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Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Military's K-12 Schools Are Banning Award-Winning Kids' Books To Appease Trump
WASHINGTON – A New York Times bestseller that chronicles the true story of a nonbinary teenager set on fire by another teen while riding a bus in Oakland, California. A collection of stories and poems by a New York Times bestselling author about the feelings and experiences of teenagers in love. An NPR 'best book of the year' award winner featuring authors and illustrators sharing personal stories about their conversations with their kids about race in America today. This is a small sampling of the kinds of books that have been marked for 'quarantine' in school libraries run by the Defense Department's Education Activity, or DoDEA. For months, officials atop this agency have been quietly flagging and banning dozens of books in response to President Donald Trump's executiveorders requiring federal agencies to eliminate programs or materials related to diversity, equity and inclusion. The effect is that tens of thousands of kids in U.S. military families living on military bases worldwide no longer have access at their school libraries to celebrated and highly recommended books that happen to talk about LGBTQ+ people and people of color. HuffPost obtained an internal list of 80-something books that have been banned, or are in the process of being banned, at schools across the DoDEA system, which provides K-12 education to more than 67,000 kids in 11 countries, seven states, Guam and Puerto Rico. HuffPost isn't providing the full list at the request of the DoDEA employee who shared it; they feared they could lose their job. But the clear theme to these books is that in one way or another, they talk about gender identity, sexuality and race. Some of the books on the list include: 'The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives,' by Dashka Slater. This nonfiction book tells the backstories of two very different teens and explores race, class, gender and crime. It has won multiple awards, including being ranked as a Time Magazine best young adult book for all time. 'If I Was Your Girl,' by Meredith Russo. This story follows a young trans woman who has gone to live with her estranged father after being bullied at her old school, and navigates her relationships with new friends and her first romance. It has won numerous awards and was listed as a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year. 'Pet,' by Akwaeke Emezi. A story about a Black transgender woman navigating her place in the world. This book is a National Book Award finalist and was named one of the best books of the year by The New York Times, Time, NPR, New York Public Library, Publisher's Weekly and School Library Journal. Kirkus Reviews named it one of the best young adult books of the century. '19 Love Songs,' by David Levithan. Written by a New York Times bestselling author, this book is a collection of short stories that explores big and small moments in young adult relationships. Some of the stories, but not all, have LGBTQ+ themes or characters. 'Cemetery Boys,' by Aiden Thomas. This story follows a character named Yadriel, a Latino transgender teen who sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free. Written by a New York Times bestselling author, this book was a Goodreads nominee for readers' favorite debut novel and for readers' favorite young adult fantasy and science-fiction book. 'Between the World and Me,' by Ta-Nehisi Coates. The award-winning author writes in the form of a letter to his then-teenage son about his perception of the feelings, symbolism and realities associated with being Black in America. 'The Talk: Conversations about Race, Love & Truth,' by Wade Hudson. This book is a collection of short stories from 30 award-winning authors and illustrators that engage young people in open conversations about racism, identity and self-esteem. The New York Times rated it the best children's book of the year, as did NPR and Bank Street College of Education. In some confusion over that last book, DoDEA officials also accidentally banned a similar-sounding book — 'The Talk,' by Darrin Bell — in all the schools that had it, according to the DoDEA employee. Bell is a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist, and this book, a memoir about police brutality and anti-Blackness, has won multiple awards. It was rated a 2023 top 10 pick by the New York Public Library system and by the Chicago Public Library system, and named one of the best graphic novels of 2023 by School Library Journal. Still, senior DoDEA officials' focus on rooting out books that talk about transgender people stands out the most, said this DoDEA employee. 'They are really trying to deny transgender people exist,' said the employee. 'It makes me physically ill.' A second DoDEA employee told HuffPost it's clear that, in their scramble to comply with Trump's executive orders, the agency's leadership has had 'a tendency to err far on the side of caution.' DoDEA students last month sued the agency over its book bans, arguing that it is violating their First Amendment rights. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the suit on behalf of 12 students from six families, ranging in age from pre-K to 11th grade. All are children of active-duty U.S. service members stationed in Virginia, Kentucky, Italy or Japan. In their lawsuit, they cite other books they say have been banned in DoDEA schools in response to Trump's executive orders. They include 'The Kite Runner,' a New York Times bestseller by Khaled Hosseini; 'Freckleface Strawberry,' by actress and New York Times bestselling author Julianne Moore; 'Hillbilly Elegy,' by Vice President JD Vance; 'The Antiracist Kid,' by New York Times bestselling author Tiffany Jewell; and a preparation guide for an Advanced Placement psychology exam. 'Learning is a sacred and foundational right that is now being limited for students in DoDEA schools,' Natalie Tolley, a plaintiff on behalf of her three children, said in a statement. 'The implementation of these [executive orders], without any due process or parental or professional input, is a violation of our children's right to access information that prevents them from learning about their own histories, bodies, and identities.' A DoDEA spokesperson said he couldn't comment on the list of banned books obtained by HuffPost, or on any books that may have been pulled off the shelves at DoDEA school libraries, given the new lawsuit. 'I cannot comment on active litigations,' Michael O'Day, the communications director for DoDEA Americas, said in a statement. However, DoDEA remains 'unwavering in its dedication to providing an exceptional educational experience for every student,' said O'Day. 'Our curriculum, rigorously aligned with DoDEA's proven standards, has earned us the distinction of being the top-ranked school system in the United States for four consecutive years, based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the Nation's Report Card.' HuffPost previously talked to an active-duty military officer overseas with kids attending a DoDEA school. He described Trump's anti-DEI policies as a constant source of stress and fear for people around him, including at home: His spouse is a DoDEA teacher and he has LGBTQ+ children. Trump's attacks on LGBTQ+ kids and transgender service members 'hits home in so many ways,' said the officer. 'It's dehumanizing.' Members of Congress previously wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, urging him to stop to the 'Orwellian book purges' within DoDEA schools. 'We write to express our grave concern about the escalating censorship taking place in schools run by the Department of Defense,' reads a March letter to Hegseth from more than two dozen lawmakers, led by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee. 'You are plainly violating the constitutional rights of DoD families,' they wrote. A Defense Department spokesperson on Thursday declined comment on the lawmakers' letter, saying only, 'As with all congressional correspondence, we will respond directly to its authors.'
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
ACLU seeks injunction to block book bans in military schools
The Pentagon in Arlington. (Photo) The American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday asked a federal judge in Virginia to immediately halt what it calls a sweeping campaign of classroom censorship in military-run schools — including at Crossroads Elementary in Quantico — stemming from executive orders issued by former President Donald J. Trump earlier this year. The motion for preliminary injunction, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, follows a lawsuit brought last month on behalf of 12 students enrolled in Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools. The students, from pre-K to 11th grade, are children of active-duty service members stationed in Virginia, Kentucky, Italy and Japan. The ACLU's new filing alleges that books and curriculum touching on race, gender and civil rights have been systematically scrubbed under the guise of enforcing executive orders 14168, 14185 and 14190, which instruct federal agencies to purge references to 'gender ideology,' 'divisive concepts' and diversity programming. In Virginia, that has included removing materials from the library at Crossroads Elementary School in Quantico and canceling student events. 'The Trump administration cannot violate the First Amendment by removing books and curricula it doesn't like,' said Matt Callahan, senior supervising attorney at the ACLU of Virginia. 'Students have a right to see themselves reflected in their libraries and classrooms, and they also have a right to learn from the perspectives of people who aren't like them. That's no less true for military families than for anyone else.' Among the 233 books listed as removed or 'quarantined' in the latest motion are 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee, 'Looking for Alaska' by John Green and 'Can't Stop Won't Stop: A Hip-Hop History' by Jeff Chang. The plaintiffs say the materials most frequently targeted are by or about women, people of color and LGBTQ individuals. Jessica Henninger, a Virginia-based military parent and one of the lead plaintiffs, said her family had remained silent for months out of fear. But after watching DoDEA schools cancel Juneteenth and Holocaust Remembrance Day events and take down posters of Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistan education activist shot by the Taliban and winner of the Nobel Peace Price age 17, and Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, she decided speaking out was no longer optional. 'We make sacrifices as a military family so that my husband can defend the Constitution and the rights and freedoms of all Americans,' Henninger said. 'If our own rights and the rights of our children are at risk, we have a responsibility to speak out.' In court filings, the ACLU argues that the censorship campaign has disrupted students' academic progress — particularly those preparing for Advanced Placement exams — and created a chilling effect in classrooms. Some students now hesitate to ask questions about race or gender, worried that even inquiry could trigger administrative pushback. 'These are American students in American schools, and they have the same First Amendment rights as their peers,' said Emerson Sykes, senior staff attorney with the ACLU's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. 'Families in DoDEA schools have the right to access books about race and gender and the right to learn about the vibrantly diverse world around them.' Virginia plays a central role in the case. Not only are some of the plaintiffs based in the state, but the case is being heard in the Eastern District of Virginia — a jurisdiction with a history of high-profile First Amendment rulings. Attorneys believe the court could set a national precedent on how far federal agencies, including the military, can go in shaping the content of public education. While DoDEA officials have said the policy is about 'safeguarding children,' critics say it's political overreach, forcing public servants' children to bear the brunt of ideological battles. The ACLU says the orders violate the Supreme Court's 1982 decision in Island Trees School District v. Pico, which barred school officials from removing library books simply because they dislike the ideas within. 'This kind of political meddling is antithetical to the First Amendment,' said Corey Shapiro, legal director of the ACLU of Kentucky. 'And in DoDEA schools, which are some of the most diverse and high-performing schools in the nation, the impact is magnified.' If successful, the injunction could compel DoDEA to immediately restore books and classroom materials removed this year — including at Virginia installations — and affirm the rights of military families who, attorneys say, have been sidelined in a fight over what their children are allowed to read and learn. 'Our children are not political pawns,' Henninger said. 'They deserve to learn the truth — and we intend to make sure they can.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Virginia federal judge sets hearing on Hegseth's censorship in military service members' kids' schools
A federal judge in Virginia will hear arguments next month in a case that could determine whether the Trump administration's sweeping censorship of LGBTQ+ and racial justice content in military-run schools under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will be allowed to continue. Keep up with the latest in + news and politics. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has set a June 3 hearing in E.K. v. Department of Defense Education Activity, a lawsuit brought in April by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of 12 students enrolled in Department of Defense Education Activity schools across Virginia, Kentucky, Japan, and Italy. Related: Military families sue Trump administration to keep their school system diverse At issue is the administration's enforcement of three executive orders—14168, 14185, and 14190—signed by President Donald Trump in January. The orders direct federal agencies to eliminate so-called 'gender ideology,' 'divisive concepts,' and 'discriminatory equity ideology' from government-funded programming. Within weeks, DoDEA implemented new restrictions that removed hundreds of books from school libraries, revised curricula, canceled cultural celebrations, and limited classroom discussions about race, gender, and LGBTQ+ identities. DoDEA schools are among the most diverse and thriving in the American school system. Related: Supreme Court allows Trump administration to enforce transgender military ban The ACLU is seeking a preliminary injunction to halt the removals and restore access to materials it says are protected under the First Amendment. The Wednesday motion argues that the government has engaged in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination by targeting specific content based on political ideology. According to court documents, since January, DoDEA schools have removed titles such as To Kill a Mockingbird, Julian is a Mermaid, The Kite Runner, and Well-Read Black Girl. Instruction on topics like gender and sexuality was cut from AP Psychology courses, and health education was stripped of material related to puberty, consent, and reproductive health. Cultural observances like Black History Month and Pride Month were canceled across the system. DoDEA operates 161 schools serving more than 66,000 students, primarily children of active-duty service members. According to the lawsuit, the censorship has been implemented unevenly across campuses but with consistent harm: students are being denied access to key parts of their education, including content that reflects their own identities or histories. Related: Meet the transgender Army lieutenant who is challenging Donald Trump's military ban The plaintiffs include elementary through high school students who report confusion, fear, and frustration as lessons disappear and library shelves are emptied without explanation. The lawsuit also documents a lack of transparency, with parents receiving vague or no answers when asking what materials have been removed or why. The hearing before Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles was originally scheduled for May 29 but was rescheduled to June 3 at 10 a.m. in Alexandria. If granted, the injunction would block further enforcement of the executive orders in DoDEA schools and require the reinstatement of previously banned books and curricula. The hearing could have far-reaching implications for education in federally operated schools and for the rights of students in military families to learn in inclusive, fact-based environments.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Military families sue Trump administration to keep their school system diverse
The top-performing, globally most diverse American school system is the subject of a lawsuit alleging that the Trump administration violated students' First Amendment rights. Twelve students from military families stationed across four countries have filed a federal complaint accusing the U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity of censoring books, gutting inclusive curricula, and banning cultural history events—all in service of what they describe as a political agenda imposed by the Trump administration. Keep up with the latest in + news and politics. Students at military bases have been staging protests and walkouts at schools around the world to voice their opposition to the changes in a school environment that previously allowed all students to thrive. The suit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Virginia, alleges that recent executive orders signed by President Donald Trump have triggered widespread First Amendment violations within the DoDEA school system, which serves more than 67,000 children of active-duty military personnel. Related: DOJ appeals block on Pentagon's transgender military ban The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Virginia, and the ACLU of Kentucky brought the legal action on behalf of 12 students from six families. These students from pre-K to 11th grade attend DoDEA schools in Virginia, Kentucky, Italy, and Japan. According to the complaint, their schools have 'quarantined' books, scrubbed curriculum references to race and gender, canceled Black History and Pride Month events, and prohibited discussions of 'gender ideology' under directives from three Trump executive orders signed in January. Despite being largely invisible to the broader public, DoDEA is one of the highest-achieving public education systems in the United States. It spans 161 schools across seven U.S. states, 11 countries, Guam, and Puerto Rico, educating the children of service members and Department of Defense civilian personnel. It is also one of the nation's most racially diverse school systems. In January, DoDEA again led the nation on the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the Nation's Report Card. DoDEA fourth and eighth-graders scored up to 25 points higher than the national public school average in reading and math. press release. Related: Transgender Army officer Erica Vandal was born into military service. Now, she's suing Trump to stay in 'These schools are some of the most diverse and high-achieving in the nation,' said Emerson Sykes, senior staff attorney with the ACLU's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. 'It is particularly insulting to strip their shelves of diverse books and erase women, LGBTQ people, and people of color from the curriculum to serve a political goal. Our clients deserve better, and the First Amendment demands it.' The ACLU's complaint details how DoDEA officials, acting under Trump's executive orders, ordered staff to pull books referencing race, gender identity, or 'discriminatory equity ideology' and relocate them to inaccessible 'professional collections.' Some school libraries were temporarily shut down during the purge. Among the books reportedly removed: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, A Queer History of the United States by Michael Bronski, The Antiracist Kid by Tiffany Jewell, and even Hillbilly Elegy by Vice President JD Vance. The administration also targeted picture books like Julian Is a Mermaid and Julianne Moore's Freckleface Strawberry. In addition, schools canceled entire chapters from health classes on puberty, reproduction, consent, and STDs. The Trump administration stripped the AP Psychology curriculum of its unit on gender and sex—even though the material still appears on the national exam. Students say they are now unprepared for college-level testing. Related: Pete Hegseth receives jeers from U.S. service members' families at military base in Germany 'By quarantining library books and whitewashing curricula in its civilian schools, the Department of Defense Education Activity is violating students' First Amendment rights,' said Matt Callahan, senior supervising attorney at the ACLU of Virginia. 'The government can't scrub references to race and gender from public school libraries and classrooms just because the Trump administration doesn't like certain viewpoints on those topics.' The administration's reach has gone beyond textbooks and into school culture. According to the ACLU, the Defense Department has banned official recognition of Black History Month, Pride Month, Women's History Month, and other cultural observances. Even student yearbooks have been scrutinized, with new rules prohibiting any 'visual depictions, written content, or editorial choices' that could be construed as promoting 'gender ideology.' In other words, trans and nonbinary kids of military service members don't exist and cannot be celebrated in their previously supportive school environment. 'Our clients have a right to receive an education that includes an open and honest dialogue about America's history,' said Corey Shapiro, legal director of the ACLU of Kentucky. 'Censoring books and canceling assignments about the contributions of Black Americans is not only wrong, but antithetical to our First Amendment rights.' The suit names Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and DoDEA Director Beth Schiavino-Narvaez in their official capacities. Students are seeking a permanent injunction blocking the enforcement of school executive orders and a court order to restore removed books and curricula. 'Students in DoDEA schools, though they are members of military families, have the same First Amendment rights as all students,' said Sykes. 'Like everyone else, they deserve classrooms where they are free to read, speak, and learn about themselves, their neighbors, and the world around them.' The lawsuit comes as the ACLU fights on multiple fronts to defend civil liberties under the Trump administration, including challenges to immigration policies, attacks on reproductive rights, and free speech crackdowns.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Military Families Sue over Defense Department School Book Bans, Other Anti-Diversity Measures
A dozen students at Defense Department grade schools across the globe are suing the department after books were removed from libraries, school yearbooks were allegedly censored, and class curriculums were sanitized to implement President Donald Trump's anti-diversity and anti-LGBTQ+ executive orders. Alleging First Amendment violations, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday evening against the Department of Defense Education Activity and the Pentagon on behalf of 12 students in pre-K through 11th grade from six military families who attend schools on bases in Virginia, Kentucky, Italy and Japan. "The implementation of these EOs, without any due process or parental or professional input, is a violation of our children's right to access information that prevents them from learning about their own histories, bodies and identities," Natalie Tolley, a parent from one of the military families suing, said in a statement released by the ACLU. "I have three daughters, and they, like all children, deserve access to books that both mirror their own life experiences and that act as windows that expose them to greater diversity. The administration has now made that verboten in DoDEA schools." Read Next: 2 Marines Killed, One in Serious Condition After Vehicle Incident During Southern Border Mission A DoDEA spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit Wednesday, saying that "as a matter of policy, the DoDEA does not comment on ongoing litigation." Among his first acts in office, Trump ordered every federal agency to get rid of all policies and materials related to "gender ideology," a right-wing term for being transgender, and the ill-defined concept of "diversity, equity and inclusion." In practice, at the Pentagon, those orders have resulted in the erasure of minorities, women and LGBTQ+ people from public websites and databases; restrictions on what soldiers can write in academic papers; and the elimination of advisory groups seeking to improve troops' quality of life, among other effects. Some actions, such the removal of webpages about Navajo Code Talkers and Jackie Robinson, were reversed after public outrage. At DoDEA schools, books have been pulled from school libraries ranging from classics such as "To Kill a Mockingbird," to a picture biography about the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, to an award-winning fiction novel about a transgender teen participating in a national debate competition, to Vice President JD Vance's own memoir "Hillbilly Elegy," according to the lawsuit. Class curriculums have also been sterilized to remove content the administration objects to, according to the lawsuit. In addition to the widely reported elimination of gender and sexuality chapters from Advanced Placement Psychology textbooks, the lawsuit also alleges that textbooks for health classes have been censored. Chapters that have been cut from health class textbooks include: "Communicable Diseases: Sexually Transmitted Diseases;" "Unwanted Sexual Activity: Sexual Harassment;" "Human Reproductive System, Menstrual Cycle, and Fetal Development;" "Abuse and Neglect;" and "Adolescence and Puberty," according to the suit. Middle school health classes also are no longer teaching a chapter called "What Is Sexuality?" that "simply defines terms, accurately and without bias, that are commonly used in everyday conversation," the lawsuit says. Student yearbooks have also been instructed not to include "any visual depictions, written content or editorial choices that would directly or indirectly support the instruction, advancement, and/or promotion of 'gender ideology' and/or 'social transition,'" according to the lawsuit. And, in line with a Defense Department memo declaring "identity months dead," Black History Month assemblies and Women's History Month events were banned, the lawsuit says. While "host nation engagement" events are allowed, the lawsuit calls that distinction "nonsensical," citing the fact that a Guam History and Chamorro Heritage Day celebration was allowed under that category despite the fact that Guam is a U.S. territory and not a host nation. "Students in DoDEA schools, though they are members of military families, have the same First Amendment rights as all students," Emerson Sykes, senior staff attorney with the ACLU's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, said in a statement. "Like everyone else, they deserve classrooms where they are free to read, speak and learn about themselves, their neighbors and the world around them." DoDEA's implementation of Trump's orders has sparked a level of pushback not typically seen publicly from military families. In addition to the lawsuit, hundreds of DoDEA students have participated in walkouts despite the threat of punishment from school administrators and Pentagon officials. Military family members also protested when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited a base in Germany in February. Meanwhile, Trump administration book bans at Pentagon institutions have not been isolated to the DoDEA. The Naval Academy recently pulled nearly 400 books from its libraries, including books about the Holocaust and Maya Angelou's acclaimed autobiography, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." The Associated Press reported Tuesday that the libraries at West Point and the Air Force Academy have also been directed to review their collections for any books to remove. Related: Banned Books, School Walkouts, Child Care Shortages: Military Families Confront Pentagon's Shifting Rules
