After the Cobb County school board fired a teacher last week for reading a book to fifth graders that challenged gender norms, the district said in a statement that it was looking forward to “returning our entire focus on educating all of our talented students.”
Since the vote, culture wars have found a home in Cobb, the state’s second-largest school district.
District officials spent the week addressing several issues related to which books should and should not be permitted in its schools.
It started with a district announcement Monday that two books — “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” by Jesse Andrews and “Flamer,” a graphic novel by Mike Curato — contained “highly inappropriate, sexually explicit content” and were removed from school libraries. Some questioned the district’s motives, while others applauded them.
Libs of TikTok, a social media account popular with far-right and anti-LGBTQ+ activists, claimed credit for getting the books removed after complaining to district leaders, the Cobb County Courier reported Thursday.
The Cobb County Association of Educators accused the district Friday of not following its own rules and the process outlined to challenge materials when it allegedly acted on the complaint from Libs of TikTok. The rules state that only a parent or guardian with a child in Cobb can challenge a supplemental resource like a book, and from there a committee should review the complaint and come to a consensus.
“Protecting our students from sexually explicit content isn’t controversial, it’s what our parents expect,” said Chief Strategy and Accountability Officer John Floresta in an emailed statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, echoing messaging that was sent to parents who complained. “Our board and superintendent are clear: Any book, video, or lesson which contains sexually explicit content is entirely unacceptable and has no place in our schools.”
The statement did not address whether the social media group’s complaints were responsible for the district’s decision about the two books.
Credit: Cassidy Alexander
Credit: Cassidy Alexander
By Friday, screenshots also began to circulate of an email that appeared to announce the cancelation of an annual reading competition, citing the recent drama. The Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl is a statewide reading initiative and quiz-bowl style competition that tests students’ knowledge of Georgia Book Award books. The email, which appeared to come from co-chairs of the events’ steering committee, said that “out of an abundance of caution, and in light of recent events,” the bowl competition would not be offered in Cobb this year.
In a statement to the AJC, the district said is investigating the specifics of an “inaccurate email.”
“While there is currently no change to Cobb student eligibility for the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl, all district partners are expected to use books, videos, or other forms of digital content which are in accordance with district policy and the law,” the district stated. The Cobb County Association of Educators argued that the reading bowl is an all-volunteer organization that the district has no control over. Two books in this year’s competition are about a transgender child and censorship in schools.
The removal of the books and the ensuing controversy has “given credence to the anticipated level of censorship” that some educators predicted after Due West Elementary teacher Katie Rinderle was fired after reading students “My Shadow is Purple,” the teachers group stated.
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