LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The School-Based Decision Making Council for Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) will decide in the next 60 days whether or not to remove the book "Gender Queer" from some of its school library shelves.
The decision stems from a public meeting held at the VanHoose Education Center Thursday. More than 50 people both for and against removing the LGBTQ+ novel from schools were present, voicing their opinions.
The book is a memoir detailing author Maya Kobabe's journey toward self-discovery from adolescence to adulthood. Kobabe, who's non-binary, says the book was written to be a resource to others who too struggle with their sexuality and identity.
In 2021, two years after its release, "Gender Queer" became the most challenged book in the United States, according to the American Library Association (ALA).
Miranda Stovall, a parent who is also a member of No Left Turn Kentucky, brought the matter to the board's attention after asking two JCPS schools, Liberty High School and the Phoenix School of Discovery, to remove copies of "Gender Queer" from their libraries. The matter was raised to JCPS Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio, where it was again denied.
Stovall said she read the book four times. When asked by a board member what her reaction was to reading it beyond the material she presented them, Stovall had very little to say.
"My overall reaction to the book, was, honestly, in the beginning of the book, I felt bad for the author of the book. That's all I have to say," she said.
Her attorney, Clint Elliott, told the board leaving the book in schools would break a Kentucky law which prohibits the distribution of sexually explicit materials to minors.
"In looking through the entirety of the book, it's clear it fits under the definition of obscene matter or material," he said.
When asked by the board about the sexual material, Elliot said "there are some instances" where the material would serve some "bonafide, educational use." Though, he said, not in the case of JCPS libraries.
The school district's executive director of Library Media Services, Dr. Lynn Reynolds, disagreed, saying the book's place on library shelves is invaluable to queer and transgender students.
"A book has literary value when readers gain something of value from it such as deeper values, new ideas," she said. "I advocate for free expression, intellectual freedom, as well as equity of access."
Lynn said the decision to ban this one book could set a precedent for the school district leading to more literary "censorship" for students.
"Banning and censoring books divides us, engenders hate and mistrust," Lynn said.
Citing the high rates of suicide within the LGBTQ+ community, Lynn said the book is an invaluable asset for queer and transgender youth.
The Trevor Project estimates that in the U.S., more than 1.8 million LGBTQ+ youth, ages 13 to 24, seriously consider suicide every year; and 45% of LGBTQ+ youth seriously considered attempting suicide in 2021, including more than half of transgender and nonbinary youth.
The meeting Thursday only dealt with Stovall's removal request of books from Liberty High School and the Phoenix School of Discovery. In total, four JCPS school libraries hold at least one copy of "Gender Queer."
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