The Department of Education made a recent announcement on Friday regarding the elimination of the office of “book ban coordinator,” which was created under the Biden administration in June 2023. This move comes following various school districts’ decisions to remove books deemed as age-inappropriate or sexually explicit from school libraries.
The office of “book ban coordinator” supported the retention of materials such as soft-core porn and LGBTQQIP2SAA content in school libraries, advocating for their accessibility to elementary school children. The director of this office, a progressive activist from the LGBTQ+ community, used complaints from activists to threaten school districts with lawsuits from the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights. However, as of Friday, this practice has been discontinued.
Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Craig Trainor, emphasized the significance of restoring parents’ fundamental rights to direct their children’s education with the elimination of the “book ban coordinator” office. This change aims to uphold the American principle of local control over public education, allowing parents and teachers to determine the educational needs of their children and communities without external interference. The department affirms that parents and school boards should have the autonomy to make decisions regarding their children’s education without unnecessary oversight from the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education.
This is exactly right. Schools are the quintessential community organization. They have historically had autonomy, and there is no reason to permit the federal bureaucracy to enter that space.
