The Department of Education has dismissed 11 complaints related to “book bans” and eliminated a Biden-era position tasked with investigating school districts and parents, the agency announced Friday.
The department said it was ending Biden’s “Book Ban Hoax” regarding complaints that alleged that the removal of age-inappropriate, sexually explicit or obscene materials from school libraries created a hostile environment for students.
It also eliminated the “book ban coordinator,” which investigated school districts and parents “working to protect students from obscene content.”
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“By dismissing these complaints and eliminating the position and authorities of a so-called ‘book ban coordinator,’ the department is beginning the process of restoring the fundamental rights of parents to direct their children’s education,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor.
“The department adheres to the deeply rooted American principle that local control over public education best allows parents and teachers alike to assess the educational needs of their children and communities.
“Parents and school boards have broad discretion to fulfill that important responsibility,” Trainor added. “These decisions will no longer be second-guessed by the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education.”
Six pending allegations were also dismissed.
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The DOE called the book removals “meritless” and based “upon a dubious legal theory.” The agency began investigating the complaints Jan. 20, finding that school districts and parents have “established commonsense processes by which to evaluate and remove age-inappropriate materials.”
The first complaint was filed with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Feb. 23, 2022, against the Forsyth County School District in Georgia. The complainant alleged the district violated Title IX and Title VI by removing eight books from the school library because they contained sexually explicit content, the DOE said.
The OCR’s office in Atlanta sought to have the complaint dismissed, but the Biden administration overruled a determination that the complaint had no merit, the agency said. The school district agreed to a resolution under threat of further federal intervention, officials said.
“This included requiring the district to post a statement in all of its middle and high schools that embraced Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” the OCR said. “The department will terminate the agreement and any obligations under it.”
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