Alaska District Ordered to Return Majority of Banned Books to Library Shelves Following Court Ruling

Only seven of the 56 books removed from school libraries by the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District are to be reshelved by next week, in anticipation of a trial next year. This decision was made by U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason on Tuesday.

The books that were banned, such as Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye,” Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five,” and Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner,” were taken out of schools without considering their content individually following complaints from parents and community members about “LGBTQ themes” or sexually explicit material at district meetings last year.

Judge Gleason’s ruling stated that the actions of the district infringed upon the constitutional rights of students and hinted at the suppression of ideas by officials, causing irreparable harm. The injunction orders these books to be back on library shelves until the trial scheduled for April next year, where their fate will be determined.

In response to the court’s decision, the district issued a statement on Thursday reiterating the work done by the school board over the past year, which includes a review of the books and returning some to library shelves. The statement mentioned that the Court’s decision aligns with the district’s ongoing efforts.

Savannah Fletcher, the attorney representing the plaintiffs from the Northern Justice Project, highlighted that the ruling demonstrates that the government cannot remove books without a compelling reason for an indefinite period, as guaranteed by the Constitution.

“The Constitution prohibits the government from censoring ideas solely based on disagreements with them,” Fletcher emphasized.

Amidst growing discussions about what material should be available to students, the Alaska case stands out due to the mass removal of books without individual evaluation. Fletcher acknowledged the unique nature of the case and the challenges it posed when presenting arguments to the court.

While some books have already been approved to return to library shelves by the community, a substantial number were referred to a library committee for assessment. The committee, predominantly chosen by the school board, was responsible for determining the suitability of the books and permitted more than a dozen titles to be reintroduced. The court’s decision supersedes these evaluations, unless compelling reasons are provided to remove a specific book.

Scott Adams, along with his wife Dawn and their daughter, joined the lawsuit to challenge the district’s actions, which they believed violated the First Amendment. Adams expressed his satisfaction with the court’s decision and emphasized the importance of upholding constitutional rights.

The seven books that will remain off the shelves in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District due to indecency concerns are “Call Me by Your Name,” “Verity,” “It Ends with Us,” “Ugly Love,” “A Court of Mist and Fury,” “A Court of Silver Flames,” and “You.” These books will be reevaluated along with others during the trial next year.