Northern Justice Project, ACLU of Alaska file preliminary injunction to put 56 removed books back on Mat-Su school library shelves

While schools are still on winter break, the Northern Justice Project (NJP), LLC, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Alaska filed a motion Tuesday for a preliminary injunction to return 56 book titles to Mat-Su Borough School District (MSBSD) library shelves.

The filing was made in an attempt to achieve immediate relief to the complaint that the plaintiffs, in this case the students, had initially filed in November.

The preliminary injunction would return the 56 book titles to the shelves in school district libraries where they were previously removed and pause the removal of any other books pending a further order from the court.

“The District removed fifty-six books from all school libraries because of the books’ LGBTQ themes or protagonists of color that a few in the community disagree with. This is censorship plain and simple, and it violates the First Amendment. Until the courts can review the merits of the case, these books must be returned to school shelves,” said Savannah Fletcher, attorney for NJP in a press release.

The school district had previously removed the book titles in April 2023, including classics like "The Bluest Eye", "Slaughterhouse-Five", and "The Kite Runner", because the titles contained ideas that it disagreed with. In response, the MSBSD school board created the Library Citizens’ Advisory Committee, consisting of members from each district and members of the district administration and librarians to read and review each book currently on the challenged list and determine if each book meets the current statute for illicit materials and make recommendations for accessibility to the school board for later determination of the books.

Ruth Botstein, Legal Director for the ACLU of Alaska said, “Restricting access to ideas is harmful to all students, and banning these specific books is especially critical to the individuals pursuing this lawsuit. These students range from middle school to high school, range in their racial backgrounds, and some identify as LGBTQIA2S+ individuals. This representation matters to these students, and access and exposure to new ideas are crucial for their growth and development. The harm to the students goes beyond simply checking out a library book. There is nothing that can compensate for the lost opportunity to explore an idea, to read a book that might help a student navigate the world.”

In November 2023, NJP and the ACLU of Alaska filed a lawsuit representing eight plaintiffs, including six MSBSD parents on behalf of their minor children and two MSBSD students over the age of 18 who claim that the book removal violated their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights under the United States Constitution to free speech, press, and political expression.

Part of the petition reads:

“There is a strong public interest in protecting Students’ First Amendment right to access ideas in the school library free from censorship. It is not in the public’s interest to allow the District to continue violating this right simply due to the pressure of a few outspoken voices that disagree with the ideas or concepts in these books. Students’ constitutional right to receive information cannot and should not be subject to the discomfort of a few individuals or a local body’s political whims. Thus, the requested injunction requiring the District to return all fifty-six books to its shelves will further the public interest.”

This argument supports the requirement when filing for an injunction, including the likeliness to succeed on the merits of their underlying cause of action, establishing that irreparable harm is likely if the court does not grant the preliminary injunction, balancing of both equities and hardships is in their favor, and showing that it would be in the public interest.

“In the motion for preliminary injunction, we outlined how there was immediate harm to the students by removing these books, which is why we would want the books put back on the shelves while ongoing review happens,” said Meghan Barker, Communications Director for the ACLU of Alaska.

When asked why the injunction was filed if the MSBSD has a committee already reviewing the books, Barker says:

“A preliminary injunction moves quite a big quicker than the lawsuit itself, so this motion puts these books back on shelves until the courts can assess the merits of the November lawsuit we filed. The books were removed last April; the committee didn't start reviewing the books until last fall, and all titles are still removed from shelves.”

In a statement from the MSBSD administration, Jillian Morrissey, Chief Communications Officer said:

“The District has just received the Motion for Preliminary Injunction and is reviewing it. The District, through counsel, will respond to the Motion as required by applicable Court rules.”

NJP and the ACLU of Alaska expect the judge to set a hearing for the motion for preliminary injunction in the near future and for the process to move quickly. No hearing date has been set at this time.