A school district in Georgia may have
created a “hostile environment” for students when it removed books that
featured LGBTQ+ and Black students from its K-12 libraries, a civil rights
investigation by the Education Department concluded – marking the first time
the federal government has taken action against the book banning effort
underway in conservative states.
Notably, the investigation concluded that
the process for removing the books, which included negative public comments
from parents about gender identity, sexual orientation, diversity and critical
race theory, likely “increased fears and possible harassment” of students – and
did not simply address the fact that the books were removed.
“Communication at board meetings conveyed
the impression that books were being screened to exclude diverse authors and
characters, including people who are LGBTQI+ and authors who are not white,
leading to increased fears and possibly harassment,” the Education Department’s
Office for Civil Rights investigation concluded. “Indeed, one student commented
at a District school board meeting about the school environment becoming more
harsh in the aftermath of the book removals and his fear about going to school,
and evidence OCR reviewed to date reflects other students expressing similar
views.”
In Fall 2021, Forsyth County schools, just
outside Atlanta, began receiving complaints from some parents and community
members about students' access to library books that they deemed inappropriate,
including books with explicit sexual content and about LGBTQ+ subject matters.
According to the investigation, a parent group also asked the district to
shelve books about LGBTQ+ issues and those that include LGBTQ+ characters
separately in school libraries and to place tags on the books.
Shortly thereafter, in January 2022, the
district superintendent authorized the removal of books “that were obviously
sexually explicit or pornographic,” and that included “specifically graphic
details of sexual acts and not just references to sex or sexual acts.”
But at a school board meeting a month
later, some parents rallied around the removal of additional books, clashing
with students who said the removal of the books created a “harsh environment”
for them at school, eliminated safe spaces for marginalized students and made
them feel as though the district does not care about diversity. As a result,
the district convened a months-long review of the books removed over the
summer, resulting in seven of the eight books that were removed being reinstalled
in libraries.
The Office for Civil Rights investigators
concluded that beyond the process creating a potentially hostile environment,
that the district also did little to help students who were negatively
impacted.
“District witnesses reported to OCR that
the District has not taken steps to address with students the impact of the
book removals,” the investigation continues. “In light of these communications
and actions, OCR is concerned a hostile environment may have arisen that the
District needed to ameliorate.”
The resolution, among other things,
requires Forsyth to notify students of its book review process and survey
students next fall to ask about harassment based on race and sex and whether
they feel comfortable reporting it.
“I thank Forsyth County Schools for
assessing and responding to the needs of the students who may have felt
subjected to a hostile environment as a result of the library book screening
process and for ensuring that, going forward, it will take appropriate action
regarding acts of harassment that create a hostile environment based on sex,
race, color or national origin,” Catherine Lhamon, assistant secretary for
civil rights, said in a statement.
