Sign up for Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter to get the latest reporting from us, plus curated news from other Colorado outlets, delivered to your inbox.
Elizabeth school district officials say they have returned to school libraries 19 books they removed last fall. But most students won’t be able to read or check out the books, which include “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison and “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini.
That’s because the district decided to make the returned books available only to a small number of people: Specifically, plaintiffs in a recent lawsuit against the district over the book removals. Those allowed access to the books include two district students, members of the NAACP, and children of members of the NAACP.
A legal brief filed by the district did not say how students or members of the NAACP would find the 19 books or prove they are allowed to read them. A district spokesperson said the books are not on the shelves of the school libraries, but declined to say where they are.
Bringing back the books for a limited audience is part of the latest legal volley in the case, which began in December when the American Civil Liberties Union sued the 2,600-student district in federal court. The lawsuit argues the book removals violate federal and state free speech protections. The plaintiffs in the case include two students, a chapter of the NAACP, and the Authors Guild, a professional organization for writers.
The lawsuit is among a string of recent controversies that have erupted in the conservative Elbert County community over issues ranging from book bans to LGBTQ rights to allegations that schools are teaching critical race theory — an academic framework that examines how policies and the law perpetuate systemic racism.
Elizabeth district officials revealed the return of the 19 books on Jan. 27 in a legal filing the same day. The brief argued that the district isn’t violating the plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights as the lawsuit claimed since the books are now available to them.
Laura Moroff, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, said the return of the 19 books to school libraries doesn’t remedy the original problem, and makes it worse, by adding new barriers, such as having to ask library staff to get the books, acknowledge participation in the lawsuit, or provide information about a parent’s NAACP membership.
“This is really not a solution and it does not address the harm,” she said. “On so many levels it’s not feasible.”
She said the American Civil Liberties Union wants a preliminary injunction that would require the district to do two things while the lawsuit unfolds: Restore the 19 books to library shelves for all students to read and refrain from removing additional books.
The district’s legal filing argues that the preliminary injunction should be denied and says granting it would cause the district considerable harm, including forcing the district “to purchase, catalog, and re-shelve the removed titles.” It’s not clear why the books would have to be repurchased if they are currently in district libraries. The brief also argues that if the preliminary injunction is granted, the district would be “unable to make decisions regarding the curation of its school libraries until the end of this litigation.”
No hearing date on the preliminary injunction has been set.
The 19 books at the center of the lawsuit are primarily by or about LGBTQ people, people of color, or both. They touch on topics ranging from same-sex relationships to racism and police violence. Titles include “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas, “Thirteen Reasons Why,” by Jay Asher, and “You Should See Me in a Crown,” by Leah Johnson. The Elizabeth district’s legal filing notes that “It’s Your World – If You Don’t Like It, Change It” by Mikki Halpin was only removed from the middle school library, not the high school library.
The push to review the district’s library collections and ultimately remove the 19 books came about after an Elizabeth school board member’s sixth grade daughter checked out a book from the district’s middle school library in 2023. The book, “The Sun is Also a Star,” by Nicola Yoon, contained “profanity and explicit sexual content,” according to a legal filing from the district. The district removed the book, which is not among the 19 titles at issue in the lawsuit, from the middle school library, but kept it in the high school library, the filing said.
Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat, covering early childhood issues and early literacy. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org.
