ACLU of Minnesota, Education Minnesota file suits against St. Francis schools book policy

The ACLU of Minnesota and Education Minnesota have filed separate suits against St. Francis Area Schools over a library book policy. The policy requires books in school libraries be filtered through a book rating site, Book Looks, which is backed by conservatives. The school board approved the policy last fall.

The lawsuit from the ACLU of Minnesota was filed on behalf of two parents of students in the district. Education Minnesota filed on behalf of eight students in the district, whose parents are teachers.

Both suits argue that banning books violates Minnesota constitutional and state law.

Catherine Ahlin-Halverson is a staff attorney with the ACLU of Minnesota and she joined Minnesota Now to explain the legal action.

“It’s a blanket ban against a whole bunch of books simply because these school board members and this third party have a political viewpoint that they want erased. It’s over-broad and it’s inappropriate,” Ahlin-Halverson said.

A Minnesota law passed last year prohibits public and school libraries from banning books based on the messages or opinions they carry.

Ahlin-Halverson said the district’s policy violates students’ rights to free speech and adequate education.

“The school board essentially handed over responsibility for making those determinations to Book Looks, which is an organization with a political and conservative Christian ideology,” she said.

St. Francis Area Schools confirmed the lawsuits and said its legal team is reviewing documents from both lawsuits.

“The district is committed to addressing the claims identified in the lawsuits thoroughly and appropriately,” the district’s spokesperson Nathan Burr said in a statement. “Consistent with district practice, we will not be making any public comments regarding the details of the lawsuits at this time. However, we are committed to transparency and will respond to written inquiries in writing as appropriate.”

Banned books include “Night” by Elie Wiesel, “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou and “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini.

Hosseini spoke to MPR News about the ban on his book, a 2003 novel about a young boy growing up in Kabul, Afghanistan. Hosseini said students have told him the book encouraged them to stand up to bullies, volunteer and mend broken ties.

“I have received stacks of letters from students who write to me in their own words what reading ‘The Kite Runner’ meant to them and I find such an enormous disconnect between the objections raised by the so-called ‘concerned parents’ and the experiences of the students who are actually reading the books,” he said.

Hosseini said conservative education policies target books with diverse viewpoints.

“Banning books like ‘The Kite Runner’ doesn’t protect students at all. I think it betrays them,” Hosseini said. “It robs our children of something vital that we owe them, which is the chance to broaden their human community, to foster empathy.”

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.