The American Civil Liberties Union has taken legal action against the Department of Defense’s school system for children of military families. They claim that the elimination of certain books and curricula pertaining to race and gender infringed upon students’ First Amendment rights protecting them from government censorship.
The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in northeast Virginia, alleging that the Department of Defense Education Activity removed educational materials in accordance with an executive order issued by President Donald Trump in January.
President Trump’s order specifically prevents the school system from endorsing or teaching materials related to race and gender that are considered “un-American, divisive, discriminatory, radical, extremist, and irrational.”
Books ranging from Harper Lee’s “ To Kill a Mockingbird ” and Khaled Hosseini’s “ The Kite Runner ” to “ Hillbilly Elegy ” by Vice President JD Vance have since been stripped from some schools’ library shelves, according to the ACLU. Authorities within the school system also purged curricular materials such as a chapter on sexuality and gender for an Advanced Placement psychology course, and readings about immigration for fourth- and fifth-grade classes, according to the suit.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 12 students from six families who attend schools in Virginia, Kentucky, Italy and Japan.
“I have three daughters, and they, like all children, deserve access to books that both mirror their own life experiences and that act as windows that expose them to greater diversity,” Natalie Tolley, a plaintiff on behalf of her three children, said in a statement published by the ACLU of Virginia.
Outside of changes to the department’s prekindergarten through 12th-grade educational programs, there have also been shifts at military colleges and universities. Roughly 380 books were removed from the U.S. Naval Academy’s library in April.
Officials have also been told to assess the stacks at Army and Air Force libraries to find books related to diversity, equity and inclusion.
A spokesperson with the Defense Department’s school system said the institution does not comment on ongoing litigation.
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Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
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