'I don't have any issues with what people want to believe, but there's no place for it in our libraries.' A North Texas superintendent orders books removed from schools, targeting titles about transgender people.
, a Republican, called for criminal investigations into school employees who make such content available to students.have featured queer characters and storylines, but those calling for the books’ removal have repeatedly said they are concerned only with sex and vulgarity, not with suppressing the views of LGBTQ students and authors.
“And I’m going to take it a step further with you,” he said, according to the recording. “There are two genders. There’s male, and there’s female. And I acknowledge that there are men that think they’re women. And there are women that think they’re men. And again, I don’t have any issues with what people want to believe, but there’s no place for it in our libraries.”
Two months later, a volunteer review committee voted to permanently ban three of the books and return the others to shelves. But that may not be the end of the process. In a written statement, Glenn said the district was committed to supporting students of all backgrounds. And although he said the district’s primary focus is educating students, “the values of our community will always be reflected in our schools.”
At least one member of the volunteer review committee was dissatisfied that only three books have been permanently removed so far, and she has started calling for a second review of the ones that have been returned. ” young children because the teachers had discussed the existence of transgender people and same-sex relationships. Opponents contend that the measures discriminate against LGBTQ students and educators and violate federal laws meant to prevent discrimination in schools.limit the rights of transgender minors
Lou Whiting, a nonbinary student at Granbury High School, said, “I’ve had my fair share of active hate against me, and my friends, and my community. I’ve always kind of been ‘that queer person.’ … I’ve always put myself in that danger because I’m more comfortable being myself.”The meeting with librarians wasn’t the first time Glenn had publicly embraced socially conservative values in schools.
In November, voters in Granbury elected a pair of school board members who, while campaigning, also raised concerns about the spread of LGBTQ-affirming curricula in schools. Melanie Graft rose to local prominence after leading a conservative movement in 2015 tofrom the children’s section at Granbury’s public library. She ran alongside Courtney Gore, the co-host of a local far-right internet talk show.
The list comprised titles that were aimed at helping transgender and LGBTQ teens navigate life and that told teen love stories through an LGBTQ lens, as well as an LGBTQ-themed fairy tale. Although some of the books included descriptions of sex, others did not.“We do have a very conservative board,” Glenn said, according to the recording. “They are elected, and recently more conservative. And so that’s what our community is. That’s what our job is.
Whiting holds their copy of “This Book Is Gay” by Juno Dawson. “I’ve read this book however many times I questioned my identity,” said Whiting. The book was one of three that a review committee marked for permanent removal from the school district’s libraries.Schools have wide latitude to remove library books that are deemed age-inappropriate or “.
“If the evidence shows that the motivation for a book removal is to keep these ideas from getting to children, then the courts are very skeptical,” said North Carolina attorney Neal Ramee, who advises school districts on constitutional issues. “That could potentially lead to a finding of a violation of the First Amendment.”
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