A federal civil rights legal advocacy organization has filed a complaint against the Cobb County School District for its removal of more than two dozen books from school libraries.
The National Women’s Law Center on Monday said it was asking for federal investigations into the removals in Cobb as well as public schools in Collier County, Fla., for what it claimed was “creating a hostile environment for students through practices that include censoring books and learning materials that feature, tell the stories of, or are written by LGBTQIA+ people and people of color.”
The Cobb school district, in two separate actions last fall and in April, removed books Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said contained “lewd, vulgar and sexually graphic content.”
The moves, which included defenses of those decisions by Ragsdale, were criticized by some parents, students and teacher advocates in Cobb as censorship.
The NWLC is claiming those actions violate Title IX, a federal law banning sex discrimination in educational institutions receiving federal aid, as well as Title VII of the 1964 U.S. Civil Rights Act.
“Censorship of books sends a message to students of color and LGBTQIA+ students that they do not belong, that they are not safe to be who they are, and that they do not deserve to be reflected in what they read and learn,” said Melody Oliphant, Executive Director of the Georgia Youth Justice Coalition, which has been outspoken against the book removals, in a release issued by the NWLC.
The release also quoted an unnamed Cobb school district student who said that the book removals have “created fear in all students — especially Black, brown, and LGBTQIA+ students — that they are not safe to go to school every day.”
One example cited in the complaint involves Walton High School, where the NWLC alleges an effort by students to form a Gay-Straight Alliance was shut down by the Cobb school district.
Cobb also is at the heart of a related controversy, after Due West Elementary School teacher Katie Rinderle was fired for reading a book to her fifth-grade class about gender identity.
Cobb said its dismissal was prompted by a new “divisive concepts” law. Rinderle’s appeal to the Georgia Board of Education was denied, and she has filed a lawsuit against the Cobb school district.
The NWLC is asking for the removed books to be restored to Cobb school library shelves and for future removals to be halted.
The complaint also wants the Cobb school district to create clear mission statements and policies that “value diversity and are committed to ensuring safe, inclusive, and supportive campuses free from discrimination.”
The Cobb complaint by the NWLC can be read by clicking here.
Ragsdale has been adamant in defending the book removals on both occasions, reading from lengthy prepared remarks.
In April, after four more books were removed from shelves, he indicated that there will likely be further removals as district officials continue to examine the appropriateness of those titles.
“We are no more ‘banning books’ than we are banning rated R and NC17 movies,” he said last month. “What we are doing is not forcing taxpayers to fund students having unrestricted access to materials that are so sexually explicit and graphic they could not be read aloud in the board meeting without violating FCC regulations.
“What we are doing is giving parents peace of mind in knowing their children will not have unrestricted access to this content while at school.
“What we are doing is assuring Cobb County educators will not be forced to assume the heavy burden of incorporating lewd, vulgar, and sexually explicit materials into instruction and student conversations.
“What we are doing is refusing to force Cobb County taxpayers and educators to facilitate and advance the sexualization of children.”
Related:
- Cobb school district retirees honored at luncheon
- Wheeler HS senior is recipient of LGE scholarship
- Cobb schools to add graduate degree program for teachers
- Walton senior, English teacher earn Georgia STAR honors
- Hightower Trail MS celebrates 30th anniversary in photos
- East Cobb schools get high rankings from U.S. News
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