelved or labeled within the library’s system — not removing it, but relocating it to a different section based on subject matter or intended audience.
Since 2020, the Fontana Regional Library system has reviewed a total of six books for possible reclassification. When a reclassification request is made, it follows the same formal challenge process as any book appeal; the requester completes a form and submits it to the librarian, triggering a review and eventually a full FRL Board vote. Any decision to move a book applies system-wide, although not all libraries may own the title in question.
The lone reclassified book, “Let’s talk about it,” is an illustrated guide to sex education written in 2021 by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan.
Womble mentioned that the FRL currently has no pending requests for reconsideration.
In Jackson County, only one book — “It’s perfectly normal,” written ... has been formally challenged for reclassification. After review, the Fontana Regional Library Board of Trustees voted to keep the book in its original location, citing its age-appropriate content and the fact that it had been on the shelf for more than a decade without prior complaint.
When Bryson asked why the decision was made, Womble stepped in to preserve the integrity of the powers granted her board in the 2024 interlocal agreement signed by Jackson County last June. A terse exchange between Bryson and Womble followed.
“The Fontana Regional Library Board of Trustees voted on that … you're questioning the decision of the Fontana Regional Library Board of Trustees, most of whom are no longer on the board,” Womble said. “We could go back in our minutes, we could watch the video from that that meeting to see that, but quite honestly, I don't think it's appropriate for you to be questioning that.”
“I think it’s 100% appropriate,” Bryson shot back. “It’s Jackson County’s tax dollars.”
“The Fontana Regional Library agreement delegates that authority to the Fontana Regional Library Board of Trustees,” Womble replied.
“And that’s why we’re here tonight, ain’t it?” Bryson said.
...
“The Fontana Regional Library Board of Trustees chose not to move a book,” Bryson offered as the real reason for the meeting. “It’s classified for what age — it’s written for 10 years old? And it should not be.”
“One book?” Womble replied incredulously. “So you’re serious? The reason we’re here spending this time is because one book two years ago didn’t get moved?”
After the meeting had approached the two-hour mark, Jennings finally chimed in.
“I think part of the reason that there's been only one book challenged is because even if you're taking your kid into the children's section, you're not going to look at every book there,” he opined. “They don't know what all’s in there. Nobody knows every book that's in the library, I'm sure.”
Jennings’ comment speaks to the heart of an argument brought up often by FRL supporters — parents have an obligation to parent their children and, legitimate obscenity notwithstanding, cannot demand any library censor any work that might possibly be the slightest bit offensive to anyone, anywhere, at any time. Jennings went on to ask that images from some of the books he wants moved be displayed in the meeting. A large projection screen behind him showed a folder containing the filenames of several unopened images.
“That’s not the process and the policy of Fontana Regional Library, to do it this way,” Womble said. “The forms need to be filled out so that we can follow the process and the policy.”
Fitzmaurice said that when a book is moved to an area it wasn't published for, the library opens itself up to censorship challenges.
“You also move a book that was written for children into a different section, if it's in an older section, those children are being led to be around books that are written for older age groups,” she said. “The library in Greenville, South Carolina, did just that, and they are under heavy litigation now — and that is, again, something I need to avoid.”
Bryson jumped right back into it.
“And I’m absolutely going to ask about a book that is in question, Ms. Womble,” Bryson said. “I’m elected by Jackson County, by the majority of Jackson County, so I will ask about the books, and you’re not going to stop me.”
Bryson was not elected by the majority of Jackson County’s 45,000 residents, or even the majority of Jackson County’s 29,751 registered voters. ...
“I'm not going to stop you from asking, but I will ask you to please fill out one of the forms so that we can properly address the book,” ...
Jennings, however, pushed for his slides to be displayed. Womble again demurred, saying it would violate both FRL policy and the deal she’d made with Letson prior to the meeting.
Fitzmaurice, revealing the breadth of her industry-specific expertise, warned that judging a book by its proverbial cover — or just an image, or a few paragraphs — would create legal exposure for the FRL.
“That’s almost like saying it’s illegal to judge a person by one act they did and committed murder,” Hooper offered, prompting more derision from the audience.
Fitzmaurice explained that such decisions are made in accordance with the “Miller test.” ...
Rady Large, FRL’s pro-bono attorney, eventually explained in greater detail and offered a remedy.
“The FRL board is not trying to be non-transparent by saying there's really not any good that can come from [displaying the images] in this meeting,” Large said. “Just showing select images to this board that cannot take action at this time, just really it would just be kind of, ‘Okay. You've shown us some pictures in a book that you guys don't agree with,’ right? Before you … is the form that you can use to challenge the piece of work that you guys want to challenge — you, individually, as a member of the community, can walk into the library with that form, fill it out online, whatever you want, and then there'll be a full hearing in which the board will discuss that piece of work.”
“If y'all are not willing to look at this, then maybe the meeting’s a waste of time,” Bryson said in frustration.
The final major topic of the evening was the physical security of library patrons, especially children. The FRL’s safe child policy was last updated in 2023 and sets clear guidelines for parental supervision based on a child’s age.
Children under 8 years old must be physically accompanied by a parent or guardian at all times. From ages 8 to 12, a parent must be present somewhere in the library, though not necessarily at the child’s side. Once children are over 12, they may use the library independently, but only with the permission of a parent, legal guardian or caretaker and in accordance with all library policies.
The policy aims to balance safety with flexibility
Additionally, the juvenile limited card restricts children 15 and under to materials in the children’s section unless otherwise allowed by a parent, reinforcing that access to materials is a parental choice.Despite commissioners running into dead end after dead end for more than two hours while trying to poke holes in FRL’s financial, administrative and operational policy, performance and governing agreements, no clear evidence of FRL’s noncompliance with the interlocal agreement was ever presented by anyone.
As the meeting wound down, discussion from Bryson, Hooper and Jennings proceeded to circle back to topics that had already been discussed and prompted explanations that had already been provided.
Like Macon County conservative activist Jim Gaston had in the past, Hooper took a final opportunity to smear the library by bringing up the issue of s-x offenders that had been caught there — but failing to note that it was library workers who caught them.
“I think we found four or fiv- sex offenders in the library before,” Fitzmaurice said. “We've reported every one of them immediately. We've had them arrested. We keep a very close watch, and if anyone is acting in a way that we deem concerning, we immediately report it.”
Library staff take active measures to prevent registered s-x offenders from entering facilities, as they’re legally prohibited from being on library premises. Signs on every library door proclaim the ban and employees remain vigilant, especially near children's areas.
...
With that, Fitzmaurice unknowingly closed the face-to-face meeting with perhaps a plainer truth than anyone else who’s spoken publicly on the issue.
“I would like to say one thing — that the library is a very, very safe space. We watch out for the children. We want the best for the children, and we work closely with the parents,” she said. “We have a lot of happy people come into the library. We have books in the library that represent our entire community. Everyone in the community has to be represented in our library.”
Commissioners scheduled a meeting for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 24, where they were to attempt to pass a budget with a substantial property tax increase for the second time in a week. Listed on the agenda was a vote to resolve the FRL issue, once and for all.
If they decide to withdraw, they will disregard overwhelming public support, discard a high-performing nonprofit, jeopardize grant funding, imperil technology access, weaken strategic planning created with broad public input, risk expensive First Amendment lawsuits, threaten essential services like job training and ultimately replace professional, transparent operations with an unproven, politically motivated alternative that commissioners themselves admit they do not fully understand — all because of a disagreement on one book, two years ago.
It will be about a year until the formal withdrawal is complete.
It will be about a year until library patrons start noticing diminishing access to shared assets and reduced service efficiency.
It will be about a year until the extra $800,000 hits taxpayers’ wallets.
It will also be about a year until Jackson County commissioners find themselves face to face with voters — or attorneys.
Anddd.... they did it. I'm gobsmacked someone had to ask what MLIS stood for.https://smokymountainnews.com/news/it...
Jackson County votes to leave Fontana Regional Library system
In a historic decision that will reshape the future of public library services in Jackson County, commissioners voted Tuesday night to withdraw from the Fontana Regional Library system after months of controversy over content and control.
The vote, which came at the close of a brief meeting with no public comment period, followed weeks of increasingly contentious debate.
Commissioners had been under mounting pressure from a vocal faction of outside agitators and Jackson County residents who claim Fontana libraries promote “inappropriate” sex education materials to minors, including LGBTQ+ materials.
Supporters of the FRL warned that the move would disrupt services, cost more and expose the county to legal liability over First Amendment issues.
Opponents countered that local control was more important than regional cooperation, accusing Fontana — without basis — of ideological drift and insufficient responsiveness.
Fontana Regional Library officials dispute that claim and spent nearly three hours June 19 answering questions from commissioners about library operations. No clear evidence of FRL’s noncompliance with the 2024 interlocal agreement signed by Jackson County was ever presented by anyone.
Mason, Sarah Steiner, Steve Steinbrueck and Casey Walawender — who expressed support for the regional system, the Jackson County Public Library and its leadership.
“We are deeply disappointed by the Jackson County commissioners’ decision to withdraw from the FRL system,” the statement reads. “This move comes despite early warnings from County Manager Kevin King that operating an independent system would increase the county budget by at least half a million dollars annually, and despite a variety of adjustments made by JCPL in support of parental rights.”
The statement goes on to say that the move by commissioners threatens the library’s independence, disregards FRL’s high-performing fiscal management and ignores strong public support seen throughout the process.
“We will continue to work to protect the First Amendment rights of minors and to challenge multiple FRL and JCPL board appointments made or recommended in writing by Jackson County Commissioners,” the statement continues. “These appointments, which were explicitly noted as open to ‘Christian Conservative’ candidates, raise serious concerns about religious discrimination, violate the principle of separation of church and state, and will soon enable the removal of FRL Director Tracy Fitzmaurice. These appointments also open the door to policy changes that may infringe on the constitutional rights of minors and undermine the inclusive mission of our public libraries.”
A Jan. 16 email purportedly written by Commissioner John Smith to FRL board member Bill McGaha says Smith is pushing for more “Conservative Christian” representatives on that board. Religion has played a key role in the library dispute, with a number of pastors — through the lens of their own ideologies — denouncing the library for supposedly pushing LGBTQ+ ideology.
The statement ends by noting that residents are “actively seeking” legal counsel to challenge all actions pertaining to the FRL taken by commissioners, as has happened in Yancey County.
For librarians and staff, the decision leaves more questions than answers. Fontana employees assigned to the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva and the Albert Carlton-Cashiers Community Library in Cashiers are technically FRL employees, not county workers. It’s unclear whether their jobs will be retained, reassigned or eliminated once the transition is complete.
Community members worry the disruption will be felt most acutely by children, seniors and lower-income residents who rely on public libraries not just for books, but for internet access, educational programming, job search assistance and social connection.
Cynthia Mason Womble, acting chair of the FRL board, issued a statement about 90 minutes after the vote. She said she was speaking only for herself, and not for her board.
"We had hoped that the joint meeting offered the Jackson County commissioners a path to a lawful resolution of their concerns. I am disappointed the Jackson County Commissioners voted to pull out of Fontana Regional Library. I believe this decision will negatively impact all three counties and wind up costing more," Womble told The Smoky Mountain News. "Over the coming year, the Board of Trustees would like to continue a dialogue with Jackson County to execute the responsibilities of the regional agreement with respect to their departure or to their remaining in the region."
What happens next will likely unfold over months. Jackson County must now send formal notice to Fontana, as required by the interlocal agreement, and begin the lengthy process of building something new from the ground up.
...
Thank you to Kelly Jensen for this story: "A library clerk in the Crawford County Library District (MO) was fired for putting up a Pride display (and refusing to take it down when demanded to do so)."https://archive.ph/9IzEZ
Fired library clerk has no regrets over Pride display she wouldn’t take down
Before she put together a book display in honor of Pride month, Rachel Rodman consulted the American Library Association website. In late May, Rodman was a library clerk at the Bourbon branch of the Crawford County Library District. She had been there about a year and had created many such displays of books for holidays and other celebrations.
“I was told I had creative freedom on displays,” Rodman told me. “I was just trying to be inclusive to as many people as I could. I think it’s important for Pride to be celebrated in small towns, also.”
After checking the ALA website, Rodman looked through the library’s own collection of various books with LGBTQ themes. She chose some that didn’t have any particularly provocative titles or covers. On Saturday, May 31, she placed them on a bookshelf with a small sign in the middle: “Color our World with Inclusion,” it said, and in small, 14-point type: “Read With Pride.” In a bit of serendipity, the bookshelf happened to be located next to a wall that had posters about rising censorship in America.
Six days later, Rodman was fired.
The director of the library system, Amy England, delivered the news on June 6 in a letter. “You were asked to perform a specific duty in your capacity as library clerk and refused to do so,” it read.
The “duty” in question was presented to her by the branch manager, who a few days after the display had been up asked Rodman to take it down. She refused.
“I knew I was insubordinate,” she says. “I didn’t think for a second to take it down. It makes no sense to me to back down to bigots.”
The letter dismissing Rodman said the library’s board of trustees voted unanimously to fire her. There is no notice of a special meeting on the trustees’ website. The board’s regular June meeting wasn’t until six days later.
For Rodman, the incident is just another example of how difficult it can be to grow up gay in a small town, especially in a place like rural Missouri where many elected Republicans are antagonistic to LGBTQ issues. Over the past few years, various school boards and library boards in Missouri banned award-winning books related to topics of diversity or equity or inclusion. Former Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft wrote a rule that could open the door to more book bans by threatening rural libraries with needed state funding. The Missouri Legislature threatened budget cuts to any university that didn’t dismantle its diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Living through these moments, and celebrating the freedom of civil rights hard fought for and gained, is sort of the point of Pride month. Rodman grew up in St. Clair in rural Franklin County. She lives now with her husband, Mark, in Sullivan. She didn’t realize she was bisexual until five years into her marriage. Her husband has been supportive, as has her mother. But like many members of the LGBTQ community, she lost some relationships when she went public with her sexual orientation. She and Mark have been married for 14 years. They have four boys and are raising two foster children.
A junior at Maryville University, she is studying social work. Rodman, 33, loved her library job, and might want to stay in that field, though her experience has soured her on ever working for Crawford County again, even if she were to get her job back. Rodman has filed a complaint with the Missouri Human Rights Commission, alleging she was discriminated against.
While she posted about her experience on Facebook, Rodman says she generally shies away from public attention. She’s an unlikely warrior in the ongoing battle against the rise of fascism and censorship in America, but she feels committed to standing up for what she believes in. The timing of her battle happened to coincide with thousands of “No Kings” protests across the country, with millions of Americans standing up to the Trump administration’s trampling of constitutional rights in the opening months of the president’s term.
“I can’t change the opinions of Americans who disagree with me,” Rodman said. “We’re supposed to love our neighbors, but it seems not everybody believes that anymore.”
England declined to comment on Rodman’s firing, though she said in an email that the library district remains “devoted to our policy of creating an inclusive, welcoming, and respectful organizational culture that appreciates and supports individual differences.”
The library district has a diversity and inclusion policy on its website. The words of that policy belie the district’s actions in firing Rodman for welcoming LGBTQ patrons with a display during a month in which they celebrate their shared culture.
That’s why Rodman wouldn’t back down when asked to take down the tasteful display she created in a corner of the adult section of the library.
“I don’t think what I did was wrong,” Rodman says. “I don’t regret doing it.”
Utah- a state with a state sponsored book ban policyWhat books should teachers buy for their classroom libraries? State auditors recommend policies
https://kslnewsradio.com/utah/classro...
State auditors are asking schools and lawmakers to establish policies to help educators choose books for school and classroom libraries.
A new audit found that teachers are unsure what materials they can purchase for classroom libraries. State auditors said policies would clarify this.
“Because school districts haven’t provided clear direction, teachers have autonomy and accountability for the books they choose for their classroom libraries … However, in the case of sensitive materials, a lack of policy or procedures could leave teachers vulnerable to disciplinary action or community scrutiny,” state auditors said in the audit.
Selection policies would also help guide purchases for school libraries, the audit found.
Auditors presented the report at a committee meeting on Wednesday, saying they found most policies for school libraries are geared towards removing materials, and not how to avoid that situation.
“Implementing proactive library material selection policies may prevent sensitive materials from entering schools and later save time and resources due to book challenges,” auditors said in the report.
The audit resulted in four recommendations, two of which dealt specifically with book selection. The first was aimed at lawmakers:
We recommend that the Legislature consider the policy question of whether to require Local Education Agencies to have a policy for library book selection processes.”
The second spoke to those within the education system:
We recommend that Local Education Agencies create and implement policies and processes to ensure communication with all school staff regarding sensitive materials processes, and utilize tools offered by the Utah State Board of Education to do so.”
Utah’s new Superintendent, Dr. Molly Hart, said the board had considered creating book selection policies.
“At this time, we chose to stick to what was in legislation. And selection was not in legislation at that time,” Hart said.
Hart said they could provide additional training to teachers on what materials are considered appropriate, but reiterated it is generally up to each school district to decide what is appropriate for their schools.
Kelly Jensen of BookRiot reports:Groups are urging Florida lawmakers to investigate the state’s decision to meddle in book bans at school districts–something that isn’t required by their own pro-book banning policies.
https://www.tallahassee.com/story/new...
Does FERPA protect parents' identities when they challenge books? NC school districts offer mixed interpretationshttps://www.whqr.org/local/2025-06-20...
This question arose after New Hanover County Schools redacted the name of the parent challenging Blended — something the district didn't do with the parent challenging Stamped. This inconsistency is seen across North Carolina school districts as well.
Two attorneys who specialize in the interpretation of the student privacy law — the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act — said parent names in cases involving challenges to book or other curriculum material aren’t protected. But the NHCS’s current law firm maintains FERPA does apply, claiming that the parental complaint of the book Blended is a part of a student’s educational record, and if the parent's name were revealed, it would lead to identifying the student.
FERPA protects student records. ...
Jonathan Gaston-Falk is a staff attorney at the Student Press Law Center. WHQR wrote to the organization about FERPA protecting the parent's name in the challenge to Blended. The request included removing the book from district libraries and classrooms, which would ultimately affect other families in the district.
Gaston-Falk responded, “Based on the information you gave, I do not believe FERPA would apply. Such a complaint should not constitute an educational record under the Act. In fact, I would be alarmed if such a document, which has an effect on all children in the district, could be kept under lock and key because of FERPA.”
Since the parent, school board member Josie Barnhart, filed the complaint, two school committees (Wrightsboro Elementary and NHCS) have reviewed the book and determined it could remain. However, the superintendent overruled their decisions, saying it can be checked out with parental permission for students in fourth or fifth grade and can also remain in libraries for middle and high school students.
That decision will stay because neither Barnhart nor the district's Media and Technology Advisory Committee (MTAC) challenged Barnes’ decision during the 15-day window to appeal.
Barnhart said she believes her and her student's privacy was violated, and the information surrounding her book complaint was “leaked." John Hinnant, the chair of the New Hanover County GOP, also saw it this way when he came to the school board’s public comment period on June 3. However, another audience member, Sandy Eyles, used her time to outline that Barnhart’s privacy rights stopped when she moved beyond her student’s education to limit other parents’ decisions about the book.
Neubia Harris, another attorney who specializes in education law and practices in North Carolina, wrote in an email, “It's my opinion that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, safeguards the privacy of students' education records, and that its confidentiality provisions do not typically extend to general parental communications about school policy, unless the communications become part of a student's education records. Therefore, a parent's identity linked to a district-wide book removal request is generally not protected under FERPA.”
She added, "When a parent communicates with the district about curriculum or materials, they usually participate in civic discourse. These types of communications are typically subject to public records laws rather than being protected by student privacy statutes.”
Lawyers for the district also maintain that they didn’t release the parent's name because the student could plausibly be identified if they did. This personally identifiable information (PII) subset of FERPA has been used to protect data if fewer than 10 students of a particular subgroup are making a specific test grade. The district has also done this previously with student suspension data.
Pate McMichael is the executive director of the North Carolina Open Government Coalition at Elon University. He’s since started a project asking all 134 school districts to send documentation of removal requests for curricula or library books going back to 2020. WHQR participated in a similar project with media organizations throughout the state.
So far, he’s found a mixed bag regarding North Carolina school districts redacting parent names from curriculum or book complaints.
“From the list we [ran on June 9], we’ve got disclosures from Mecklenburg, Randolph, and Pitt counties where the requester's name was disclosed. Then there's a gray area. Some schools, Sampson and Burke County Schools, are not disclosing the name of the requester. They're blacking it out, citing FERPA,” he said.
While McMichael admits he’s not an attorney, he said he is 100% certain these cases are not subject to FERPA. He disputes Barnhart's claim that disclosing the parent's name harms the student.
“Are there examples where disclosing the name of a parent attempting to restrict materials from consideration has led to harm to a student? The people making this argument should provide those rather than go around accusing people of violating people's privacy,” he said. “There's nothing in the state law that says school systems need to restrict the names of who's making those requests, so where is their justification for not disclosing? I can't find it anywhere.”
He added that most school districts ask for the parents' name and signature on these request for removal forms, which would constitute a public record. Pate questioned why districts would ask for these names in the first place if that wouldn’t be subject to public disclosure.
While the General Assembly could theoretically change the statute regarding the identity of book and curriculum complaints, they haven’t done so yet. He also points to current law § 115C‑98, which states that the local school board would have the final say over whether challenged material should be “retained or removed.”
“So if that person didn't recuse themselves, let's say it went that far, hypothetically, and the person making the request was also on the board deciding it, I don't think anybody would consider that a legitimate type of hearing," he said. "And you would have to recuse yourself, but how would the public know whether that was happening or not if the name is not disclosed?”
If the NHCS attorneys prevail, books and curriculum can be limited and/or removed without the public knowing which parent ultimately made that choice for other families in the district.
McMichael said another wrench in this process is that it could allow members of the public outside of the local community to have control over materials.
“You're choosing to engage in that conversation with your fellow parents or fellow members of the public, and they have a right to know that you're the one making that request, not someone in D.C. [...] It's our position [NC Open Government Coalition] that sunlight is the best disinfectant, and we believe that the more open our records are, the more likely we are to understand how our government functions, and what's going on with the public's business,” he said. ...
How do you balance a book about racism and anti-racism? Also in New Hanover County Schools
New Hanover County school board overrules committee decision, bans ‘Stamped’ from curriculum
https://portcitydaily.com/local-news/...
he New Hanover County Board of Education made its curriculum ban on a book permanent Tuesday. The move defied recommendation from a district committee, whose members all agreed the book should be returned to the classroom, with some saying it should be accompanied by another work to balance its perspective.
The board voted 5-1 to maintain the ban on “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You,” Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds’ book exploring America’s history with racist ideas that was removed from the AP English curriculum in August 2023. The book will remain prohibited in district course content but will be available in high school libraries.
The day prior to the board’s vote, the district’s curriculum committee unanimously approved the book’s return to AP English classroom.
It was a 7-2 vote for the committee — although all members agreed the book should be returned to the classorom. Seven members voted the book could return without another accompanying book. Two members voted for its return with a “balanced” book to represent an alternate perspective. The committee recommended it would signal that teachers are “educational experts in their classrooms.”
The school board vote was split along political lines with Republicans Melissa Mason, Pete Wildeboer, Josie Barnhart, David Perry, and Pat Bradford in favor of keeping “Stamped” out of classrooms; Democrat Tim Merrick dissented and Judy Justice was absent.
“Federal dollars for CRT [critical race theory] and books that go on and on about racism and anti-white, anti-capitalism and so on — we risk those federal dollars,” Bradford said.
The Republican board member also maintained the decision was not a ban.
“This school board has never banned anything,” Bradford said.
Merrick pushed back: “When a teacher’s not allowed to have a book, that’s a ban.”
He added he trusted the district’s educators to understand what students need and they have said “in no uncertain terms to let [them] teach.”
WHQR and Port City Daily have requested the curriculum committee’s membership. Bradford also said she’d like to have that information. The district’s website only lists Mason as a member of the advisory committee.
Both Perry and Wildeboer criticized the committee’s recommendation, claiming they were supposed to offer balanced material to be taught in conjunction with “Stamped.”
“I thought the whole purpose of sending it to the curriculum committee was for us to get a balanced approach and that seems to have gotten lost somewhere in the translation,” Perry said.
He added there was no good reason for the book, but said it could be taught in an AP history course for students to discuss divisive ideologies and current events.
The AP Language and Composition course calls on students to evaluate various points of view through current events. They assess whether the author makes a cogent argument through word choice, sentence structure, and overall claims.
Mason read aloud the committee’s suggested options for a companion book to “Stamped,” including: “The New Jim Crow,” “Four Hundred Souls,” “The Half Has Never Been Told,” “Blue Highways,” “A People’s History of the United States,” “Strangers in Their Own Land,” “Educated,” “Long Walk to Freedom,” and “Democracy in America.”
Wildeboer claimed the curriculum committee violated policy by denying a board member the opportunity to vote on the recommendation. However, in April the board voted unanimously, on Barnes’ recommendation to keep the committee as an advisory body with only two school board members present — apparently without a voting role — along with eight other staff and community members.
Barnes told the board that it was his “fault” about the “voting thing” and that he would work with Wildeboer in the policy committee “to definitely delineate this.” He said on the district’s website, it only acknowledges Mason, so they need to change this to reflect the “accurate number as well.”
The board did vote in April on the status of this committee, but Bradford and Barnhart had advocated for three board members to have voting powers, so it’s unclear how they will proceed. At Tuesday’s agenda review, the board members did not vote on which members would have representation.
Additionally, at the curriculum committee on Monday, Mason did not raise any questions about board voting powers. The board stated previously they would defer to the expertise of staff, although Tuesday’s vote to override the committee decision indicates otherwise.
Kelli Kidwell, the teacher who taught “Stamped” in her classroom, said she isn’t surprised by the outcome. She pointed out several committees unanimously voted for it to stay in her classroom.
Kidwell also was upset by the characterization that she did not help support Katie Gates’ daughter in her studies and the “Stamped” hearing showed it was Gates’ choice to remove her from the classroom environment. Kidwell said she stands by the book and responded to claims made by Bradford and Perry:
“It is important when making curricular decisions to understand that Black and brown students have a different American experience, and books that go ‘on and on about racism and anti-white and anti-capitalism,’ (a gross and inaccurate misrepresentation of the content of “Stamped”) allow for that experience,” she wrote. “And by definition, a rhetorical analysis is examining texts — word choice, language, strategies, techniques — to understand how the audience is impacted by the author’s message. Therefore, ‘divisive ideology and current events’ are perfect for this type of work. Finally, what does it mean to say you want a ‘balanced book’ or ‘balanced approach’? What book balances America’s history of and relationship with racism? There is no other ‘side of the picture’ for students to see concerning racism.”
Alberta Canadahttps://www.ctvnews.ca/edmonton/artic...
Survey shows most Albertans don’t want province setting standards for school library books, province going ahead
Survey results from the Alberta government show the majority of respondents don’t support the province setting standards for school library books.
The survey ran between May 26 and June 6 and asked respondents multiple questions on “s--ually explicit content” in school libraries, though no definition was given as to what that included.
It was opened by the United Conservative Party in May after the education minister announced plans for new rules around school books.
The survey gathered 77,395 unique responses, with an additional 515 responses received on the French Language survey.
Nearly half of respondents were guardians of school-aged children. The results show support for provincial standards for school library materials was highest among this group.
However, while 44 per cent of that category was very or somewhat supportive, 49 per cent were not at all or not very supportive.
Sixty-one per cent of all respondents said they have never been concerned about a school library book being inappropriate due to sexually explicit content, while 62 per cent agreed that parents and guardians should play a role in reporting or challenging sexually explicit content.
Opinions on who should decide what materials are age-appropriate were more evenly divided: 23 per cent said school librarians, 20 per cent said teachers and 19 per cent said parents.
When asked at what age children should be able to access sexually explicit content, half of respondents said either middle school (22 per cent) or high school (23 per cent).
Thirty-four per cent said never, including 42 per cent of parents, and 17 per cent said all ages.
Most respondents were also supportive of school libraries handling explicit materials by restricting by grade (41 per cent), requiring parental permission (12 per cent) or keeping it available to all students (17 per cent). The other 30 per cent said it should be removed entirely.
On Friday, the province said the survey results showed “strong support” for a school library policy and it would be using them, and feedback from education partners, to develop province-wide standards.
“Parents, educators and Albertans in general want action to ensure children don’t have access to age-inappropriate materials in school libraries,” said Demetrios Nicolaides, minister of education and childcare.
“We will use this valuable input to guide the creation of a provincewide standard to ensure the policy reflects the priorities and values of Albertans.”
CTV News Edmonton reached out to the education minister for more information on the survey but did not receive a response.
no schools in Alberta have yet to find these so-called inappropriate books in their libraries. https://claresholmlocalpress.ca/2025/...
Government alerted to no s--ually graphic material so far in rural school libraries
No examples of potentially age-inappropriate content from Alberta’s rural school libraries had landed on the education minister’s desk by Tuesday morning.
During a roundtable with about 20 reporters and other rural media representatives, Demetrios Nicolaides confirmed that the examples of graphic content the government was alerted to originated from four books in Edmonton and Calgary school libraries.
But their existence nonetheless suggests that there’s a standards gap when it comes to explicit material that could end up in the hands of children, he maintained.
“It’s almost an impossibility to be able to know the full extent of the content of the vast majority of books that are published in any environment,” said Nicolaides, the member for Calgary-Bow. “So these are ones that we do know of, of course, that were brought to our attention.”
Regardless, don’t expect the government to go through each library’s collection, said Nicolaides, whose portfolio expanded May 16 to include childcare. “How school boards have their libraries vet or sort content will probably be left up to them.”
The UCP set up the roundtable to answer questions about the move towards provincial standards for school libraries in the selection and management of materials with s--ual content.
Explicit depictions of s--ual and other acts in four graphic novels or graphic memoirs — books in comic-strip format — prompted the province to announce that it’s investigating the idea of developing standards. The books were found in school libraries open to children in kindergarten and up.
Feedback suggests that many school boards are comfortable with an overall standard being set, Nicolaides said, providing they retain control of acting on the province’s direction through their own policies.
“That’s probably the direction we’ll go because there are a lot of nuances. We’ll establish the ‘what’ — what we’re trying to do, what we intend to do.”
But the “how” will stay with boards, allowing them to apply their “unique circumstances, unique schools and unique dynamics” to the provincial direction.
Nicolaides announced consideration of the new standards May 26, which the government backed up with an online survey of Albertans’ thoughts on the issue.
The survey closed June 6 and by Tuesday results were still being “collected and collated,” Nicolaides said.
(view spoiler) Mentions of self-harm, sexual abuse and suicide are also present. The books were in libraries visited by students in kindergarten and higher grades, the government said.
All four are coming-of-age books written by Americans and based upon their authors’ life experiences. Three of them directly reflect experiences in the LGBTQ2S+ community.
After hearing about the roundtable, the NDP maintained that the UCP is diverting attention from its own performance.
“This government continues to fund education at the lowest level in the country, leaving schools overcrowded and understaffed,” said Amanda Chapman, the opposition’s shadow minister of education.
“Instead of addressing the urgent issues in our classrooms — like overcrowding, staffing shortages and Alberta’s position as the lowest funder of education per student in the country — the Minister of Education is focused on staging political distractions,” Chapman said in an emailed statement.
“What’s more troubling is the pattern we’re seeing from this government: decisions made behind closed doors, performative consultations that offer no real clarity, and a consistent refusal to be upfront with Albertans about what they’ve heard and how policies will be rolled out.”
Decisions on school library content should lie not with politicians but with teachers and library professionals. “In many cases, there aren’t even librarians available to make these decisions, let alone enough teachers or educational assistants to support our kids,” said Chapman, the member representing Calgary-Beddington.
“Albertans deserve a government that is transparent, ethical and competent — one that trusts experts to do their jobs and gives them the resources to do them well.”
Nicolaides doesn’t foresee a need for new legislation. Any standards the government creates will come into being through ministerial order.
How or whether the standards apply to every age or grade range hasn’t been determined.
Nicolaides stopped well short of endorsing the four books, but he did say that s--ually graphic content can be important for some ages and groups in some situations.
“Our major concern is around age appropriateness,” he said. Explicit books “can be helpful resources to individuals who have a particular experience or have particular questions. And I don’t have any concern with any kind of topic or subject being made available in school libraries.”
Many school boards already have policies around content. Potential new requirements would be consistent across the province and would apply to public, separate, francophone, public charter and independent schools.
A new standard would not affect materials in Alberta’s municipal public libraries, including 55 of them located in schools.
“Those could be uniquely challenging scenarios,” Nicolaides said.
He said he’s talked the issue over with Dan Williams, the new minister of municipal affairs, but not in any depth. The Peace River representative was appointed May 26, after the last minster. Ric McIver, accepted the position of speaker of the legislative assembly.
“We have had some conversations, because he is interested in understanding a little bit more about what we’re doing,” said Nicolaides.
More stories from BookRiot's Literary Activism newsletterWyoming where book banners deny being book banners
PAYWALLED
https://www.wyomingnews.com/laramiebo...
A Georgia library worker was fired for having a trans book in a book display.
https://www.firstcoastnews.com/articl...
Pierce County, GA library manager fired following book display including book about trans boy
Lavonnia Moore worked for the library system for 15 years.
A longtime employee of the library in Pierce County, Georgia has been fired after a controversial book display including a book about a transgender boy.
Lavonnia Moore was the library manager at the Pierce County Library. Her sister, Alicia Moore, spoke with First Coast News Friday. She said Lavonnia’s dreams were shattered Wednesday when she was fired from her position because of a book in a summer reading display.
"She messaged the family group and said ‘I was just fired,'" Alicia said.
She detailed what the last few days have been like for her sister.
“I don’t think she’s doing emotionally good, because imagine having to pack up 15 years in two days," Alicia explained.
Alicia said Lavonnia had been with the library system for 15 years and worked her way up from part-time clerk to library manager.
She explained the book that led to her firing is called When Aiden Became a Brother, a story of a transgender boy preparing for the birth of a new sibling.
The book drew sharp criticism from a community group called Alliance for Faith and Family, the same group that fought for the removal of a mural in the Waycross-Ware County Public Library. The group posted on social media urging people to reach out to the library system and county commissioners.
The Pierce County Library is part of the Three Rivers Regional Library System. First Coast News reached out to the director, Jeremy Snell, multiple times about the display and the firing of the library manager, but he has not responded.
The Alliance for Faith and Family thanked the library system on social media for “quickly addressing their concerns.”
The book’s author Kyle Lukoff also weighed in. He told First Coast News he received a message about the librarian. He said "the story itself says everything I want it to, which is that trans people are a blessing," and encouraged people to read the book.
Alicia is now calling for people to reach out to the library board and county commissioners, this time to show support for Lavonnia.
MichiganCromaine Public Library will not be sequestering LGBTQ+ books from the rest of the collection.
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/06/2...
Local Michigan library board backs away from policy to sequester LGBTQ+ themed books
Regardless, ACLU Michigan still plans to monitor new labeling policy for misuse
A local Michigan library’s board of trustees will not move forward with a controversial policy to sequester challenged books to a special section or out of view from the general public – which sparked First Amendment and LGBTQ+ discrimination concerns.
The fledgling policy was being considered by the Cromaine District Library in Hartland, located in Livingston County near Howell, which raised eyebrows and tensions because many of the books being challenged in the library contain LGBTQ+ characters or themes.
Attorneys and advocates who voiced opposition to the policy said the sequestration of challenged books based almost exclusively on the anti-LGBTQ+ beliefs of some board or community members was discriminatory and a book ban in all but name.
.., activists and attorneys across Michigan have said that similarly sequestering or restricting access to books runs afoul of the First Amendment.
The board discussed the policy in June at a special meeting that saw some community members removed from the library and ended with a visit from the Livingston County Sheriff’s Department to make sure the meeting remained orderly.
Members of the Cromaine District Library Board of Trustees on Thursday, June 19, backed off from the sequestration policy being discussed by the board since January. The board instead voted to adopt a policy that would simply label books found to contain extreme violence or graphic s--ual content.
Sarah Neidart, director of the Cromaine District Library, told Michigan Advance that the policy allows for non-prejudicial, viewpoint-neutral labels, specifically crafted to notify patterns “that materials may contain graphic violence or s--ually explicit material as defined ‘by law.’”
“This was the conclusion of an effort by the board to work together to craft a policy that retains the right of local parents or guardians to restrict what their children read, rather than rely on staff to censor what a child may access in the library,” Neidart said in a statement.
The amendment to the policy can be found in Article 9, Section E.
“If the director determines the material may contain graphic violence or s--ually explicit material (as defined in the Appendixes), the material may be: relocated within the collection, and/or labeled with, ‘this book may contain graphic violence or s--ually explicit material – Cromaine District Library,’” the amended policy reads.
Groups like the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan told the Cromaine Library Board of Trustees that it was monitoring the situation and urged members against sequestration of challenged books or using labels to deter patrons from reading or seeing LGBTQ+ materials.
In response to the new policy adopted late last week, Jay Kaplan, a long-time staff attorney with the ACLU of Michigan specializing in LGBTQ+ rights, told the Advance that it was important to understand how the library would define graphic violence and s--ually explicit material.
“It’s probably legal and constitutional for a library board to have that authority, but we just want to make sure that it’s not misused,” Kaplan said. “Certainly, there’s been some comments by members of that library board that would seem to indicate that one might be concerned that it would be misused.”
Kaplan said the ACLU of Michigan and other groups would be watching closely to see how the labeling process unfolds.
“There’s been a number of books that … one person has complained about and those books feature LGBTQ+ characters and content,” Kaplan said. “Hopefully, this new policy won’t be used as a way to label books – not because they are graphically violent or s---ally explicit – but because they contain [LGBTQ+] subject matter.”
VirginiaRockingham County school board removes more books from libraries
https://www.dnronline.com/news/educat...
California- an anti-book ban stateRedlands school board OKs flag, explicit book rules
Policies will ban most flags on campus, make it easier to pull inappropriate books
https://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/20...
The Redlands school board passed two policies — one to ban most flags and a second to make it easier to remove explicit books from library shelves — during a marathon meeting Tuesday night, June 24.
Nearly 500 people signed up to speak to the Redlands Unified School District board, which took up the emotional topics once again. The session went late into the night, when a split board voted to bar all but the American and U.S. military flags and to adjust its library policy to streamline the process of taking books with s----ally explicit material off shelves.
It was a first reading of the policies, which will be considered at a later meeting for potential final approval.
A parent notification policy was on the agenda but pushed to the next board meeting on Tuesday, July 8.
The library and flag policies were listed as “consent items,” a portion of the agenda that is decided upon in one vote and without board discussion. Trustees voted on the two policies individually, with both passing 3-2.
Board President Michele Rendler and members Candy Olson and Jeanette Wilson voted in favor; Patty Holohan and Melissa Ayala-Quintero voted against. The three members who supported the policies did not comment on their votes during the meeting, but in the past have said that schools should be neutral, inclusive spaces free of s--ually explicit or obscene material.
Those who opposed the rules did speak.
“It is a slap in the face to our librarians who work hard all the time,” Holohan said.
Holohan said she didn’t understand how these policies upheld board values to create a safe and inclusive environment.
“This goes against what we are trying to do here,” she said. “… When the lawsuits start coming in, I hope that you feel good about that.”
Ayala-Quintero said her opinion didn’t matter, but she wanted to state her opposition for the record.
“Your prejudice is showing, and you should all be embarrassed,” she said.
Ayala-Quintero said she was embarrassed to share the dais with the other board members. They had a chance to do something kind and be empathetic to students, but chose not to, she said.
“It does matter how you govern,” Ayala-Quintero said. “… We are entrusted to make sure the public school is just that: a fair and equitable case for everyone.”
Opponents of the flag rule allege it’s a veiled attempt to keep pride flags off campuses.
Before the meeting, state Sen. Eloise Gómez Reyes, D-Colton, and Assemblymember Robert Garcia, D-Rancho Cucamonga, sent a joint letter to the board calling on trustees to drop policies it said are harmful to students and would marginalize the LGBTQ+ community.
...
The board allotted 45 seconds for each speaker. Ayala-Quintero and Holohan argued for more time.
“I understand that this is inconvenient for us, but they are our constituents and they deserve to have the right to speak,” Ayala-Quintero.
She said that, by cutting or limiting their time, the board was showing it did not value their input.
Olson said speakers could get their point across in 30 seconds and that they would say nothing the board has not already heard.
As people spoke, many alternated between holding orange papers that said, in bold: “Put Your Phone Away Candy” and books they alleged could be on the chopping block.
Though all three policies were discussed at a board workshop in March, the flag policy was introduced in January.
That policy would remove from campuses all flags other than the United States, California and military flags. The policy states that the board’s goal “is to maintain a patriotic, safe, appropriate and welcoming environment.”
The policy also states that events must align with district goals without “without emphasizing or endorsing particular political, social or religious beliefs.”
Under the library policy, if a book is “perceived” as s--ually explicit by a member of the public, it would be removed within three days and be subject to a school board hearing set within 45 days.
The majority of speakers opposed the policies, calling them a censorship of the LGBTQ+ community and a message that those students don’t belong.
Paige Mann, a librarian, said she believes there is a standard when deciding what is in a library and that personal beliefs should not come into play.
If the board was going to designate pride flags as a s-x symbol, then by that logic, wedding bans, wedding photos and children should be banned as they also represent s-x, Mann said.
Nancy O’Connor, a retired teacher and Redlands resident, said she was once proud to tell people she was from Redlands. The city used to be considered an educational and artistic hub that celebrated diversity, she said.
“People on the board are looking to turn the clock back … keep in mind that liberty dies where books are banned,” O’Connor said.
Redlands resident Sarah Russ said the board was at risk of “losing liberty.”
“These policies don’t protect students, they limit them,” Russ said. “… A democracy that fears books or flags is a democracy that has forgotten its origins.”
A small portion of the crowd supported the policies and said they aimed to protect children.
Lawrence Hebron, a former school board candidate, the library policy was not about banning books but focusing on what was appropriate for students. He compared it to introducing an infant to food, saying that one would not give steak to a 1-year-old.
“What you feed their mind is equally important,” Hebron said.
Redlands resident Peter Hall said those in the audience against the policy were not there to protect the First Amendment as they said.
“Don’t tell me you’re fighting for freedom of speech,” Hall said. “You are fighting for your monopolization of free speech.”
He said schools should be neutral places.
“You people are in the minority and yet you demand to dictate public policy for the rest of us,” he said.
...
Redlands’ proposed parent notification policy, similar to Chino Valley’s revised policy, would require schools to inform parents if their student moves to change their official or unofficial record. Some have criticized such policies as veiled attempts to target LGBTQ+ students.
A parent notification policy was part of a Redlands board workshop in March. Under the newly revised language, a parent can “opt-in” to receive notifications if their child changes any part of their school record, including a change in pronouns.
Chino Valley schools moved to rewrite its parent notification policy in March 2024 after a court ruling found that two parts of the policy were unconstitutional.
Its original policy — which required schools to inform parents if a child moved to change their pronouns, preferred name or look into gender-affirming sports or facilities — landed the district in court.
In the Redlands policy, parents would receive a form at the beginning of the school year. District employees would be required to notify parents within three days of a staff member being told that a student requests to change their record.
Staff would then have to notify the principal, who would meet with the student to discuss the change. The student would be told that a parent would be notified of the change.
FloridaParents speak out against Orange, other districts removing more books from this list
https://www.cfpublic.org/education/20...
Parents, students and educators with Orange County Schools are speaking out against more books being pulled from school shelves.
The most recent removals were from a list of over 50 books that the Florida Department of Education condemned at their June 4 meeting as “pornographic.”
Stephana Ferrell is the director of the Florida Freedom to Read Project and a mom of two in Orange County Schools. She said the books were removed despite book review committees having deemed several of the books appropriate for high schoolers.
“We are very concerned that there's not a lot of guidance around what is required by the law,” said Ferrell. “Why? Why is the state deciding that we should ignore our process, ignore our committee reviews, and just immediately remove books now, because that's not what the law says?”
At Tuesday’s school board meeting, Ferrell will present a letter to the board asking for the books to be replaced – for now – and for the Joint Administrative Procedures Committee to weigh in on whether or not these actions are lawful.
She said committees are a crucial part of the Florida law governing the process of book challenges and removals that took effect in 2023.
“We're going to ask the school board to kind of join our effort to get the Joint Administrative Procedures Committee, which has representatives from both the Florida House and Florida Senate, to call a hearing and to review the law and review what the State Board of Education has asked our districts to do and determine whether or not that was lawful,” said Ferrell.
Osceola and Hillsborough County Schools have also pre-emptively removed some of the books from the list.
Governor Ron DeSantis and other supporters of these policies say young children should not be exposed to age-inappropriate content at schools.
The censors in Pennsylvania's Elizabethtown Area School Board vetoed a proposal to remove Little Free Libraries from their property. They wanted full banning control over the LFLs.https://lancasteronline.com/news/loca...
Elizabethtown Area school board votes to keep Little Free Libraries as separate entity from district
Elizabethtown Area school board voted unanimously Tuesday to keep Little Free Libraries on its three elementary school properties as a community entity not endorsed by the district and free of any restrictions set forth in the board’s library policy.
With the vote, the Little Free Libraries, which operate as a voluntary book exchange program, will receive placards, written per the advice of the solicitor Jeffrey Litts of Saxton and Stump, denoting that the district doesn’t endorse the libraries. Staff and students who previously maintained the libraries would need to do so outside of school hours.
...
[B]oard member James Emery ... that the board shouldn’t restrict its employees or students from maintaining the library during school hours, even if the library is unendorsed.
...
The Little Free Libraries only recently came to the attention of the board, and its members requested a conversation Tuesday on whether those libraries align with the board’s library materials policy. The board had also considered removing the libraries or altering the library policy to address the libraries.
Two years ago, the board approved a new library materials policy that would rank the district’s 46,000 books into seven categories based on age and level of mature content. The librarians still have 600 books left to sort into categories, district spokesperson Troy Portser told LNP | LancasterOnline earlier this month.
The policy also states the district can’t accept unsolicited donations for inclusion in its school libraries.
Board members have since tried to further tighten that policy, with the board’s policy committee chair James Gilles saying the version revised in 2023 doesn’t go far enough in complying with state law that prohibits disseminating s--ual materials to minors.
Portser said the Little Free Libraries are community-run and first started as part of a service project through the district’s gifted program. In 2016, the board approved the placement of each of the libraries.
Recently, the high school’s computer-aided design program constructed a new structure to house the Little Free Library at East High Elementary School, and the gesture was touted on the district’s social media page. The new structure was painted in the school’s colors, blue and white, and had an E for Elizabethtown painted onto it — insinuating a relationship with the district.
....
The district, however, is not registered with the Little Free Library nonprofit, so board member Danielle Lindemuth suggested registering or renaming the libraries to avoid any trademark or legal complications.
Lindemuth also said that if the Little Free Libraries on the district’s elementary campuses are explicitly labeled as not endorsed by the district, teachers and students should not be maintaining the libraries during school or work hours.
“My concern is that we’re commingling,” Lindemuth said. “If it was done on their time, without the school being a participant in it, then we could say definitely we would be adhering to the policy as written.
Lindemuth said if the libraries remain on elementary campuses and continue to be maintained by students, it is a violation of the policy because maintenance currently involves accepting donations and the books within them aren’t categorized.
“We need to do an all or nothing,” Lindemuth said.
Board member Tina Wilson suggested moving the libraries to a nearby business to continue accessibility for students and community members without keeping it on school property, where it could be interpreted as endorsed by the district or subject to district policy.
If the libraries are registered, Lindemuth said, the Little Free Library nonprofit requires each one to have a designated steward who is responsible for overseeing the library. By doing so, she said, the libraries would be put on the map, and more would be aware of the resource.
Some residents and parents advocating for the Little Free Libraries said the board had a deeper motive for wanting to restrict or monitor content in the libraries.
"You're scrutinizing a student-built and stocked little library. The district students took initiative to create something meaningful for their peers, and you're treating it like a threat,” resident Caitlin Fickes said. "This isn't about policy. This is about censorship and control. You're hurting relationships with the community. You're sending the message that knowledge is dangerous, service doesn't matter, and the truth should be buried”
Resident Kirsten Miller said the Free Little Libraries have allowed her young daughter to choose books embracing her niche interest in mushrooms.
“This book would have cost me $30 to $40 at a store, but we were able to get it for free, able to engage in literacy, science and outdoor activities, as well as community,” Miller said.
The district has already cut funding to purchase books for the middle and high school library to balance the $82 million budget with the board’s requested 2.5% increase.
The community group Freedom Readers was founded in 2022 to oppose book ban attempts by the Elizabethtown Area school board and nationally. Its members have raised half of a $10,000 fundraising goal on GoFundMe to replenish that funding and came out in support of the Little Free Libraries on Tuesday.
"Why does this board work so hard to limit access to books?” Freedom Readers member Linda Munafo asked the board. “Because knowledge is power, and an ignorant electorate must be the goal.”
Fewer residents asked for more restriction to the libraries’ content.
“There’s no way to honor parent opt-out choices because children do have access to those even if their parents aren’t there at that moment,” resident Theia Hostetter said. “This isn’t a personal or political action — it’s the board doing their job.”
Mod
Good for APTN (which is a Canadian First Nations Broadcaster) to not give Manitoba Accessibility Minster Nahanni Fontaine a "break" in any way because she is First Nations herself, for what Fontaine said (even if off camera) about the deaf community and about that ASL interpreter was absolutely vile, unacceptable and needs more than just an apology (which I am glad was given but this should just be the beginning, and Fontaine trying to back-peddle and make excuses is also kind of problematic).
More from BookRiot's Literary Activism newsletterTexas where the governor doesn't seem to have heard of librarians -the people with training and degrees?
Governor Abbott signs bill setting new controls for school library books
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/gov...
Governor Abbott signed a bill into law Friday that restructures how school districts are allowed to purchase or keep books for their libraries, vesting power instead with school boards or an advisory committee.
Senate Bill 13 was one of the 1,155 bills signed into law across this year's legislative session, including many just ahead of this past weekend's deadline.
It's concerning for Austin I.S.D. Parent Kevin Jackson, who says he's always encouraged his two daughters to read.
"It's like a journey, it's like an adventure reading a book," Jackson said. "They just get to see, you know, different perspectives of what's going on in American history and world history, and just different viewpoints."
Now, both in high school, he calls Senate Bill 13 an attack on his right as a parent to monitor what his daughters are reading.
"I'll ask my daughters, like, okay, you're interested in this book. And we can, like, talk about it and everything like that." Jackson said.
Signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on Friday, S.B. 13 gives school boards the final say on what books are allowed in the libraries instead of their librarians.
Senator Angela Paxton authored the bill. ...she called this bill another way to protect community values and young children.
...
The law also gives the Board a mechanism to review parent complaints. Laney Hawes with the Texas Freedom to Read Project says the logistical nightmare aside...
"There are school districts in the state of Texas that are buying tens and tens of thousands of books a year, right?" Hawes said. "So no, we can't reasonably expect a group of five or six people to review all of those books. It's not possible."
She says librarians should be making these decisions. Not political actors.
"Librarians have master's degrees, right? And librarians are very specifically under a code of ethics where they don't make curatorial decisions based on what they like or don't like." Hawes said. "We find that line to be devastating and terrifying, right? That a small group of people will decide what local community values look like."
Jackson is concerned the law will do more harm than good.
"I hope this doesn't prevent, you know, students, especially like in middle school and high school, to prevent them from reading books that they wouldn't normally be able to," Jackson said.
South Dakota book ban law takes effect next week.What the Siouxland libraries expects out of obscene book law
https://www.kotatv.com/2025/06/26/wha...
A new state law allowing South Dakotans to further challenge a book’s graphic nature will take effect starting next week.
Siouxland Libraries has made it clear that they make no effort to collect obscene materials as defined by South Dakota law, but many people may have disagreements on the issue, and that’s something the library hopes can be handled quickly and with transparency.
House Bill 1239 will allow individuals to appeal a book to the governing body as explicit, and if the governing body rejects that appeal, their decision can be subject to judicial review.
In the case of Siouxland Libraries, their governing body is the Library Board.
Siouxland Libraries’ newly elected director, Alysia Boysen, said she wouldn’t be surprised to see an uptick in appeals but expects most of them to be resolved with a simple conversation.
...
Siouxland libraries does not place age restrictions on any of its collections either; however, parents, at their request, may choose to restrict access to library materials and services.
“We don’t determine what is best for any child, we say that the parent knows best, the parent should be having the conversations with their child, we don’t want to interfere with that relationship between a parent and their child,” Boysen said.
Dale Weiler, the father of 5-year-old Wes, said that as Wes gets better at reading, he wants him to be open to all kinds of books.
“The more diverse the topics or whatever it might be within the book is a positive thing; it creates a better picture of the real world to expose them to as much as possible in books,” Weiler said.
Weiler said it’s always been custom in his household to read.
“I can’t think of a night that has gone by where we haven’t read to our kids, so it’s become a daily habit for them, which I think is great,” Weiler said.
Director Boysen said she wants parents to know that she knows they can’t keep up with everything their kids read and encourages concerned parents to talk to library staff and use resources provided to better determine if the book meets the family’s values.
OhioPublic Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County raises concerns regarding potential censorship provisions
According to the OLC, a provision in Ohio's budget proposal would require public libraries to segregate material related to sexual orientation or gender identity or expression so they are not visible to guests under 18.
https://www.wfmj.com/story/52878529/p...
The Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County (PLYMC) along with the Ohio Library Commission (OLC) are sounding the alarm over provisions in the Ohio State Budget that a representative for the library says will not only affect the library's funding, but the content guests have access to.
.... According to Aimee Fifarek, the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County CEO and director, Mahoning County public libraries are expected to receive $550,000 less from the state just in the first year of the budget.
Public libraries across the state are expected to lose $100 million within two years.
Now, library groups are raising the alarm about language in the budget that could restrict access to certain material for guests under 18.
According to the OLC, who represents Ohio's 251 public library systems including PLYMC, a provision in Ohio's budget proposal would require public libraries to segregate material related to sexual orientation or gender identity or expression so they are not visible to guests under 18.
"It's an enormous unfunded mandate on top of already a substantial decrease in public library funding," said Fifarek.
Because the provision is so vague, Fifarek fears a lot of would have to be hidden.
"We would literally have to close down the library, review every piece of material here, code it before we could safety open to people under the age of 18 again," said Fifarek. "Does it mean that there are parts of the library that people under 18 can’t go in? What does that mean, and how do we comply with it? This is not spelled out in this one piece of legislation."
OLC Executive Director Michelle Francis says this language is overly vague and broad and "ultimately unworkable."
"It opens the door to unconstitutional censorship and undermines the core mission of libraries - to provide free and open access to information," Francis said.
Fifarek feels passing the provision would be the start of censorship.
"The fact that this gets enshrined in state law is a first step to making censorship okay. And so what topics will be next?" said Fifarek.
Francis also said that libraries are not meant to act as substitutes for parents and what children and teens read should ultimately be decided solely by their parents or guardians.
In addition to free speech concerns, the OLC says it would be costly for libraries to comply with this law with some library systems estimating to would take up to six years of staff time and millions of dollars to audit and relocate materials.
In fact, the OLC says for libraries with limited square footage, complying would be physically impossible and could result in entire branches needing to become adult-only spaces.
"This provision has no financial impact on the state's balance sheet, but it would force local libraries to spend millions of dollars and years of staff time complying with an unfounded unconstitutional mandate. This is a dangerous overreach that undermines intellectual freedom and punishes the very institutions that provide safe and open spaces for Ohioans of all ages," Francis said.
Fifarek shared the same concern.
"It would mean a vast reduction or closure of small libraries like Sebring, tri-lakes or libraries where you can see front to back." said Fifarek.
OLC and Fifarek are urging Ohio Governor Mike DeWine to veto this provision of the budget. Fifarek is asking people to reach out to DeWine about the provision.
CaliforniaModesto board approves 5th-grade sex ed curriculum amid strong community debate
https://www.modbee.com/news/local/edu...
Pew Research Center: Support for Christian prayer in U.S. public schools varies widely by stateThe states that oppose it are as expected: the New England states (minus Maine which is neutral), NY, NJ, DC, Illinois, Minnesota, Colorado, Washington, Oregon and California. This is a very shockingly small list!
and ahem we went over this in the 1850s. Catholic parents in wigged out when they learned the Protestant Bible was being read to their kids in school. The American born Protestants got hysterical, fearing the Catholic immigrants wanted to replaced the President with the Pope. They started a new political party, The Know Nothings. The Know Nothings supported nativism and slavery, were against Catholicism (at first - guess which states split from these views and became more progressive?) and here we are again right back where we started.
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-rea...
Renewed debates are happening across the United States about the place of religion – especially Christianity – in public schools. An evenly divided Supreme Court recently upheld a ban on what would have been the nation’s first religious public charter school, in Oklahoma. Texas lawmakers are considering requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms, while a federal appeals court struck down a similar law in Louisiana earlier this month. And legal battles persist over prayer at school sporting events and making time for prayer during the school day.
Americans are about evenly divided on whether the federal government should declare the U.S. a Christian nation, with 47% either favoring or strongly favoring the idea and 50% either opposing or strongly opposing it.
Among religious groups, this idea is most widely supported by evangelical Protestants, 78% of whom say that they favor or strongly favor the federal government declaring the U.S. a Christian nation.
About two-thirds of Latter-day Saints and six-in-ten members of historically Black Protestant churches also take this position.
In 22 states, more adults say they favor allowing teachers to lead their classes in prayers that refer to Jesus than say they oppose it.
Support for Christian prayer in schools is particularly high in parts of the South, including Mississippi (81%), Alabama (75%), Arkansas (75%), Louisiana (74%) and South Carolina (71%).
Other Southern states, such as Oklahoma, Kentucky and West Virginia, are also among the states with the most support of Christian prayer in schools (67% in each state favor it).
In eight Midwestern states, there is more support than opposition for allowing teacher-led Christian prayers: South Dakota (65%), North Dakota (61%), Indiana (58%), Kansas (58%), Missouri (57%), Nebraska (56%), Ohio (53%) and Michigan (53%).
The 16 remaining states are divided, with no statistically significant differences in the shares who favor or oppose allowing teachers to lead their students in prayers that mention Jesus. For example, 56% of adults in Delaware and around half in Virginia (52%), Pennsylvania (51%) and Maryland (50%) favor allowing Christian prayer. Once the survey’s margins of error are accounted for, support for teacher-led Christian prayer in these states is not significantly different from opposition. The same is true for several other states, including Idaho (55%), Arizona (53%) and Iowa (51%).
The new Religious Landscape Study finds that about half of Americans, or a little more, support allowing teacher-led prayer in public schools, whether that be praying to Jesus explicitly (52%) or, alternatively, praying to God without mentioning any specific religion (57%). Seven-in-ten U.S. Christian adults say they favor permitting teacher-led prayers to Jesus in public schools and 73% say they favor teacher-led prayers to God that don’t mention any specific religion.
Compared with Christians, far lower shares of religiously unaffiliated Americans (28%) and adults who affiliate with other, non-Christian religions (39%) say they favor public school teachers leading classes in prayers that refer to God without mentioning any specific religion. There is even less support among non-Christian groups for allowing public school teachers to lead classes in prayers to Jesus.
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/...
New Texas law mandates Ten Commandments in public schools. Next stop, the courts.https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture...
In 1980, the Supreme Court ruled that a Kentucky law requiring the Ten Commandments be posted in classrooms violated the Constitution’s establishment cause, which prevents the government from establishing or promoting a specific religion. But many of the six current conservative-leaning justices have shown a willingness to overturn longstanding precedent, most notably with the decision in 2022 to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“Over the last decade or so, I think it’s fair to say the Supreme Court has set a standard of being more open to religious expression in and around schools,” says Dr. Russo. The Texas law follows suit, he adds.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the ACLU of Texas announced their plans to join in a challenge to the law even before Governor Abbott signed it.
“Texas schools are not Sunday schools,” says Chloe Kempf, an attorney for the ACLU of Texas, adding that the law is “blatantly unconstitutional.”
Ms. Kempf says a wide coalition of parents, including Christian parents, have expressed concern that the legislation is an example of government intrusion into religious practice and parents’ rights.
Many parents “might be totally okay with their kids seeing the Ten Commandments or using that as foundational moral teaching. But what most Texans do not seem to be okay with is essentially letting the government lead religious instruction,” she says.
“When we’re pushing religion into public life and letting the government guide how it’s talked about or how our kids interact with religion, it’s really cheapening that sacred bond that should lie between families and faith leaders to guide the religious instruction of children,” says Ms. Kempf.
For her part, Ms. Russell, of First Liberty, counters that the First Amendment does not mean shoving religion out of sight, and she believes that people misunderstand a necessity for a wall between church and state, as Thomas Jefferson put it.
“People have really been miseducated to believe that the separation of church and state means religion does not belong in the public square at all, [that] it doesn’t belong in any government-owned building, or the government can’t in any way be attached to religion or encourage it, promote it,” she says. “Really what it means is that the government can’t make you worship, can’t make you join in on a religion and then punish you if you don’t.”
Governor Abbott also signed a bill that allows school districts to hold a daily voluntary period for prayer or reading a religious text during school hours. As Texas attorney general in 2005, he argued and won a case before the Supreme Court that allowed a monument to the Ten Commandments to remain outside the state Capitol.
“We’ve seen Texas be the leader in trying to push forth laws that, from our viewpoint, violate our Constitution, essentially to push these court cases so that they can try to change the law on a national scale,” says Emily Witt, a senior communications strategist for Texas Freedom Network.
This is a tongue-in-cheek op ed and very funny but it also illustrates the fallacy of the Supreme Court's decision. If any parent can opt their kids out of any lesson they disagree with, who is going to be in class? No one! https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...
Mod
Good for Joshua Aaron!! And what Aaron is saying and pointing out about Donald Trump, ICE agents and the entire US administration is totally and completely correct in every way.
“When I saw what was happening in this country, I really just wanted to do something to help fight back,” said Aaron, a onetime musician who spent several months working on the app. “I grew up in a Jewish household, and being part of the Jewish community, I had the chance to meet Holocaust survivors and learn the history of what happened in Nazi Germany, and the parallels that we can draw between what’s happening right now in our country and Hitler’s rise to power are undeniable.”
Mod
Wow!! Look at the lowlives pardoned by Donald Trump. I guess one lowlife bails out other lowlives.
Cheryl wrote: "Just to offer a bit of levity, this comic showed up in my subscription today:https://librarycomic.com/comic/941/"
Thanks for sharing.
The news has been doom and gloom. You probably already know all this but here's what I found last week.
Accelerated censorship’: advocates criticize US supreme court ruling on LGBTQ+ books
Opponents say the decision allowing parents to let their kids opt out of lessons featuring LGBTQ+ themes will hurt the US education system
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2...
The highest court in the US ruled that parents in Maryland’s Montgomery county school district can opt their children out of lessons that include books with LGBTQ+ themes and characters if they feel that it violates their religious rights.
The move angered LGBTQ+ groups and civil rights advocates who also say that the lengthy and judicial process of these opt-outs could have chaotic implications for the US education system nationwide.
“LGBTQ-relevant books are just the beginning in accelerated censorship,” Sabrina Baêta, a senior member of PEN America, told the Guardian. “What’s to stop schools from backing away from any books that may be offensive? We have already seen other topics like Black history disappear as districts try to avoid anything potentially controversial.”
PEN America highlighted in a recent report that teachers may be more likely to overlook topics that require parental consent, thereby brushing over crucial books and subjects in classrooms that promote diverse identities and learning.
In administrative terms, the court’s ruling also poses problems for teachers and educators. Rather than focusing on lessons at hand, they will have to grapple with what is or isn’t appropriate on religious grounds. And while anything with LGBTQ+ themes will constitute a student being able to leave the classroom, it creates a grey zone for topics like science and history, where certain lessons – such as about reproduction – could be seen as now potentially inappropriate.
South Georgia librarian is fired over LGBTQ children’s book included in summer reading display https://georgiarecorder.com/2025/07/0...
A Pierce County librarian is out of a job because of what she calls political pressure over a book about a transgender child that was part of a display in the library.
Former Pierce County Library Manager Lavonnia Moore doesn’t have a degree in library science but worked her way to the top over 15 years, starting as a part-time clerk.
That came to an end on June 18 when she says she was called into the office to speak with Three Rivers Library System Director Jeremy Snell, who told her she was being let go over a book that was part of a summer reading display. Moore said the book, titled “When Aidan Became a Brother” by Kyle Lukoff, was selected for the display by a child at the library.
Moore said she did not have a history of disciplinary problems or bad performance reviews.
Snell did not respond to a voicemail or emailed requests for comment. Snell told the Blackshear Times that the display of the book was the reason for the decision.
Moore said she has hired an attorney.
...
Moore said the beginning of the end came near the start of June when she allowed parents and kids to create a display to match the theme of the Georgia Public Library Service’s summer reading program, “color our world.”
“There were books, DVDs, games, and each and every one of them had at least a hint of a rainbow on it,” she said. “Because all the kids went to find rainbows. I was just happy that the kids knew where the books were. They even took the time to go into the card catalog to find books. I’m like, ‘Oh! They used the library properly! They know how to use the library!”
“One kid put a box of crayons on the display,” she added. “I’m like ‘Dude, that’s awesome,’ and he’s like ‘I know, right?”
Moore said one of the children brought the book “When Aidan Became a Brother.” Moore said she didn’t know it at the time, but the book is about a young transgender boy whose family is expecting a new baby.
The book is written for young children and discusses Aidan’s gender identity not matching his sex at birth. It doesn’t contain anything graphic or explicit. The cover shows Aidan with his family wearing a shirt with a rainbow on it.
“All I saw was Aidan becoming a big brother,” Moore said. “I saw a family with a kid wearing a rainbow sweater and the mom pregnant. It was a mixed family. I was like, ‘OK, sure, put it on the table.’”
But the book’s placement didn’t sit well with a group called Alliance for Faith and Family, which made posts on social media calling on followers to write in to library staff and Pierce County commissioners.
...
The group’s Instagram post had no visible likes, comments or shares, while the Facebook post had 26 reactions, ten comments and 82 shares.
...
Moore said she had no intention to promote any ideology but kept books relevant to all kinds of people in the community, including LGBTQ people, immigrants from different countries and people who speak various languages.
“The library is for everybody,” she said. “You should be able to go into any library and feel welcome or at least find something that you will enjoy reading, doing, or any resources. I know this day in time is tough, believe me, it is real tough, but the library should be one place that should not be a hurdle.”
Moore said the group has targeted her before over similar issues.
Organizations like Alliance for Faith and Family target libraries across the country, said Todd Cates, a library media specialist in Georgia and the recent winner of the Georgia Library Media Association’s Intellectual Freedom Award.
“They seem to be interested in removing books only that discuss LGBTQ issues or issues of people of color,” he said. “They latch onto a book based on the cover, based on the title, based on the topic. They generally don’t have any real reason to attack the book other than it talks about people of color or LGBTQ topics. They raise a stink, and politicians respond to stink.”
Cates said libraries have procedures for patrons to challenge books and he was disappointed to hear that Moore was fired.
He said “When Aidan Became a Brother” was appropriate for the library’s shelves and the display.
“That’s the fundamental mission of every library. We represent all members of our community, no matter their race, their creed, their religion, their gender, their sexual identity, their sexuality, where they’re from. My library here at my school, I have books in Spanish, I have books in Korean. I represent everybody. I have several copies of the Bible on my shelf. There’s several copies of books that would probably be considered controversial by other groups of people, but that’s immaterial because it represents the people that I serve.”
Georgia mom Lena Kotler said she’s happy when her 10-year-old transgender child Aleix can see herself reflected in the books she reads or the shows she watches.
“I want my child to see people like her, but see them living joyfully and with an in-depth life,” the Decatur mom said. “I’m a millennial. The rare times we saw anything mentioned about someone being trans or in some way gender nonconforming, it was a punchline, it was a plot twist, it was this negative thing, and I want my children to see people like them growing up to be adults who are happy and joyful and have the full life experience, the spectrum of life experience.”
But while inclusion is important, the writing still has to be good, Aleix says, and sometimes transgender characters are written as one-dimensional with their whole plot revolving around being trans.
Aleix’ recommendations for kids’ media that get LGBTQ representation right include the 2022 Disney film “Strange World” and “DeadEndia,” a webcomic and graphic novel with an animated adaptation.
Large Public Libraries Give Young Adults Across U.S. Access to Banned Books https://www.edsurge.com/news/2025-07-...
What to know about the US Supreme Court's ruling on public school lessons using LGBTQ bookshttps://www.kcra.com/article/supreme-...
LGBTQ book opt-out ruling triggers national response from parents, educators, advocates
https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Family/lgb...
Children's Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Out of the Blue (other topics)The Princess in Black and the Prince in Pink (other topics)
My Rainbow (other topics)
Butt or Face? Volume 3: Super Gross Butts (other topics)
The Day the Books Disappeared (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Jodi Picoult (other topics)Sarah J. Maas (other topics)
Ellen Hopkins (other topics)
Jodi Picoult (other topics)
Scott Stuart (other topics)
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https://archive.ph/RnV6g#selection-38...
A sweeping policy change could wrest decisions on removing books from library shelves away from librarians and give the authority to the district’s politically appointed board of trustees.
The St. Charles City-County Library Board will also weigh a change to how the library system decides what exhibits should be on display in branches. These displays, largely centered on “heritage months and other significant cultural, historical and social themes,” would be selected annually by a committee of library personnel, including top administrators and other staff.
The changes would create an appeals process, with the board of trustees having the final decision. Librarians and staff now consider materials and review challenges from the public complaining about specific books or displays and make recommendations to the library system’s executive director.