When schools cut books from their library based on character demographics, kids suffer, and a new investigation says it could be a civil rights violation.
The latest round of book-banning has hit classrooms and school libraries, removing books that center around characters who are LGBTQ and stories that depict racism and discrimination.
The U.S. Department of Education is warning schools in one Georgia county that they may be violating students’ civil rights — and has given them a list of actions to take to balance their error.
The Department says there’s evidence, from school board meetings, that efforts were made to specifically screen and remove books authored by people of color, and those that were authored by or contained characters who were LGBTQ.
Some of the books have already been returned to school libraries in Forsyth County, but that doesn’t negate the impact on students.
The district has been ordered to post a notice for middle and high school students explaining why the books were removed — and the reason for removal cannot center on race, gender, or sexuality.
They also have to give students access to information on filing a discrimination complaint.
This connects to a similar investigation in Texas, where the Biden Administration is taking the side of inclusion and fighting against censorship.
That case could set massive precedents regarding discrimination and representation. From the Washington Post:
“The outcome of that case, based on a complaint filed by the Texas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, will determine the validity of the ACLU’s novel legal argument that not representing students in schoolbooks can constitute discrimination. If the Biden administration finds in the ACLU’s favor, it could force districts nationwide to stock more titles featuring LGBTQ characters.”
There’s support for this view, too.
Adults who grew up LGBTQ and were uncertain about their place in the world widely say that their childhoods would have been less traumatic with exposure to books and other media that depicted characters with similar experiences that could have made them feel less isolated. 19thNews reported:
“Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, executive director of GLSEN, said that book bans and curriculum restrictions are part of a broader effort to undermine acceptance of LGBTQ+ people and to attempt to instill that into the next generation — a generation that is more diverse than those that came before.”
“It’s important to remember that LGBTQ+ students who attend schools with inclusive curriculum have better academic outcomes and school environments than those that don’t, according to GLSEN research, they added.”
Book bans and challenges have been ripping inclusion and representation off the shelves across the country, with Florida schools perhaps getting the most attention, including an incident in which classroom libraries were covered with paper or emptied — with videos of empty shelves going viral.
The Biden administration is pushing back hard, and it’s one of the president’s re-election promises — that he’ll fight back against “MAGA extremists” who want to control what books kids can read, as well as what reproductive health care is available and who can vote.
The decision in Georgia is one of the first truly visible steps in combatting the book bans and returning free choice to the readers.
See Biden’s tweet below, addressing the book bans among other issues.
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