Federal Officials Warn Georgia School District's Book Bans May Violate Civil Rights Law

The Biden Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights found that a Georgia district's removal of sexually explicit books from its libraries may have violated federal law by creating a "hostile environment" for students. The district removed books featuring LGBTQIA+ content and content parents complained contained critical race theory, despite maintaining that their focus was only on pornographic books. The DOE's investigation concluded that the book screening process may have created a racially and sexually hostile environment. The district settled the complaint and committed to following federal and state laws, and local board policies and procedures for media center materials.