Alabama

On August 12, the Alabama State Board of Education passed a resolution banning critical race theory (CRT) in public schools. The resolution passed along both party and racial lines.

The resolution employed language modeled on former President Trump’s September 22, 2020 executive order (EO 13850) to ban “concepts that impute fault, blame, a tendency to oppress others, or the need to feel guilt or anguish to persons solely because of their race or sex.”

It states that the board does not support any K-12 public education resources or standards used to “indoctrinate students in social or political ideologies that promote one race or sex above another.”

The resolution provides similar prohibitions to the topics of professional development for teachers or employees of Alabama’s public education system.

Deliberately vague provisions such as these have been used since September 2020 to prohibit education around race and racism; prevent equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) training; chill speech; and justify removal of books from curricula and libraries.

Benard Simmelton, president of the Alabama NAACP, said, “This resolution was conceived out of anti-public education groups that are unfamiliar with the Alabama course of study.” He contended the board should instead be concerned with issues such as the unequal punishment of Black and White students.

At a brief public hearing before the resolution was voted on, the majority of speakers opposed it, expressing fears that it would hinder teaching about race and racism and reinforce an inaccurate portrayal of US history.

Terri Michal, a Birmingham City Schools board member, spoke in opposition to the resolution. She said, “It is not the end of the world if our White children get uncomfortable at school. We have to teach our children not to hide from these issues.”

“We have to quit censoring everything based off our experience as a White person because the truth is, Black families don’t have that luxury. They have to have real conversations with their children about not going out in public with a squirt gun or Nerf gun. They have to have conversations about how to handle interactions with police,” said Michal.

Sara McDaniels, a professor at the University of Alabama’s College of Education and chair of their diversity, equity, and inclusion committee, said “We now have educators who are second-guessing whether they should use a certain example in class or continue to use their curriculum . . . on a certain topic.”

McDaniels added that since the resolution’s passage, “district leaders [are] wondering whether they can still hold trainings that talk about diversity, equity, inclusion, and improving disproportionate disciplinary practices for students.”

The board members who voted for the resolution were Governor Kay Ivey, Stephanie Bell, Cynthia Sanders McCarty, Belinda McCrae, Wayne Reynolds, Tracie West, and Jackie Ziegler, all White Republicans. The two members who voted against it were Yvette Richardson and Tonya Chestnut, both Democrats and both Black.

Richardson said, “As it stands now, our teachers have all taught about civil rights, they taught about slavery, and it’s never been a problem.”

Chestnut added that she believes the resolution “will put teachers in a position where they feel uncomfortable or even fearful to teach the truth.”

The resolution from the Alabama State Board of Education is part of a national trend in legislation, regulations, and policies restricting education on racism, bias, and the contributions made by specific racial or ethnic groups to US history.

State Senator Kirk Hatcher said CRT is a way of looking at why “patterns of inequality stubbornly exist.” He characterized the anti-CRT movement as “a backlash effort that has the potential to reverse racial reckoning.”

Multiple bills have been pre-filed by Alabama legislators which would prohibit the teaching of “divisive concepts.”

As reported in the previous issue of the Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy, CRT is the culture war catch-all of our times. Opaque definitions of CRT and “divisive concepts” are also being used nationwide to restrict education and access to materials on sexism, sexuality, and gender identity.

(See: Journal of Intellectual Freedom & Privacy, v.6 iss.3: For the Record: Nationwide)

Reported in: Montgomery Advisor, August 12, 2021; Montgomery Independent, August 15, 2021.

North Carolina

North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson proclaimed “There’s no reason anybody anywhere in America should be telling any child about transgenderism, homosexuality, any of that filth. Yes, I called it ‘filth.’ And if you don’t like that I called it ‘filth,’ come see me and I’ll explain it to you.”

His speech was delivered at the Asbury Baptist Church in June. Robinson also criticized critical race theory (CRT) in it. A video of the speech went viral after Right Wing Watch posted it online on October 6.

In response to Robinson’s comments, faith and community leaders held a news conference outside his office on October 11 to demand that he apologize publicly and take a meeting with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) leaders.

“It’s heartbreaking still to see such hateful words come from somebody. It’s pretty hard to hear,” said Kori Hennessey, director of education and programs at LGBT Center in Raleigh.

Pastor Vance Haywood said, “This isn’t a political issue. It’s a human rights issue. You’re costing people their lives.”

“We have so many things we’ve had to fight for for such a long time and for something as simple as not being called ‘filth’ and not being called names in general—it’s just not something any of us will be quiet about,” said Hennessey.

The Human Rights Campaign issued a statement “calling on Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson to resign for his disgraceful, hateful statements directed at LGBTQ+ people.”

When asked to comment, Robinson stood by his early statements and took things further by recommending LGBTQIA+ books be banned from schools.

“There is material out there that is pushing these issues and teaching our children about these issues,” said Robinson. “There is material out there that shares intimate details about homosexuality, about sexuality in general, to our students. That has got to stop.”

Robinson posted a video on his Facebook page citing the children’s book George by Alex Gino, Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison, and Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe as evidence of “indoctrination.” He said “These materials do not belong in public schools.”

In the video he also referred to homosexuality and transgenderism as “filth” and “garbage.”

Neither Lawn Boy nor Gender Queer is part of any school curriculum in North Carolina, though the titles are available in some high school libraries. John Wesley Waugh, a spokesperson for the lieutenant governor, was not able to cite any school where the books Robinson identified were used by teachers.

The Durham Public School system issued a statement that they operate “in alignment with the American Library Association’s philosophy regarding the Library Bill of Rights: ‘Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves.’”

Their statement continued that, “A diverse collection should contain content by and about a wide array of people and cultures to authentically reflect a variety of ideas, information, stories, and experiences.”

Governor Roy Cooper’s office issued a statement reprimanding Robinson without naming him: “It’s abhorrent to hear anyone, and especially an elected official, use hateful rhetoric that hurts people and our state’s reputation.”

Robinson remains unabashedly unapologetic for what state senator Jeff Jackson characterized as part of a pattern of “hateful and discriminatory” comments from the lieutenant governor.

Reported in: ABC 11, October 8, 2021, and October 12, 2021; NBC News, October 8, 2021; WRAL, October 12, 2021.

Texas

Texas state representative Matt Krause, chair of the House Committee on General Investigating, (HCGI) launched an inquiry into books available from school libraries. Soon after, Texas Governor Greg Abbott began demanding the removal of “inappropriate content” from schools.

The Texas Education Agency and every school district in Texas received a letter from Krause which included a 16-page list of 839 unique titles (see the appendix on page 15 for the full list of titles). The letter requested them to report which of those books they possess, how many copies they have, which schools they’re located in, and how much was spent to purchase them.

Krause’s letter also requests the districts inform Krause of all other books they have on human sexuality, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, AIDS; all books which contain sexually explicit images; and those which “might make students feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of their race or sex.”

The letter was dated October 25 and requested a written response by November 12.

In the first paragraph, Krause highlighted Carroll, Spring Branch, Lake Travis, Leander, and Katy as examples of Texas school districts which have recently removed such materials from their collections.

HCGI typically investigates legislative misconduct and wrongdoing by state officials. Its vice chair, State Representative Victoria Neave, called the letter “politically motivated.”

Krause’s action followed passage of Texas House Bill 3979, the critical race theory (CRT) law restricting how race-related subjects are taught in public schools. His letter includes phrases from the bill verbatim.

According to analysis done by Danika Ellis for Book Riot, only 8.3% of the titles pertained to race or racism. This is in keeping with the national trend to codify vague definitions of CRT into statute in order for it to serve as a catch-all for conservative culture war issues.

Most of the works listed (approximately 60%) were works of fiction. 62.4% of the books included lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/ questioning, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) characters or subject matter. 13.6% of the titles were sex education books and books about teenage pregnancy. An additional 5% of the books were about abortion or Roe v. Wade.

According to Ellis, 163 of the books were included for no discernible reason. Most of these were false hits from search terms like “race relations” and “gender identity.”

Ovidia Molina, president of the Texas State Teachers Association, said, “This is an obvious attack on diversity and an attempt to score political points at the expense of our children’s education.”

Krause is running for Texas attorney general in the 2022 race.

On November 1, Texas Governor Abbott sent a letter to Dan Troxell, executive director of the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), regarding “pornography or other inappropriate” materials in Texas schools.

“Collectively, your organization’s members have an obligation to determine the extent to which such materials exist or are used in our schools and to remove any such content,” wrote Abbott. “You have an obligation to Texas parents and students to ensure that no child in Texas is exposed to pornography or other inappropriate content while inside a Texas public school.”

A spokesperson from TASB expressed confusion as to why Abbott contacted them, as their association has “no regulatory authority over school districts and does not set the standards for instructional materials.”

While Abbott’s letter provided no particular guidance or examples, it is impossible to view it in isolation from Krause’s letter as it followed so closely after it.

On November 8, Abbott sent a similar letter to Mike Morath, commissioner of the Texas Education Agency; Kevin Ellis, chair of the State Board of Education; and Martha Wong, chair of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

In this letter, Abbott called on the agencies to “immediately develop statewide standards to prevent the presence of pornography and other obscene content in Texas public schools, including in school libraries.”

Abbott cited In the Dream House by Carmen Machado and Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe as examples of the kind of books he wants removed from school libraries. Both are LGBTQIA+ memoirs.

Reported in: The Texas Tribune, October 26, 2021; Book Riot, November 5, 2021; The Hill, October 27, 2021; KXAN, November 8, 2021; NPR, November 2, 2021.

Virginia

In the final days leading up to the Virginia gubernatorial election, Glenn Youngkin’s ads focused on removing “explicit” books from schools.

One ad features Laura Murphy, a mother who claims her son was traumatized by reading Toni Morrison’s Beloved in 2013 and suffered night terrors as a result. Her son, Blake Murphy, is currently associate general counsel for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).

In 2017, Terry McAuliffe, Youngkin’s Democratic opponent, vetoed a bill that would have allowed parents to opt their children out of “sexually explicit reading assignments.” The bill was inspired by Laura Murphy’s efforts to remove Beloved from 12th grade English reading lists. It was called the Beloved Bill.

Beloved tells the story of a formerly enslaved woman haunted by a past that includes killing one of her daughters to prevent her from being forced back into slavery.

It is widely considered one of the most significant literary works of the past 100 years. It won the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights Book Award, the Melcher Book Award, the Lyndhurst Foundation Award, the Elmer Holmes Bobst Award, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, and the Pulitzer Prize.

Youngkin said he would “ban critical race theory” (CRT) if elected. CRT is increasingly employed in vague and improbably encompassing ways. However, the ad in which Murphy recounts her efforts to ban a book written by a Black Nobel laureate recounting the enduring trauma of slavery provides insight into what Youngkin is talking about when he refers to CRT.

Morrison called banning books from schools the “purist and yet [most] elementary kind of censorship, designed to appease adults rather than educate children.”

Youngkin was elected to be Virginia’s next governor. It would be disingenuous to overlook the role his dog-whistled intent to suppress Black art played in this victory.

Reported in: The New Republic, October 26, 2021; The Washington Post, October 27, 2021; and October 28, 2021.

Jonesboro, Arkansas

Craighead County Jonesboro Public Library board member Amanda Escue resigned during the September 13th board meeting after several unsuccessful efforts to ban library materials and Pride displays.

Escue repeatedly pushed for the board to “govern children’s acquisitions” and for the board to oversee all library displays, guest speakers, authors, and performances. These issues were raised in two separate motions during her first board meeting on August 9, 2021. Escue seconded both motions. Both failed by a 2-3 vote.

Escue then attempted to call a special meeting of the board on August 16 to advance this agenda, but failed to follow protocol. As a result, her motion there was scuttled and the meeting declared unofficial.

The board’s push to control children’s materials, displays, and speakers was a response to the library’s Pride Month displays in June.

At the September 13 board meeting, Escue argued that “sensitive content” including “sexual or romantic attraction, topics of gender theory, and family planning” should require board approval in order to be “considerate of the parent’s role.”

Library Director David Eckert spoke out against Escue’s efforts at every turn. “Once the discussion moves to restrict[ing] access to any type of material, then it turns to censorship,” Eckert said.

Community member John Caldwell agreed. He said he was raised in a religious household where he was beaten because of his sexuality. He said kids like him benefit from access to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) materials.

“I dream of a world where this argument that we are having today will make us laugh at ourselves and dismiss it as insanity,” Caldwell said.

Lexie Brenton also spoke out against board members’ efforts to hamstring the library staff’s ability to purchase and display materials. She said she knew she was part of the LGBTQIA+ community since she was seven.

“We do not need another generation of children growing up learning to hate themselves like most gay kids learn to do,” Brenton said. “There are kids dying due to the hate we receive because of the public’s lack of education on gay people and the lack of representation.”

Escue said her actions as a board member resulted in unforeseen consequences, prompting her resignation. “I have received a glitter bomb within the last week in the mail. I received a sack of poop in the mail today.”

The board tabled the policies Escue proposed regarding “sensitive materials” for children, tweens, and teens and oversight of guest speakers, guest authors, displays, and performances.

A subcommittee was created and tasked to make a recommendation to the board at their October 11 meeting regarding the proposals.

The subcommittee met on October 6 without providing notice to the public or any media organizations. Escue filed a complaint against the board on October 27, arguing they violated the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by not providing at least two hours’ notice.

An agreement was reached between the library board and Escue in which the board admitted to violating FOIA and agreed to not hold any further meetings without notice, to receive training on FOIA, and to pay court costs and attorney fees.

No recommendations to the board emerged from the subcommittee’s October 6 meeting.

(See: Journal of Intellectual Freedom & Privacy, v.6 iss.3: Censorship Dateline: Libraries)

Reported in: KAIT8, August 9, 2021; August 16, 2021; September 14, 2021; and October 27, 2021.

Paso Robles, California

On August 10, the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District’s board passed a resolution forbidding the teaching of topics it characterized as “elements” or “doctrines” of critical race theory (CRT) in a 4-3 vote.

Board President Chris Arend drafted and introduced the resolution.

The lessons the board banned from being taught in their schools include:

• Racism is racial prejudice plus power
• Racism is ordinary
• Those in power will move away from racist policies only if doing so serves their interests
• The “dominant society racializes different minority groups at different times in response to different needs, such as the labor market”
• People of color have “a presumed competence to speak about race and racism”
• The preservation of slavery was a material motive for independence from England

The resolution allows CRT to be taught only if “such instruction focusses [sic] on the flaws in Critical Race Theory.”

The passed resolution contradicts the district’s Controversial Issues Policy, which was approved by the board on July 14, 1998.

That policy allows controversial issues to be discussed in the classroom if “all sides of the issue are given a proper hearing” and there is allowance for “alternative points of view to be discussed and evaluated.”

During the period for comment, trustee Nathan Williams pointed out that their long-standing controversial issues policy made this resolution unnecessary.

Michael Rivera stated the board needs to “draw a line in the sand” and stand against CRT. “You’ve got to draw the line and say, ‘Not one step further.’”

Some pointed out that CRT is not taught at any K-12 school, as it’s a complex academic theory introduced at the graduate level in law schools. Others argued that Arend’s resolution entirely misinterpreted CRT.

Shannon Gonzalez lamented the board was discussing CRT instead of addressing concrete problems. “We need to be focused on transportation. You’re considering closing a school. Why are you wasting time?”

Joddy Moore, a parent in the district, felt the resolution was worth their time because banning CRT “sends a clear message.”

Trustee Jim Reed argued that “if you actually look at all Whites, we are not oppressive.” He said, “The truth is, not all Americans have been racists and oppressors. Only some have been. . . . They were Democrats.”

This prompted trustee Tim Gearhart to object that Reed’s comments were partisan and should not be allowed on a nonpartisan school board. Arend dismissed Gearhart’s objection and allowed Reed to continue.

Chris Bausch observed that the board had previously adopted a resolution proclaiming their stance against racism and questioned why banning CRT was necessary. He said he trusted teachers to facilitate robust discussions and teach critical thinking.

“The resolution does not ban CRT,” Williams said. “It explicitly allows it to be included, but only how one side wants it to be. It goes against the very nature of education.”

Dorian Baker, Lance Gannon, and Reed voted for it. Williams, Gearhart, and Bausch dissented. Bausch requested the record show the resolution was not read aloud before voting took place.

Reported in: San Luis Obispo Tribune, August 11, 2021.

Sarasota County, Florida

A personal narrative relaying the story of a child attending a Black Lives Matter protest with his father was removed from the Sarasota County School District’s 5th grade curriculum. It was part of a vocabulary practice test.

District leaders sent a letter to parents in October indicating that the narrative was removed because it violated the Florida Department of Education’s ban on teaching critical race theory (CRT) in schools.

The passage was replaced with a nearly-identical narrative about the 1963 Children’s Crusade march in Birmingham.

Both narratives are told from the child’s perspective. Both refer to the heat as “soupy.” Both describe some of the protestors as wearing “their ‘Sunday best’—suits and ties, dresses and hats.” Both include an account of when the child’s father was arrested earlier that year. Both detail the everyday injustices the children are protesting. Both discuss Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The only notable differences between the narratives are that one is set in the present and also includes the phrases “Black Lives Matter” and “wore masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.”

Trevor D. Harvey, President of the Sarasota NAACP said, “the verbiage changed to flip it to something that has now happened in the past and it is moving away from present day . . . I feel that it is hindering the engagement of the learner by putting them in the past.”

Harvey and others said removing the passage was a form of censorship and amounts to a whitewashing of history.

“Banning the teaching of important milestones in our nation’s history is a detriment to our children and does them a huge disservice,” tweeted civil rights lawyer Ben Crump.

Harvey said, “If you truly and honestly understand CRT you will recognize the way it was written has nothing to do with CRT at all…I get so frustrated. The minute somebody says ‘Black’ or something about slavery, they automatically relate it to CRT, and this is not CRT. It’s just not.”

The chilling effect surrounding bans of CRT extends far beyond the graduate-level academic framework to which it refers.

Reported in: WTSP, October 18, 2021; Patch, October 15, 2021.

Carmel, Indiana

A group of parents and community members in Carmel, Indiana, has been following online guidance to pressure local school boards to end social-emotional learning (SEL) and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work; ban books; and lift mask mandates. They use the label critical race theory (CRT) as a catch-all for what they oppose.

Unify Carmel has organized protests at meetings of the Carmel Clay school board and the Hamilton County school district north of Indianapolis. Their actions, including showing up with bullhorns and firearms, resulted in the Carmel Clay school board temporarily suspending public comments and using metal detectors to screen attendees.

In September, the board voted to hold virtual meetings citing a group’s “orchestrated” efforts to frighten, intimidate, and threaten teachers and their family members.

Unify Carmel is led by Alvin Lui, an illusionist from California, who has refused to disclose if his daughter attends a school in the district.

Lui said the group is working to “educate and empower parents to take back their school district.” Their website states one of their primary goals is to “ensure parental control of academic decisions.”

As part of its mission, Unify Carmel’s website encourages parents to complain about books they don’t approve of.

In the blog post “how to search for inappropriate books,” Lui directs visitors to like and follow the Mary in the Library facebook page. Mary in the Library functions as a forum for people to post books they feel are “inappropriate” along with which school libraries own them.

One of the books targeted on Mary in the Library is Jesus Land, by Indiana native Julia Scheeres. Her New York Times-bestselling memoir details how she and her brother survived abusive fundamentalist parents who sent them to Escuela Caribe, an oppressive Christian “reform school” in the Dominican Republic.

Jesus Land won the Young Adult Library Services Association’s Alex Award and the New Visions Nonfiction Book Award. Its publication helped bring attention to Escuela Caribe, leading to its closing in 2011 after other alumni came forward to expose its 40-year history of child abuse.

Referring to Scheeres’ memoir, Lui said, “That kind of book is exactly what we as Unify Carmel try to point out. You want to buy it for your kids, fine, but these books have no place in schools.”

“We’ve seen devastating results when you indoctrinate generations of students. We’ve seen it in the crime and everything you hear about California.” said Lui. “If you want to pass on social justice, do that in your home.”

Scheeres pointed out that organizations like Unify Carmel aren’t interested in simply banning books. “It’s not just books,” she said. “It’s Social Emotional Learning, diversity training—which they see as anti-White.

“And they’re posting names and contact info for individual teachers and encouraging people to hound them. This broke my heart: a teacher did a tour of their classroom, which had a rainbow flag, and said it was a place where kids can write down their preferred pronoun, and a group posted this TikTok they had made, repudiating this welcoming behavior. School administrators are being cowed.”

“I’ve got concerns about teachers and librarians,” she added. “Where are the people who are going to support these teachers?”

April Hennessey, a Monroe County Community School Board member and former teacher, agreed.

“When we see these attacks launched at our teachers and librarians, I’m concerned because we cannot afford to lose them,” she said. “I worry about the future of public education in Indiana. It’s really disheartening.”

Unify Carmel’s site links to a who’s who of anti-CRT organizations, including Christopher Rufo, No Left Turn, Southlake Families, Parents Defending Education, and the 1776 Commission. Purple for Parents, a group opposed to CRT, SEL, and comprehensive sexual education, has shared videos from Lui and Unify Carmel on social media.

Lui and Unify Carmel started a Change.org petition calling for the Carmel Clay School Board to end their DEI work and fire their DEI officer. They caution those signing the petition against donating to Change.org. They instruct donations be sent to the Unify Carmel Political Action Committee, instead.

Reported in: Star Press, October 11, 2021, and September 30, 2021; WRTV, August 25, 2021.

Johnson County, North Carolina

On October 4, Johnston County commissioners agreed to release $7.9 million in new school funding that they’d been withholding for months. Their stated reason for withholding funding was Johnston County Public Schools’ lack of a policy banning critical race theory (CRT).

April Lee, president of the Johnston County Association of Educators referred to the commission’s action as “extortion.”

Tamika Walker-Kelly, president of the North Carolina Association of Educators, said “The Johnston County Board of Commissioners and the Johnston County Board of Education are attempting to stoke fears, divide parents and communities, and discredit Johnston County’s hard-working teachers, yet all they are doing is hurting our children.”

“The fact that an entirely White board of commissioners is using its control of funding to ensure that students don’t hear about systemic racism is a powerful example of systemic racism in action,” said Justin Parmenter, a Mecklenburg County school teacher.

In order to obtain their funding, the school board’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct was extensively revised. It now includes a provision that “No employee or student shall be forced to have compelled speech or acceptance of ideas that are contrary to their beliefs.”

Another revision states that, “No student or staff member shall be subjected to the notion that racism is a permanent component of American life.”

The provision that “all people who contributed to American society will be recognized and presented as reformists, innovators, and heroes to our culture,” was also added.

Those provisions sit uncomfortably next to this one: “When discussing a controversial topic, which may arise out of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study, the staff member shall remain neutral and present the information without bias. These topics must include multiple and varied viewpoints, in an effort to stimulate thought, without persuasion or outside pressure.”

The policy states that teachers failing to comply will face disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.

Commissioner Fred Smith indicated that the commission’s actions were an effort to locally enact the provisions of House Bill 324. HB 324 would have restricted education around race and racism statewide had it not been vetoed by Governor Roy Cooper earlier this year.

Walker-Kelly objected to the constraints the policy revisions imposed on teachers. “Our students deserve honesty in education, rooted in facts and truth. Loving America and what it stands for means learning about our history, both good and bad. If we censor our history and ignore today’s challenges, we will never live up to our ideals of liberty and justice for all.”

Alan Hall, a district parent, said these anti-CRT efforts to rewrite history were reminiscent of the actions of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, who promoted the false notion that the Civil War was a heroic cause and not centered on slavery.

Dale Lands, founder of Citizen Advocates for Accountable Government, a group that has opposed CRT and mask mandates, applauded the commission for withholding funds in order to constrain how history and current events are taught.

“Always keep that in your toolbox and understand that you can use it,” said Lands.

Reported in: NC Policy Watch, October 5, 2021.

Newberg, Oregon

On October 22, the Newberg school board held a special meeting over Zoom to allow public comment on their recent ban on political symbols. Vice chair Brian Shannon introduced the policy in order to prevent teachers from displaying Pride and Black Lives Matter (BLM) banners.

Two days before the meeting, Lauren Pefferle, a special education assistant at the district’s Mabel Rush Elementary School, came to work in blackface to protest mandatory vaccination. She said she “was Rosa Parks” and vaccination was “segregation.”

The previous week, a story broke about students holding a virtual “slave trade” of Black Newberg students on Snapchat.

District lawyers and an attorney for the statewide school boards association have said the directive as drafted violates the First Amendment.

Prior to the meeting, dozens of demonstrators gathered along Highway 99 in Newberg waving signs and flags bearing Pride and BLM messages.

Members of the public had up to two minutes each for comment, and nearly 50 residents and students weighed in. All staff and students who testified opposed the ban, though other residents were roughly split.

Newberg residents Peggy Kilburg and John Kitchen argued that BLM and Pride flags were “political symbols.”

Midas Jenkins, a transgender senior at Newberg Catalyst High School, said the ban on Pride and BLM flags tells lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/ questioning, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) that their lives are not valued.

“I am not political. I am human,” said Jenkins.

MaryJane Bachmeier, on behalf of the Newberg Education Association Executive Board, also spoke out against the ban. “Students need to know who their allies are when they feel the need to talk or a safe space just to be themselves.”

Catalyst Success Coordinator Elaine Koskela said she knew two high school students who transferred to McLoughlin High School due to the recent racist incidents and the ban. She argued that putting up Pride and BLM symbols was a way of showing support for her students.

“A board telling me what I can and cannot put on my walls is limiting the ways I connect with students,” said Koskela.

Several speakers criticized the board for not being receptive to community input earlier and only entertaining public comment after passing the policy.

Reported in Oregon Live, September 22, 2021; September 20, 2021; and September 15, 2021.

Appendix: Titles Targeted by Texas State Representative Matt Krause

¿Qué me está pasando? : las respuestas a algunas de las preguntas más embarazosas del mundo by Peter Mayle

"Pink is a Girl Color" ... and Other Silly Things People Say by Stacy Drageset

#BlackLivesMatter: Protesting Racism by Rachael L Thomas

10 Things I Can See from Here by Carrie Mac

100 Questions You'd Never Ask Your Parents: Straight Answers to Teens' Questions About Sex, Sexuality, and Health by Elisabeth Henderson

101 Questions About Reproduction: Or How 1 + 1 = 3 or 4 or More by Faith Hickman Brynie

101 Questions about Sex and Sexuality: With Answers for the Curious, Cautious, and Confused by Faith Hickman Brynie

2020 Black Lives Matter Marches by Joyce L Markovics

7 Days at the Hot Corner by Terry Trueman

A Baby Doesn't Make the Man: Alternative Sources of Power and Manhood for Young Men by Raynmond Jamiolkowski

A Case of Need by Michael Crichton

A Complicated Love Story Set in Space by Shaun David Hutchinson

A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramee

A Guy's Guide to Sexuality and Sexual Identity in the 21st Century by Joe Craig

A High Five for Glenn Burke by Phil Bildner

A Home for Goddesses and Dogs by Leslie Connor

A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara

A Kids Book About Racism by Jelani Memory

A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee

A Line in the Dark by Malinda Lo

A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend: A Novel by Emily Horner

A New Generation of Homosexuality: Modern Trends in Gay and Lesbian Communities by Bill Palmer

A Question of Choice by Sarah Ragle Weddinton

A Tale of Two Summers by Brian Sloan

A Very, Very Bad Thing by Jeffery Self

A Woman's Right to an Abortion: Roe v. Wade by D J Herda

Abortion by Tamara Thompson

Abortion by Noel Merino

Abortion by Noah Berlatsky

Abortion by David M Haugen

Abortion by Bonnie Juettner Fernandes

Abortion by Hal Markovitz

Abortion by Norah Piehl

Abortion by Mary E Williams

Abortion by Allison Lassieur

Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood by Kristin Luker

Abortion Decisions of the Supreme Court: 1973 through 1989: A Comprehensive Review with Historical Commentary by Dan Drucker

Abortion: A Documentary and Reference Guide by Melody Rose

Abortion: Interpreting the Constitution by Carol Hand

Abortion: Opposing Viewpoints by Tamara L. Roleff

Abortion: Understanding the Debate by Kathlyn Gay

Absolute Brightness by James Lecesne

Absolute Convictions: My Father, a City, and the Conflict that Divided America by Eyal Press

Absolutely, Positively Not by David LaRochelle

Adam by Ariel Schrag

After by Amy Efaw

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

Alan Cole is not a Coward by Eric Bell

Aleecia by Maggie Wells

Alex by Sylvia Aguilar Zeleny

Alex as Well by Alyssa Brugman

Alison, Who Went Away by Vivian Vande Velde

All American Boys by Jason Reynolds, Brendan Kiely

All Eyes On Us by Kit Frick

All Out: No-Longer Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages by Saundra Mitchell

All the Bad Apples by Moira Fowley-Doyle

All the Things We Do in the Dark by Saundra Mitchell

All We Can Do Is Wait by Richard Lawson

Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher

Am I Blue?: Coming Out from the Silence by Marion Dane Bauer

An African American and Latinx History of the United States by Paul Ortiz

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People by Jean Mendoza

Ana on the Edge by A J Sass

And She Was by Jessica Verdi

And Still I Rise: Black America Since MLK by Henry Louis Gates

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson, Peter Parnell

Angel's Choice by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden

Another Kind of Cowboy by Susan Juby

Antonio's Card = La Tarjeta de Antonio by Rigoberto Gonzalez

Any Way the Wind Blows by E. Lynn Harris

Anything Could Happen by Will Walton

Archenemy by Paul Hoblin

Are You LGBTQ? by Jeanne Nagle

Aristoteles y Dante Descubren los Secretos del Universo by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Articles of Faith: A Frontline History of the Abortion Wars by Cynthia Gorney

As Far as You'll Take Me by Phil Stamper

As I Descended by Robin Talley

Ash by Malinda Lo

Ask Me How I Got Here by Christine Heppermann

Ask the Passengers by A S King

Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole

At the Broken Places: A Mother and Trans Son Pick Up the Pieces by Mary Collins, Donald Collins

At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David Hutchinson

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

Avoiding Bullies? Skills to Outsmart and Stop Them by Louise Spilsbury

Away We Go by Emil Ostrovski

Baby Be-Bop by Francesca Lia Block

Bad Boy by Diana Wieler

Be Dazzled by Ryan La Sala

Beast by Brie Spangler

Beautiful Music for Ugly Children by Kirstin Cronn-Mills

Becoming Nicole: The Extraordinary Transformation of an Ordinary Family by Amy Ellis Nutt

Before I Had the Words: On Being a Transgender Young Adult by Skylar Kergil

Being Gay, Staying Health by Jaime Seba

Being Jazz: My Life as a (transgender teen) by Jazz Jennings

Being the Change: Lessons and Strategies to Teach Social Comprehension by Sara Ahmed

Bend, Don't Shatter: Poets on the Beginning of Desire by T Cole Rachel

Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson

Best Best Colors by Eric Hoffman

Between Mom and Jo by Julie Anne Peters

Between the Blade and the Heart by Amanda Hocking

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Beyond Choice: Reproductive Freedom in the 21st Century by Alexander Sanger

Beyond Clueless by Linas Alsenas

Beyond Dreams by Marilyn Reynolds

Beyond Magenta : Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin

Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon

Big Guy by Robin Stevenson

Bioethics: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Who Decides? by Linda Jacobs Altman

Birth Control by Roman Espejo

Birth Control by Noel Merino

Birth Control and Protection: Options for Teens by Judith Peacock

Birthday by Meredith Russo

Black Lives Matter: From Hashtag to the Streets by Artika R Tyner

Black Rabbit Summer by Kevin Brooks

Black Swan by Farrukh Dhondy

Blood Countess by Lana Popovic

Blood Sport by Tash McAdam

Bloodline by Dana Aros

Borrowed Light by

Boy Erased by Garrard Conley

Boy Girl Boy by Ronald Koertge

Boy Minus Girl by Richard Uhlig

Boy v. Girl?: How Gender Shapes Who We Are, What We Want, and How We Get Along by George Abrahams

Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy

Brave Face by Shaun David Hutchinson

Burn by Heath Gibson

Can't Take That Away by Steven Salvatore

Candace by Maggie Wells

Caste: The Origin of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Chainbreaker by Tara Sim

Changing Bodies, Changing Lives: A Book for Teens on Sex and Relationships by Ruth Bell

Chasing the Day by Dana Aros

Cider House Rules by John Irving

Ciel by Sophie Labelle

Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine

Class Act by Jerry Craft

Cold Falling White by Gabrielle Prendergast

Combat Zone by Patrick Jones

Coming Out as Transgender by Corona Brezina

Coming Out: Telling Family and Friends by Jaime Seba

Con Tango Son Tres by Justin Richardson

Conception by Kalisha Buckhanon

Considering Hate Violence, Goodness, and Justice in American Culture and Politics by Kay Whitlock

Conversaciones: Relatos de Padres y Madres de Hijas Lesbianas e Hijos Gay by Mariana Romo-Carmona

Cool and Celibate?: Sex or No Sex by David Bull

Coping With Birth Control by Michael D. Benson

Cradle and All by James Patterson

Critical Perspectives on Gender Identity by Nicki Peter Petrikowski

Crossing Lines by Paul Volponi

Crush by Carrie Mac

Cut Both Ways by Carrie Mesrobian

Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything About Race, Gender, and Identity - and Why this Harms Everybody by Helen Pluckrose

Dancing Naked by Shelley Hrdlitschka

Darius the Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram

Dateable: Are You? Are They? by Justin Lookadoo

Dating, Relationships, and Sexuality: What Teens Should Know by Wendy Hart Beckman

Daughters Unto Devils by Amy Lukavics

Deal With It! by Esther Drill

Dear Diary, I'm Pregnant: Teenagers Talk About Their Pregnancies by Annrenee Englander

Dear One by Jacqueline Woodson

Death Wind by William Bell

Deepest Breath by Meg Grehan

Deliver Us from Evie by Marijane Meaker

Deposing Nathan by Zack Smedley

Detour for Emmy by Marilyn Reynolds

Dishes by Rich Wallace

Do Abstinence Programs Work? by Christine Watkins

Do You Wonder about Sex and Sexuality? by Stephen Feinstein

Does this Happen to Everyone? A Budding Adult's Guide to Puberty by Jan Von Holleben

Doing It Right: Making Smart, Safe, and Satisfying Choices About Sex by Bronwen Pardes

Doing It! Let's Talk About Sex by Hannah Witton

Donovan's Big Day by Lesléa Newman

Double Exposure by Bridget Birdsall

Drag Teen by Jeffery Self

Drama by Raina Telgemeier

Draw the Line by Laurent Linn

Dreadnought by April Daniels

Dreadnought: H.I.V.E. Vol. 4 by Mark Walden

Drowning of Stephan Jones by Bette Greene

Dying to Live: Can You Outrun Death? by Kim Baldwin

Each of Us a Desert by Mark Oshiro

Eagle Kite by Paula Fox

Ebony and Ivy: Race, Slavery, and the Troubled History of America's Universities by Craig Steven Wilder

Echo After Echo by Amy Rose Capetta

Eight Seconds by Jean Ferris

Empress of the World by Sara Ryan

En el Bosque by Robin Stevenson

Equal Rights by Maureen O'Connor

Everything Changes by Samantha Hale

Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour

Everything You Love Will Burn: Inside the Rebirth of White Nationalism in America by Vegas Tenold

Everything You Need to Know about Going to the Gynecologist by Shifra Diamond

Everything You Need to Know about Growing Up Female by Ellen Kahaner

Everything You Need to Know about Growing Up Male by Bruce Glassman

Everything You Need to Know about Sexual Identity by Jeff Donaldson-Forbes

Everything You Need to Know about Teen Motherhood by Jane Hammerslough

Everything You Need to Know about Teen Pregnancy by Tracy Hughes

Expecting by Shannon Freeman

Eyes on Target: Inside Stories from the Brotherhood of the U.S. Navy SEALs by Scott McEwen

Facts of Life: Science and the Abortion Controversy by Harold J Morowitz

Fairest: A Memoir by Meredith Talusan

Falling Hard: 100 Love Poems by Teenagers by Betsy Franco

Fan Art by Sarah Tregay

Fancy White Trash by Marjetta Geerling

Fans of the Impossible Life by Kate Scelsa

Far from the Tree: How Children and their Parents Learn to Accept One Another, Our Differences Unite Us by Andrew Solomon

Far From Xanadu by Julie Anne Peters

Far From You by Tess Sharpe

Fathersonfather by Evan Jacobs

Feeling Wrong in Your Own Body: Understanding What it Means to Be Transgender by Jaime Seba

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender (formerly Kheryn)

Femme by Mette Bach

Final Takedown by Brent Sherrard

Finding Community by Robert Rodi

Firestarter by Tara Sim

Flamer by Mike Curato

Follow Your Arrow by Jessica Verdi

Forget this Ever Happened by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Freak Show by James St. James

Freakboy by Kristin Elizabeth Clark

Freaks and Revelations: Inspired by Real Events in the Lives of Matthew Boger and Tim Zaal by Davida Wills Hurwin

Free Your Mind: The Book for Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Youth by Ellen Bass

Freeing Finch by Ginny Rorby

Friendship, Dating, and Relationships by Simone Payment

From Boys to Men: All About Adolescence by Michael Gurian

From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun by Jacqueline Woodson

Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero

Gallup Guides for Youth Facing Persistent Prejudice. The LGBT Community by Jaime Seba

Gay and Lesbian Rights: A Struggle by Marilyn Tower Oliver

Gay and Lesbian Role Models by Jaime Seba

Gay Believers: Homosexuality and Religion by Emily Sanna

Gay Issues and Politics: Marriage, the Military, & Work Place Discrimination by Jaime Seba

Gay People of Color: Facing Prejudices, Forging Identies by Jaime Seba

Gays and Mental Health: Fighting Depression, Saying No to Suicide by Jaime Seba

Gender Danger: Survivors of Rape, Human Trafficking, and Honor Killings by Rae Simons

Gender Equality and Identity Rights by Marie des Neiges Leonard

Gender Identity by Nicki Peter Petrikowski

Gender Identity: The Search for Self by Kate Light

Gender Identity: The Ultimate Teen Guide by Cynthia Winfield

Gender Issues by Kenneth McIntosh

Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe

Geography Club by Brent Hartinger

Getting It by Alex Sanchez

Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn

Girl Crushed by Katie Heaney

Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake

Girl Mans Up by M-E Girard

Girl Nearly 16, Absolute Torture by Sue Limb

Girl: Love, Sex, Romance, and Being You by Karen Rayne

Girlness: Deal with it Body and Soul by Diane Peters

Girls on the Edge: The Four Factors Driving the New Crisis for Girls: Sexual Identity, the Cyberbubble, Obsessions, Environmental Toxins by Leonard Sax

Girls vs. Guys: Surprising Differences Between the Sexes by Michael J Rosen

GLBT Teens and Society by Jeanne Nagle

GLBTQ: The Survival Guide for the Queer & Questioning Teens by Kelly Huegel

Glitter by Babygirl Daniels

God Box by Alex Sanchez

Golden Boy: A Novel by Abigail Tarttelin

Gone, Gone, Gone by Hannah Moskowitz

Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky

Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

Gravity by Leanne Lieberman

Great by Sara Benincasa

Great Events from History: Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Events, 1848-2006 by Lillian Faderman

Grl2grl: Short Fictions by Julie Anne Peters

Grown in 60 Seconds by Darrien Lee

Guardian by Alex London

Guy Book: An Owner's Manual by Mavis Jukes

Guyness: Deal with it Body and Soul by Steve Pitt

Hands Up! by Breanna J McDaniel

Hang-Ups, Hook-Ups, and Holding Out: Stuff You Need to Know About Your Body, Sex, and Dating by Melisa Holmes

Happy Families by Tanita Davis

Harvey Milk: The First Openly Gay Elected Official in the United States by Barbara Gottfried Hollander

Hate Crimes by David L Hudson

Hate Crimes: When Intolerance Turns Violent by Meghan Sharif

Have I Ever Told You Black Lives Matter by Shani Mahiri King

Healthy Sexuality: What is it? by Julie K Endersbe

Hear Us Out: Lesbian and Gay Stories of Struggle, Progress, and Hope by Nancy Garden

Hearing Us Out: Voices from the Lesbian and Gay Community by Robert Sutton

Hello Now by Jenny Valentine

Hello, I Lied by M. E. Kerr

Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins

High Drama by Brandon Terrell

Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley

Highwire Moon by Susan Straight

History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera

Hit the Road, Manny by Christian Burch

Ho'onani: Hula Warrior by Heather Gale

Hold me closer : the Tiny Cooper story by David Levithan

Hold My Hand by Michael Barakiva

Holly's Secret by Nancy Garden

Homo by Michael Harris

Homophobia: From Social Stigma to Hate Crimes by Bill Palmer

Homosexuality Around the World by Jaime Seba

Homosexuality: Opposing Viewpoints by Auriana Ojeda

Homosexuality: Opposing Viewpoints by William Dudley

Honestly Ben by Bill Konigsberg

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall

Hook Up by Kim Firmston

Hooked by Catherine Greenman

Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan

How (Not) to Ask a Boy to the Prom by S J Goslee

How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity by Michael Cart

How it All Blew Up by ARvin Ahmadi

How Prevalent is Racism in Society? by Peggy J Parks

How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

How to Love by Katie Cotugno

Human Sexuality: Opposing Viewpoints by Brenda Stalcup

Hurricane Child by Kacen Callender (formerly Kheryn)

I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel, Jazz Jennings

I Am Water by Meg Specksgoor

I Hope You're Listening by Tom Ryan

I'll Get There, It Better Be Worth the Trip by John Donovan

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

I'm Pregnant, Now What Do I Do? by Robert W Buckingham

I'm Pregnant, Now What? by Cleo Stanley

Identifying as Transgender by Sara Woods

Identity & Gender by Charlie Ogden

Identity: A Story of Transitioning by Corey Maison

If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo

If We Were Us by K L Walther

If Wishes Were Horses by Merry McInerney-Whiteford

If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan

Image and Identity: Becoming the Person You Are by Kris Gowen

In My Father's House by E. Lynn Harris

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan

In Our Mothers' House by Patricia Polacco

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

In the Role of Brie Hutchens... by Nicole Melleby

In Trouble by Ellen Levine

Infinity Son by Adam Silvera

Into the Real by Z Brewer

Introducing Teddy: a Gentle Story About Gender and Friendship by Jessica Walton

Inventions and Inventors by Roger Smith

Invisible Life BOOK ELH by E. Lynn Harris

Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching: A Yong Black Man's Education by Mychal Denzel Smith

Isabella by Maggie Wells

It Feels Good To Be Yourself: A Book About Gender Identity by Theresa Thorn

It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living by Dan Savage

It's a Girl Thing: How to Stay Healthy, Safe and In Charge by Mavis Jukes

It's Not Like it's a Secret by Misa Sugiura

It's Not the Stork! : a Book about Girls, Boys, Babies, Bodies, Families, and Friends by Robie H. Harris

It's Our Prom (So Deal With It): A Novel by Julie Anne Peters

It's Perfectly Normal by Robie H. Harris

It's so amazing! : a book about eggs, sperm, birth, babies, and families by Robie H. Harris

Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake

Jack by A.M. Homes

Jacob's New Dress by Sarah Hoffman

Jacob's Room to Choose by Sarah Hoffman

Jane Against the World: Roe v. Wade and the Fight for Reproductive Rights by Karen Blumenthal

Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore

Jasmine by Maggie Wells

Jaya and Rasa Fall in Love by Sonia Patel

Jess, Chunk, and the Road Trip to Infinity by Kristin Elizabeth Clark

Journey Out: A Guide for and about Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Teens by Cheryl Schwartz, Rachell Pollnack

Julian at the Wedding by Jessica Love

Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera

Jumpstart the World by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Just Kill Me by Adam Selzer

Kaleidoscope Song by Fox Benwell

Katie.com by Katherine Tarbox

Keeping You A Secret by Julie Anne Peters

Kids Still Having Kid: Talking about Teen Pregnancy by Janet Bode

Kiss by Jacqueline Wilson

Kiss Number 8 by Colleen AF Venable, Ellen T Crenshaw

Kiss the Morning Star by Elissa Janine Hoole

Kissing Kate by Lauren Myracle

La Carta de Ivy Aberdeen al Mundo by Ashley Herring Blake

La Guia Esencial Sobre Sexualidad Adolescente: Un Manual Indispensable para los Adolescentes y Padres de Hoy by Michael J Basso

La Luna Dentro de Mi [Moon Within] by Aida Salazar

La Tormenta by William Bell

Lana Wachowski by Jeff Mapua

Last Exit to Normal by Michael Harmon

Late to the Party by Kelly Quindlen

Launching Our Black Children for Success: A Guide for Parents of Kids from Three to Eighteen by Joyce A Ladner

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki

Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison

Leroy by Sylvia Aguilar Zeleny

Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann

LGBT Families by L K Currie-McGhee

LGBTQ Families: The Ultimate Teen Guide by Eva Apelqvist

LGBTQ Rights by Natalie Hyde

LGBTQ Rights by Susan Henneberg

LGBTQ+ Athletes Claim the Field: Striving for Equality by Kirstin Cronn-Mills

Lies My Girlfriend Told Me by Julie Anne Peters

Life at School and in the Community by Richard Worth

Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil

Life, Death, and Sacrifice: Women, Family, and the Holocaust by Esther Hertzog

Like Water by Rebecca Podos

Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart

Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert

Living with religion and faith by Robert Rodi

Lizard Radio by Pat Schmatz

Lobizona by Romina Gerber

Look Past by Eric Devine

Looking for Group by Rory Harrison

Looking for Jamie Bridger by Nancy Springer

Love & Leftovers: A Novel in Verse by Sarah Tregay

Love & Lies: Marisol's Story by Ellen Wittlinger

Love and Haight by Susan R F K Carlton

Love Beyond Body, Space, and Time: An Indigenous LGBT Sci-Fi Anthology by Hope Nicholson

Love Drugged by James Klise

Love is the Higher Law by David Levithan

Love Rules by Marilyn Reynolds

Love, Creekwood: A Simonverse Novella by Becky Albertalli

Love, Sex, and God by Bill Ameiss

Lucas y Yo by Audrey O'Hearn

Luciana by Maggie Wells

Lucky by Eddie De Oliveira

M or F? by Lisa Papademetriou

Magic and Misery by Peter Marino

Making Smart Choices About Sexual Activity by Stephanie C Perkins

Mama's Boyz: In Living Color! by Jerry Craft

Marco Impossible by Hannah Moskowitz

Maria by Sylvia Aguilar Zeleny

Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller

Masked by Norah McClintock

Matters of Life and Death by Edward F Dolan

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad

Medical Ethics: Moral and Legal Conflicts in Health Care by Daniel Jussim

Meet Cute by Helena Hunting

Meg & Linus by Hanna Nowinski

Melissa (previously published as George.) by Alex Gino

Middle School's a Drag by Greg Howard

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

Mighty Heart of St. James by Ashley Herring Blake

Mikala by Sylvia Aguilar Zeleny

Miles Away From You by A B Rutledge

Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M Danforth

Moon at Nine by Deborah Ellis

Moonstruck Volume 1 Magic to Brew by Grace Ellis

Moonstruck Volume 2 by Grace Ellis

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

More than a Game: Race, Gender, and Politics in Sport by Matt Doeden

Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress by Christine Baldacchino

Mousetraps by Pat Schmatz

Multicultural Education: Issues and Perspectives by James A Banks

My Awful Popularity Plan by Seth Rudetsky

My Best Friend, Maybe by Caela Carter

My Girlfriend's Pregnant!: A Teen's Guide to Becoming a Dad by Chloe Shantz-Hilkes

My Heart Underwater by Laurel Flores Fantauzzo

My Heartbeat by Garrett Freymann-Weyr

My Invented Life by Lauren Bjorkman

My Life as a Diamond by Jenny Manzer

My Life as a Rhombus by Varian Johnson

My Mixed-Up Berry Blue Summer by Jennifer Gennari

My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, & Fenway Park by Steve Kluger

My Rainbow by Trinity Neal

My Two Uncles by Judith Vigna

Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List: A Novel by Rachel Cohn

Nate Expectations by Tim Federle

Native America and the Question of Genocide by Alex Alvarez

Nevertheless, We Persisted: 48 Voices of Defiance, Strength, and Courage by

New Kid by Jerry Craft

No Girls Allowed: Tales of Daring Women Dressed as Men for Love, Freedom and Adventure by Susan Hughes

No One Needs to Know by Amanda Grace

None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio

Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness by Anastasia Higginbotham

Not Otherwise Specified by Hannah Moskowitz

Notes from the Blender by Trish Cook

Nothing Pink by Mark Hardy

October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard by Leslea Newman

Odd One Out by Nic Stone

Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst

Of Ice and Shadows by Audrey Coulthurst

On the Come Up: Based on a True Story by Hannah Weyer

One Half from the East by Nadia Hashimi

One Man Guy by Michael Barakiva

One of a Kind, Like Me by Laurin Mayeno

One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones

One True Way by Shannon Hitchcock

Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg

Ordinary Hazards by Nikki Grimes

Orphea Proud by Sharon Dennis Wyeth

Orpheus Girl by Brynne Rebele-Henry

Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley

Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez

Out of Pocket by Bill Konigsberg

Paper Trail: Common Sense in Uncommon Times by Ellen Goodman

Parrotfish by Ellen Wittlinger

Peaceful Fights for Equal Rights by Rob Sanders

Pearl by Johanna Knowles

Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

Pink by Lili Wilkinson

Playing a Part by Daria Wilke

Playing the Field by Phil Bildner

Political Resistance in the Current Age by Duchess Harris

Pregnancy by William Dudley

Pregnancy by Cathie Cush

Pregnancy: Private Decisions, Public Debates by Kathlyn Gay

Pretend You Love Me by Julie Anne Peters

Pride: Celebrating Diversity and Community by Robin Stevenson

Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag by Rob Sanders

Prince and Knight by Daniel Haack

Privacy by Noel Merino

Problems of Death: Opposing Viewpoints by James D Torr

Promposal by Rhonda Helms

Protect and Defend by Richard North Patterson

Protesting Police Violence by Duchess Harris

Proxy by Alex London

Pugdog by Andrea U'Ren

Pulp by Robin Talley

Putting Makeup on the Fat Boy by Bil Wright

Que Nos Hace Humanos: Chico o Chica? Si by Jeff Garvin

Que Pasa en mi Cuerpo?: El Libro para Muchachos: La Guia de Mayor Venta Sobre el Desarrollo Escrita para Adolescentes y Preadolescentes by Lynda Madaras

Queer, There, and Everywhere: 23 People Who Changed the World by Sarah Prager

Quinceanera by Ilan Stavans

Race and Policing in Modern America by Duchess Harris

Race and the Media in Modern America by Duchess Harris

Racial Justice in America by Hedreich Nichols

Rage: A Love Story by Julie Anne Peters

Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez

Rainbow High by Alex Sanchez

Rainbow Revolutionaries: 50 LGBTQ+ People Who Made History by Sarah Prager

Rainbow Revolutions: Power, Pride, and Protest in the Fight for Queer Rights by Jamie Lawson

Rainbow Road by Alex Sanchez

Rainbow: A First Book of Pride by Michael Genhart

Raise the Stakes by Megan Atwood

Read Me Like a Book by Liz Kessler

Ready or Not?: A Girl's Guide to Making Her Own Decisions about Dating, Love and Sex by Tina Radzieszewicz

Real Talk About Sex & Consent: What Every Teen Needs to Know by Cheryl M Bradshaw

Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

Redwood and Ponytail by K.A. Holt (Kari Anne)

Religion in America by David M Haugen

Reluctantly Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Remake by Ilima Todd

Reproductive Rights by William Dudley

Respecting the Contributions of LGBT Americans by Anna Kingston

Rethinking Normal: A Memoir in Transition by Katie Rain Hill

Reverie by Ryan La Sala

Rick by Alex Gino

Roe v. Wade by Laurie Collier Hillstrom

Roe v. Wade: A Woman's Choice by Susan Dudley Gold

Roe v. Wade: Abortion by Susan Dudley Gold

Roe v. Wade: Abortion and a Woman's Right to Privacy by Melissa Higgins

Roe v. Wade: Abortion and the Supreme Court by Deborah S Romaine

Roe v. Wade: The Abortion Question by D J Herda

Roe v. Wade: The Untold Story of the Landmark Supreme Court Decision that Made Abortion Legal by Marian Faux

Roe vs. Wade by NBC Productions, Gregory Hoblit

S.E.X.: The All-You-Need-To-Know Progressive Sexuality Guide to Get You Through High School by Heather Corinna

Safe Sex 101: An Overview for Teens by Margaret O Hyde

Sam! by Dani Gabriel

Saturdays with Hitchcock by Ellen Wittlinger

Say the Word by Jeannine Garsee

Scars by C A Rainfield

See You at Harry's by Johanna Knowles

Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegretation by Duncan Tonatiuh

Seventeen Guide to Sex and Your Body by Sabrina Solin

Sewing the Rainbow: A Story about Gilbert Baker and the Rainbow Flag by Gayle E Pitman

Sex by David M Haugen

Sex : a book for teens : an uncensored guide to your body, sex, and safety by Nikol Hasler

Sex for Guys by Manne Forssberg

Sex is a Funny Word by Cory Silverberg

Sex, Puberty and All That Stuff: A Guide to Growing Up by Jacqui Bailey

Sex: If You're Scared of the Truth Don't Read This! by Carl Sommer

Sexual Decisions: The Ultimate Teenage Guide by Kris Gowen

Sexual Disorders by Ann E Vitale

Sexual Health Information for Teens: Health Tips about Sexual Development, Reproduction, Contraception, and [...] by Sandra Augustyn Lawton

Sexual Orientation by Lauri S Scherer

Sexually Transmitted Diseases by David M Haugen

Sexually Transmitted Infections by Miranda Hunter

Shared Heart: Portraits and Stories Celebrating Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Young People by Adam Mastoon

Shawna by Maggie Wells

She Loves You, She Loves You Not by Julie Anne Peters

She/He/They/Them: Understanding Gender Identity by Rebecca Stanborough

Shine by Lauren Myracle

Ship It by Britta Lundin

Shirley Jackson's The Lottery: The Authorized Graphic Adaptation by Myles Hyman

Should Abortion be Legal? by Carla Mooney

Should Teens Have Access to Birth Control? by Don Nardo

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Sister Mischief by L Goode

Sky Bridge by Laura Pritchett

Smashing the Stereotypes: What Does it Mean to be Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, or Transgender? by Jaime Seba

So Hard To Say by Alex Sanchez

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

Some Assembly Required: The Not-So-Secret Life of a Transgender Teen by Arin Andrews

Some Girls Bind by Rory James

Something Like Gravity by Amber Smith

Sonny's House of Spies by George Ella Lyon

South of Sunshine by Dana Elmendorf

Sovereign by April Daniels

Sparkle Boy by Lesléa Newman

Spin with Me by Ami Polonsky

Spinning by Tillie Walden

Sprout: Or My Salad Days, When I Was Green in Judgment by Dale Peck

Stage Dreams by Melanie Gillman

Stained by Jennifer Jacobson

Stamped From the Beginning: the Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi

Star-crossed by Barbara Dee

Staying fat for Sarah byrnes by Chris Crutcher

Stick by Andrew Smith

Still Life Las Vegas by James Sie

Suicide Notes: A Novel by Michael Thomas Ford

Summer Love: An LGBTQ Collection by Annie Harper

Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin

Taking Responsibility: A Teen's Guide to Contraception and Pregnancy by Donna Lange

Talk About Sex: The Battles Over Sex Education in the United States by Janice M Irvine

Target by Kathleen Johnson

Tattoo Atlas by Tim Floreen

Te Daria el Sol by Jandy Nelson

Teen Legal Rights by David L Hudson

Teen Pregnancy by Mary Nolan

Teen Pregnancy by Patrice Cassedy

Teen Pregnancy by Myra Immell

Teen Pregnancy: Introducing Issues with Opposing Viewpoints by Emma Carlson Berne

Teen Pregnancy: Tough Choices by Julie K Endersbe

Teen Sex by Olivia Ferguson

Teen Sex by Christine Watkins

Teen Sex by Tamara L. Roleff

Teen Sex: Risks and Consequences by Julie K Endersbe

Teen Suicide: Opposing Viewpoints by Tamara L. Roleff

Teenage Guy's Survival Guide by Jeremy Daldry

Teenage Pregnancy and Parenting by Lisa Frick

Teenage Sex and Pregnancy by Peggy J Parks

Teenage Sexuality by Aarti D Stephens

Teenage Sexuality: Opposing Viewpoints by Ken R Wells

Teens & Sex by Hal Marcovitz

Teens and Gender Dysphoria by Don Nardo

Teens and LGBT Issues by Christine Wilcox

Teens and Sex by Myra Immell

Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan

Tessa Masterson Will Go to Prom by Emily Franklin

The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater

The Abortion Battle: Looking at Both Sides by Felicia Lowenstein

The Abortion Conflict: A Pro/Con Issue by Deanne Durrett

The Abortion Controversy by Lucinda Almond

The Abortion Controversy by Lynette Knapp

The Abortion Controversy by Charles Cozic

The Abortion Debate by Courtney Farrell

The Abortion Debate: Understanding the Issues by Johannah Haney

The Abortion Rights Movement by Meghan Powers

The Accidental Adventures of India Mcallister by Charlotte Agell

The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson

The Art of Saving the World by Corinne Duyvis

The Baby Tree by Sophie Blackall

The Best Man by Richard Peck

The Birds, the Bees, and You and Me by Olivia Hinebaugh

The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

The Black Power Movement and Civil Unrest by Kerry Hinton

The Blue Lawn by William Taylor

The Boy I Love by Nina de Gramont

The Breakaways by Cathy G. Johnson

The Bride was a Boy by Chii

The Bridge by Bill Konigsberg

The Case of Roe v. Wade by Leonard A Stevens

The Center of the World by Andreas Steinhofel

The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron

The Courage to be Yourself: True Stories by Teens about Cliques, Conflicts, and Overcoming Peer Pressure by Al Desetta

The Culling by Steven Dos Santos

The Cutting Room Floor by Dawn Klehr

The Dateable Rules: A Guide to the Sexes by Justin Lookadoo

The Deep & Dark Blue by Niki Smith

The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman

The Difference Between You and Me by Madeleine George

The Dirt on Sex by Justin Lookadoo

The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee

The Earthborn by Paul Collins

The Edge of the Abyss by Emily Skrutskie

The Edge of the Water by Elizabeth George

The Ethics of Abortion by Jennifer A Hurley

The Fight by Elizabeth Karre

The Fight for LGBTQ+ Rights by Devlin Smith

The Fire Never Goes Out: A Memoir in Pictures by Noelle Stevenson

The First Principle by Marissa Shrock

The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley by Shaun David Hutchinson

The Full Spectrum: A New Generation of Writing About Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Other Identities by David Levithan

The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine (5th ed) by Jacqueline L Longe

The Gallery of Unfinished Girls by Lauren Karcz

The Girl With A Baby by Sylvia Olsen

The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe

The Gods of Tango by Carolina De Robertis

The Grace of Silence by Michele Norris

The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper

The Great American Whatever by Tim Federle

The Grief Keeper by Alexandra Villasante

The Handmaid's Tale (graphic novel) by Margaret Atwood, Renee Nault

The History of White People by Nell Irvin Painter

The Hookup Artist by Tucker Shaw

The House You Pass On the Way by Jacqueline Woodson

The Indian Removal Act and the Trail of Tears by Susan E Hamen

The Key to You and Me by Jaye Robin Brown

The Last Time I Wore a Dress by Daphne Scholinski

The Last to Let Go by Amber Smith

The Latino Condition: A Critical Reader by Richard Delgado

The Legal Atlas of the United States by Julius Fast

The Less-Dead by April Lurie

The Letter Q: Queer Writers' Notes to Their Younger Selves by Sarah Moon

The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan

The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre by Robin Talley

The Love Interest by Cale Dietrich

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

The Meaning of Birds by Jaye Robin Brown

The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski

The Migration North by James De Medeiros

The Moon Within by Aida Salazar

The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg

The New Civil War: The Lesbian and Gay Struggle for Civil Rights by Diane Silver

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

The Offenders: Saving the World While Serving Detention by Jerry Craft

The Order of the Poison Oak by Brent Hartinger

The Other Boy by M G Hennessey

The Pants Project by Cat Clarke

The Past and Other Things that Should Stay Buried by Shaun David Hutchinson

The Polar Bear Explorers' Club by Alex Bell

The Questions Within by Teresa Schaeffer

The Red Scrolls of Magic by Cassandra Clare

The Reproductive System by Kerri O'Donnell

The Reproductive System by Alvin Silverstein

The Shell House by Linda Newbery

The Ship We Built by Lexie Bean

The Sin-Eater's Confession by Ilsa J Bick

The Sowing by Steven Dos Santos

The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus

The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burger in Los Angeles) by Amy Spalding

The Sweet Revenge of Celia Door by Karen Finneyfrock

The Teenage Body Book: A New Edition for a New Generation by Kathy McCoy

The Test by Peggy Kern

The Traitor Game by B R Collins

The Truth About Keeping Secrets by Savannah Brown

The Truth About Sexual Behavior and Unplanned Pregnancy by Elissa Howard-Barr, Robert N Golden

The Truth Is by NoNieqa Ramos

The Ultimate Guys' Body Book: Not-So-Stupid Questions About Your Body by Walter L Larimore

The Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan by Jenny Nordberg

The Undivided Past: Humanity Beyond Our Differences by David Cannadine

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd

The Waiting Tree by Lindsay Moynihan

The Way Back by Carrie Mac

The Whispers by Greg Howard

The Year They Burned the Books by Nancy Garden

The You I've Never Known by Ellen Hopkins

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

They Called Themselves the KKK: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

They, She, He, Easy as ABC by Maya Christina Gonzalez

Things that Make White People Uncomfortable: Adapted for Young Adults by Michael Bennett

Thinking Out Loud: On the Personal, the Political, the Public, and the Private by Anna Quindlen

This Book is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewell

This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson (formerly James Dawson)

This is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kacen Callender (formerly Kheryn)

This Is Your Time by Ruby Bridges

This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki, Jillian Tamaki

Those Other People by Alice Childress

Thumbelina by Andrea Koenig

Tips On Having a Gay (Ex) Boyfriend by Carrie Jones

Tom by Sylvia Aguilar Zeleny

Tomboy BOOK by Liz Prince

Tommy Stands Alone by Gloria Velasquez

Tomorrow will be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for Trans Equality by Sarah McBride

Top 250 LGBTQ Books for Teens: Coming Out, Being Out, and the Search for Community by Michael Cart

Totally Joe by James Howe

Trans Mission: My Quest to a Beard by Alex Bertie

Transgender Lives: Complex Stories, Complex Voices by Kirstin Cronn-Mills

Transgender People by Tamara Thompson

Transgender Rights and Issues by Andrea Pelleschi

Transgender Rights and Protections by Rebecca T Klein

Transgender Role Models and Pioneers by Barbra Penne

Transphobia: Deal with it and be a Transcender by J Wallace Skelton

Twelve Days in August by Liza Ketchum

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

Two Parties, One Tux, and a Very Short Film About the Grapes of Wrath by Steven Goldman

Under Threat by Robin Stevenson

Underground Guide to Teenage Sexuality: An Essential Handbook for Today's Teens and Parents by Michael J Basso

Underneath it All: A History of Women's Underwear by Amber J Keyser

Understanding Gender by Juno Dawson (formerly James Dawson)

Undone by Cat Clarke

Unpregnant by Jenni Henriks

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore

W is for Welcome: A Celebration of America's Diversity by Brad Herzog

Wait, What? A Comic Book Guide to Relationships, Bodies, and Growing Up by Heather Corinna

Wandering Son by Takako Shimura

Wandering Son. Volume 2 by Takako Shimura

Wandering Son. Volume 3 by Takako Shimura

Wandering Son. Volume 4 by Takako Shimura

Wandering Son. Volume 5 by Takako Shimura

Wandering Son. Volume Eight by Takako Shimura

Wandering Son. Volume Seven by Takako Shimura

Wandering Son. Volume Six by Takako Shimura

Wayward Witch by Zoraida Cordova

We Are All Born Free: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Pictures by Amnesty International

We Are Lost and Found by Helene Dunbar

We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson

We March by Shane W. Evans

We Now Return to Regular Life by Martin Wilson

We the Students: Supreme Court Cases For and About Students by Jamin B Raskin

We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates

What Causes Sexual Orientation?: Genetics, Biology, Psychology by Bill Palmer

What Happened To Lani Garver by Carol Plum-Ucci

What if it's Us by Becky Albertalli

What is the Black Lives Matter Movement? by Hedreich Nichols

What is White Privilege? by Leigh Ann Erickson

What Philosophy Can Do by Gary Gutting

What Riley Wore by Elana Arnold

What They Always Tell Us by Martin Wilson

What's Happening to My Body? Book for Girls by Lynda Madaras

What's Happening to My Body? for Boys by Lynda Madaras

What's Racism? by Amy B Rogers

What's the Big Secret?: Talking About Sex with Girls and Boys by Laurie Krasny Brown

Whatever by S J Goslee

When Aidan Became a Brother by Kyle Lukoff

When Can I Start Dating?: Questions about Love, Sex, and a Cure for Zits by James Watkins

When Heroes Die by Penny Raife Durant

When Religion & Politics Mix: How Matters of Faith Influence Political Policies by Kenneth McIntosh

When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore

When They Call You a Terrorist: A Story of Black Lives Matter and the Power to Change the World by Patrisse Khan-Cullors

When We Were Magic by Sarah Gailey

Whistle Me Home by Barbara Wersba

White Rabbit by Caleb Roehrig

Who I Was With Her by Nita Tyndall

Whose Life?: A Balanced, Comprehensive View of Abortion from its Historical Context to the Current Debate by Catherine Whitney

Why am I So Miserable if These are the Best Years of My Life?: A Survival Guide for the Young Woman by Andrea Boroff Eagan

Wide Awake by David Levithan

Will by Maria Boyd

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by David Levithan, John Green

Willful Machines by Tim Floreen

With or Without You by Brian Farrey

Without Annette by Jane B Mason

Women's Rights by Justin Karr

Wonder Woman Unbound: The Curious History of the World's Most Famous Heroine by Tim Hanley

Wonders of the Invisible World by Christopher Barzak

Wonnie by Sylvia Aguilar Zeleny

Y, the Last Man, volume 1 by Brian K Vaughan

Yo, Simon, Homo Sapiens by Becky Albertalli

You and Me and Him by Kris Dinnison

You Are the Supreme Court Justice by Nathan Aaseng

You Do You: Figuring Out Your Body, Dating, and Sexuality by Sarah Mirk

You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour

Your Sexuality by Kris Hirschmann

Youth With Gender Issues: Seeking an Identity by Kenneth McIntosh

Zenobia July by Lisa Bunker

Ziggy, Stardust & Me by James Brandon