Northern Justice Project, ACLU of Alaska file lawsuit against Mat-Su School District for removal of 56 books from school libraries

Last week, the Northern Justice Project, LLC, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Alaska filed a lawsuit against the Mat-Su Borough School District (MSBSD) for the removal of 56 books from school libraries that contained ideas that the Board desired to suppress.

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.

Since the beginning of the year, a small group of community members have advocated for the removal of books they deemed “offensive” and material that they believed to be “grooming” to children who may have access to them in the school libraries.

On April 21, 2023, MSBSD removed 56 books from all of its school libraries. 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. A full list of the removed books can be found here.

None of the books are part of any curriculum within the school district.

Plaintiffs in this case are asking the court to reinstate the 56 removed books to school libraries across MSBSD, and to rule that this kind of book banning is unconstitutional.

“All students have a constitutional right to inquire, to study, and to gain a deeper understanding of themselves and their world. As the Supreme Court ruled over 40 years ago, ‘the school library is the principal locus of that freedom.’ Mat-Su School District needs to respect that right,” says Savannah Fletcher, Attorney for Northern Justice Project.

In a statement from Ruth Botstein, Legal Director for the ACLU of Alaska, she says the school district is putting personal views ahead of students”

“The District acted in a way that put its personal views and prejudices ahead of the fundamental rights afforded to Alaskan students. Removing classic reads and award-winning literature from bookshelves violates students’ rights to receive ideas and information. This is a foundational component of the rights of young Alaskans to exercise freedom of speech, press, and political expression. Book banning in any public setting is unacceptable.”

In response, the MSBSD earlier this summer formed the Library Citizens’ Advisory Committee (LCAC), with the school board selecting a member from each of their districts to serve on the committee, as well as several district employees. Each month, the LCAC selects 3-4 books that they are required to read and determine if the books meet the criteria for “indecent materials.” The LCAC then makes a recommendation to the MSBSD school board and administration, who will ultimately decide if the books should be accessible to specific age groups, or completely removed from library shelves.

"As a parent to a biracial child, my child needs to be represented in books. I believe that book banning only further promotes intolerance, suppression of ideas or information, and creates seclusion making at-risk youth all the more at-risk. I am joining this lawsuit to send the School District the message: enough is enough,” said Dawn Adams, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Jillian Morrissey, Chief Communications Officer for the MSBSD said that as of this publication, they have not officially been served with anything, adding, “The District learned of this lawsuit through the Press Release on Friday, November 17. At this time, we have not been served paperwork/legal documents.”