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On April 25, 2024, Commissioner Betty A. Rosa released an important decision in an appeal filed by Moms for Liberty of Wayne County and Jacob Marchitell (petitioners) against the Clyde-Savannah School District. In this decision, Commissioner Rosa determined that petitioners’ arguments for the removal of five books from the School Library’s collection were without merit and determined that the school board of education correctly decided to retain the challenged books in its collection.
These decisions establish precedent by which future cases will be decided, so this decision should be helpful to any school or library facing book challenges. The decision provides an intellectual framework for confronting attacks on the right to read:
1. A book’s description or portrayal of human sexuality is not enough to justify its censorship.
2. The Office of the Attorney General and State Education Department have determined that denying access to diverse materials can violate State law; specifically, school boards cannot:
- “Ban books that highlight the diverse histories and perspectives of Black people;
- Us[e] a pretext of inappropriateness or lewdness to systematically remove diverse perspectives from the classroom; or
- Prohibit[] discussions related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, nonbinary and gender-expansive people… using a pretext of inappropriateness or obscenity.”
3. As a profession, librarians have a unique obligation to uphold intellectual freedom and are protected by the academic freedom to curate collections. Supporting students' intellectual diversity is an essential part of education.
I hope all educators, librarians, administrators, and boards will familiarize themselves with this decision and use it as a tool to guide their policies and responses to community groups working to restrict access to books.
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