Colorado school district rejects donation of “banned” books to be returned to library shelves
The Elizabeth School District has yet to return 19 books that a federal judge last month ordered be put back on library shelves as district leaders appeal the ruling — and despite a law firm’s unsolicited donation of the titles in question.
The order followed a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado and others against the Elbert County school district after officials removed the 19 books, saying they contained “highly sensitive” material. The lawsuit alleged the books’ removal violated free speech protections.
U.S. District Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney issued a preliminary injunction stating the books needed to be returned to school libraries and prohibiting the school board from removing books “because the district disagrees with the views expressed therein or merely to further their preferred political or religious orthodoxy.”
The school district also noted in a court filing that it couldn’t return the 19 books to library shelves because they had been discarded after being pulled.
That spurred Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell, a Denver law firm representing some of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, to donate copies of the 19 books “to help facilitate the school district’s compliance with the federal court order.”
“The banned books primarily feature people of color or LGBTQ individuals,” the firm said in a statement. “The court concluded that the school district’s statements and actions last year strongly suggested its motivations were ‘blatantly unconstitutional’ under both the Colorado and U.S. constitutions.”
The Elizabeth school board called an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the book donation, and the board discussed each title, according to a court filing by the district.
Board members said they reviewed the books again and found a number of infractions, including profanity, derogatory terms, descriptions of sexual activities and sexual assault, “inflammatory racial and religious commentary,” “controversial social and political commentary,” “alternate sexualities,” “hate” and abortion.
This mirrored the findings the Elizabeth School Board made last summer when it created a committee to determine which books in the district’s school libraries contained “sensitive topics” including racism, discrimination, mental illness and sexual content. That committee identified the 19 books it found to be “highly sensitive” that should be removed from school libraries.
The removed books include “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini, Toni Morrison’s “Beloved” and “The Bluest Eye,” and Angie Thomas’ “The Hate U Give.”
Last week, the school board voted to reject all of the books donated by Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell except for one: “#Pride: Championing LGBTQ Rights” by Rebecca Felix. The school board determined that the book was not appropriate to return to school libraries, but would be kept by Superintendent Dan Snowberger until further notice.
Jeff Maher, a spokesman for the Elizabeth School District, said he could not say why the superintendent kept “#Pride: Championing LGBTQ Rights.”
The Elizabeth school board, in a filing in the court case, emphasized that its libraries are different than public libraries — and that more books are likely to be removed.
“While public libraries serve a broader age demographic and provide materials that appeal to a variety of readers with different interests, goals, and entertainment preferences, the District’s libraries exist to provide materials with educational value that will facilitate the District’s mission of providing students with excellent learning opportunities that inspire a passion for learning,” the district said.
“The District is aware there are other titles in its library collections of similarly questionable educational value; as contemplated by the Library Protocols, it is the District’s intention to gradually identify and weed such works from its collections.”
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