School district removes 52 mostly LGBTQ books from libraries

A rightwing activist called the police to get the books removed, but the district downplayed their removal: “We’ve not had a book burning or anything.”

A Utah school district has removed 52 books from its library shelves due to parent complaints mainly concerning LGBTQ-focused material.

A spokesperson for Alpine School District tells The Salt Lake Tribune that the district has temporarily pulled the books pending further review. Another 32 books have also been flagged for investigation.

“We’ve not had a book burning or anything,” said district spokesperson David Stephenson. “But we are being proactive with the ones we’ve heard concerns about.”

Members of conservative group Utah Parents United, which advocates for parental rights in education, have lead the effort to ban the books in Alpine and other Utah school districts. The group’s curriculum director Brooke Stephens went so far as to file a police report claiming that 47 books available in Davis School District libraries violated state law because they contain “pornography.”

In response to the group’s efforts, Utah lawmakers passed H.B. 374 which requires public K–12 schools to remove books containing “pornographic or indecent material.” Alpine’s Stephenson says the district is creating a policy to…

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