US DOE’s Office for Civil Rights ends ‘Biden’s book ban hoax’

THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION’S OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS (OCR) SAYS IT’S ENDING QUOTE “BIDEN’S BOOK BAN HOAX.”

IN A NEWS RELEASE, THE DEPARTMENT SAYS IT DISMISSED ELEVEN COMPLAINTS —

RELATED TO “BOOK BANS” AND ELIMINATED THE POSITION OF “BOOK BAN COORDINATOR,” A ROLE CREATED UNDER THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION.

IN A STATEMENT, THE DEPARTMENT SAID THE COMPLAINTS —

WHICH ALLEGED THAT REMOVING AGE-INAPPROPRIATE, SEXUALLY EXPLICIT, OR OBSCENE MATERIALS FROM SCHOOL

LIBRARIES CREATED A HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT FOR STUDENTS, WERE WITHOUT MERIT AND BASED ON A “DUBIOUS LEGAL THEORY.”

THE DEPARTMENT ALSO STATED THAT THE BOOK BAN COORDINATOR WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR INVESTIGATING

LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND PARENTS WORKING TO REMOVE OBSCENE CONTENT FROM SCHOOL LIBRARIES.

ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR CIVIL RIGHTS CRAIG TRAINOR ADDED —

THAT THE DEPARTMENT IS “BEGINNING THE PROCESS OF RESTORING THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF PARENTS TO DIRECT THEIR CHILDREN’S EDUCATION.”

THE FIRST COMPLAINT UNDER THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION, FILED ON FEBRUARY 23, 2022 —

AGAINST A SCHOOL DISTRICT IN GEORGIA — CLAIMED THE DISTRICT VIOLATED TITLE NINE AND TITLE SIX —

BY REMOVING BOOKS WITH SEXUALLY EXPLICIT CONTENT. THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION FOUND THE COMPLAINT MERITLESS —

AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICT RESOLVED THE ISSUE UNDER THREAT OF FEDERAL INTERVENTION.

O-C-R’S REVIEW OF “BOOK BANNING” CASES, BEGAN JANUARY 20TH — AND THE AGENCY CONFIRMED THAT THE BOOKS WERE NOT BANNED.

INSTEAD, THE DEPARTMENT SAYS — SCHOOL DISTRICTS, IN CONSULTATION WITH PARENTS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS —

DEVELOPED PROCESSES TO EVALUATE AND REMOVE AGE-INAPPROPRIATE MATERIALS.

O-C-R STATED THAT THESE DECISIONS FALL UNDER PARENTAL AND COMMUNITY JUDGMENT, NOT CIVIL RIGHTS.

ACCORDING TO PEN AMERICA, THERE WERE JUST OVER 10-THOUSAND (10,046) INSTANCES OF BOOK BANS ACROSS 29 STATES

AND 220 SCHOOL DISTRICTS DURING THE 2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR, WITH FLORIDA AND IOWA LEADING IN THE NUMBER OF BANS.

THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION CRITICIZED O-C-R’S DECISION, RELEASING A STATEMENT SAYING IN PART:

“IN THEIR CRUEL AND HEADLONG EFFORT TO TERMINATE PROTECTIONS FROM DISCRIMINATION FOR LGBTQIA+

STUDENTS AND STUDENTS OF COLOR, THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ADVANCES THE DEMONSTRABLY FALSE CLAIM THAT BOOK BANS ARE NOT REAL.”