Several schools in the Cobb County School District notified parents Monday that books with “highly inappropriate, sexually explicit content” have been removed from their libraries.
The book’s titles weren’t named, nor were the individual schools, but the messages—which were worded identically and distributed to a number of schools, mostly middle schools and high schools—said that “this is unacceptable, and an investigation is underway.”
In response to a message from East Cobb News, a district spokeswoman said that 20 school libraries contained “Flamer,” about a 14-year-old gay boy struggling with his sexual orientation, and/or “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl,” a novel about high school boys who befriend a female student who is dying of cancer.
“We removed the books immediately, are in an ongoing investigation, and are committed to ensuring our students are taught with content in line with Georgia standards, Board policy, and the Law,” she said without elaborating.
She did not explain how the books were discovered and did not describe the process for removing them from the shelves.
The action comes several days after the Cobb Board of Education voted to uphold Superintendent Chris Ragsdale’s recommendation to fire Katie Rinderle, a Due West Elementary School teacher, for reading a book to her fifth-grade class about gender identity.
The district said that’s a violation of 2022 Georgia law banning the teaching of “divisive concepts” in education, although numerous parents and educators spoke in support of Rinderle.
Students were not in person at Cobb schools on Monday, which was an “asynchronous” learning day due to teacher training.
East Cobb News has seen messages regarding the book pulling that were sent out to the Kell High School and Sprayberry High School communities that contained identical language. They reportedly were sent out to Walton, Wheeler and Pope high school communities as well as to parents of students at Hightower Trail Middle School in East Cobb.
The messages, which were distributed around 5 p.m. Monday, called the incident an “oversight” and said that “with thousands of books purchased over the decades, we are making every effort to insure that our library only includes materials that are aligned to Georgia standards, supported by law and CCSD policy, and contain content that is age appropriate for our students.”
Parents are being asked to communicate with teachers, principals and “appropriate school staff whenever you have a concern about what your student is reading, hearing, or learning.”
In its policies regarding media library programs, the Cobb school district said that it “acknowledges the right of parents/guardians and other citizens to be involved in the library media programs of the schools and the use of supplementary materials and to raise questions through established procedures when materials appear inappropriate for public school use.”
Cobb schools limit complaints to parents or legal guardians of students who notify a school principal, with the book being reviewed by a school committee within 45 days.
A number of public school districts in the country have recently been pulling books following parental complaints, particularly along lines of sex and gender identity.
Both of the books pulled in Cobb are among those most frequently removed from school libraries.
“Flamer,” published in 2020 by Mike Curato, a gay author and illustrator, is intended for youths ages 14-18. In the book, the lead character is a boy who is the subject of taunting and verbal abuse from other students for appearing to be gay.
“I hate that word. Gay. It makes me feel . . . unsafe,” reads a passage from “Flamer.” PEN America, which advocates for the rights of authors and free expression, said it was the most-banned book in its 2022 index of school book bans.
There are also discussions in the book about sex acts and masturbation.
“Flamer” was included in a high-profile restriction of books in school libraries in Florida following the passage of a recent state law touted by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is vying for the Republican nomination for president.
“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl,” by Jesse Andrews, was published in 2012 and also has been pulled from school libraries in Florida and elsewhere because of complaints about frank discussions of sex and gender identity.
The book also includes passages about oral sex.
In a recent interview, Andrews said that “it’s important to point out that most of the targeted books are about what it is to be not white or straight or cisgender in America, and I want to be really clear that I worry a lot more about the smearing and censoring of those viewpoints than I do my own.”
(“Cisgender” is a term coined by transgender activists to refer to people whose gender identity matches their biological sex.)
Moms for Liberty, which has been pushing for book restrictions in school libraries across the country, said it is not in favor of banning books, but advocating for age-appropriate materials in schools.
The organization has four chapters in Georgia, in Fulton, Hall, Oconee and Chattooga counties.
Defenders of the book restrictions have said they’re also necessary to ensure parental rights.
Those were the arguments made by parents on Thursday before the school board regarding the Rinderle termination.
The book she read, “My Shadow is Purple,” is meant to encourage children to move “beyond the gender binary.”
Rinderle hasn’t said whether she will appeal her firing to the state board of education or sue the Cobb school district. But one of her attorneys from the Southern Poverty Law Center said “this is not the end of this case. This is the beginning.”
Related:
- Cobb school board candidate denounces teacher’s firing
- Divided Cobb school board votes to uphold firing of teacher
- Cobb schools tribunal rejects recommendation to fire teacher
- East Cobb schools hold steady in 2023 Georgia Milestones scores
- Lassiter art teacher named Cobb schools HS teacher of the year
- Cobb parents ask for ‘inclusivity’ after teacher’s firing
- Cobb school board adopts millage rate as Banks votes present
- Federal judge sides with Cobb schools in redistricting suit
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