MSBSD, ACLU, plaintiffs reach settlement in challenged book lawsuit

The Northern Justice Project and the ACLU of Alaska reached a settlement in the lawsuit, Dawn Adams, et. al v. Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District (MSBSD), which argued that the MSBSD violated students' First Amendment rights when it removed 56 book titles from district library shelves in April 2023 that had been challenged. The settlement agreement states that MSBSD will pay $89,000 to the plaintiffs.

Filed on behalf of eight plaintiffs, including six MSBSD parents on behalf of their minor children, and two district students over the age of 18, the suit claims that the book removal violated their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights under the United States Constitution to free speech, press, and political expression.

The removed books include classics and award winners, including Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye,” Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse Five,” and Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner.” The removed books also include books with protagonists of color or LGBTQ+ protagonists and non-fiction reference materials discussing adolescent health and development. None of the books are part of any curriculum within the school district.

In response, the MSBSD administration and school board commissioned a Library Citizen Advisory Committee (LCAC) to review the 56 challenged books, and during the 2023-2024 school year, the 11-member committee met monthly to discuss the books each member read the prior month, making recommendations The Committee thoughtfully discussed each book and made recommendations to the School Board on two questions: (1) whether a book was obscene; and (2) if not, what grade levels should have access to the book, measuring the books against obscenity laws under current Alaska Statutes.

The ACLU and the Northern Justice Project filed a lawsuit in November 2023 claiming the school district’s review process violated the First Amendment. Notwithstanding the discovery of obscene material, in January 2024, the plaintiffs sought to stop the work of the Committee, at one point referring to the process as a sham.

Despite the litigation, the eleven-member Committee completed their book reviews in July 2024. Ultimately, the Administration—at the final direction of the School Board—removed seven books from circulation and ensured that other books were shelved at the appropriate libraries.

By July of 2024 the Administration had already begun re-shelving the books not found to be criminally indecent; a process that was completed before school began.

In August, U.S District Court Judge Sharon Gleason granted a preliminary injunction in the case and ordered that the District return all but 7 of the 56 books it removed to its shelves by August 14, 2024, a day before the start of school. MSBSD was also instructed to complete its review of any outstanding books and confirm that the district had re-shelved works that were not deemed to be criminally indecent in nature by the LCAC.

In a press release, the MSBSD stated that the Northern Justice Project and the ACLU approached the District asking to settle the case outside of court. “The Board and the District have decided to pay the Northern Justice Project and the ACLU $89,000 now to end litigation that would have cost much more than that to defend through trial.”

In exchange for money paid to The Northern Justice Project and the ACLU, the parties have agreed to forgo further litigation and leave in place the final decisions made by the LCAC, the School Board, and the Administration.

“The School Board and the District firmly believe no errors were made and the judge's order in August seems to support this belief. We also believe a trial on the merits would establish that the Library Advisory Committee thoughtfully and carefully reviewed each title. However, the ACLU and the Northern Justice Project knows it will cost the District far more to take the case all the way through trial.”

“The Board and the District are glad to have this distraction of a lawsuit behind us and are grateful to the members of the Library Advisory Committee for their work in making libraries safer for students,” the MSBSD administration said in a press release.

"First the court, and now this settlement, confirm what these students and their parents have known all along: you cannot remove dozens of books from school libraries simply because a vocal minority dislike those books,” said Savannah Fletcher, attorney for Northern Justice Project. “Our Constitution protects freedom of speech and freedom of ideas. After successfully having the majority of those books returned to school shelves, we hope the District has learned to not judge a book by its cover."

“We hope that the Mat-Su Borough School District – and other school districts in Alaska that might be considering attempts to ban books – understand the gravity of unconstitutional censorship and its legal consequences,” said Ruth Botstein, Legal Director for the ACLU of Alaska. “We hope that the school district will focus its energies on educating students rather than trying to suppress ideas.”