The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) says it is ending what it calls “Biden’s book ban hoax.” In a news release, the Department announced it dismissed 11 complaints related to “book bans.” They also eliminated the position of “book ban coordinator,” a role created under the Biden administration.
In a statement, the department said the complaints — alleging 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.”
Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™.
Point phone camera here
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, was filed Feb. 23, 2022, against a school district in Georgia. It said the district violated Title IX and Title VI by removing books that the complaint claimed had sexually explicit content. The Biden administration found the complaint meritless, and the school district resolved the issue under the threat of federal intervention.
OCR’s review of “book banning” cases, which began Jan. 20, confirmed that the books were not banned. Instead, the Department said school districts, in consultation with parents and community members, developed processes to evaluate and remove age-inappropriate materials.
OCR stated that these decisions fall under parental and community judgment, not civil rights.
According to PEN America, there were 10,046 instances of book bans across 29 states and 220 school districts during the 2023-2024 school year. The states Florida and Iowa led the number of bans.
The American Library Association criticized OCR’s decision. They released 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.”
