Judge declines to intervene in book banning
State lawmakers created a monster with legislation that limits the books on school library shelves – under the guise of protecting schoolchildren from “obscene” materials.
Now, as districts struggle to comply, books are being pulled from library shelves – and some students are suing.
Chalkbeat reports on the most recent legal wrangling:
A federal judge has declined to block ongoing book bans at one of Tennessee’s largest school districts before a full trial next year.
In April, after months of heated school board meetings and district schools pulling more than 140 books from library shelves, three high school students sued the Rutherford County Board of Education. The students, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, argued in initial filings the book bans violated their First Amendment rights and disadvantaged students by blocking them from accessing “crucial, acclaimed, and historical works.”
Judge Eli Richardson denied a preliminary injunction this week, declining to block the district from limiting access to books until the full trial plays out and indicating that the defendants have an uphill battle in the case.
