Nixa, Mo. – The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri issued a formal Demand of Preservation to Nixa Public Schools requiring immediate intervention to preserve all tangible and electronic evidence and the suspension of routine destruction of documents that relate to the review and removal of books and other written materials from school libraries.
During a school board meeting held on May 12th, the school board voted to remove or restrict access to three books from Nixa school libraries. The two books that were removed, "Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic" and "All Boys Aren't Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto", and the book that was restricted, “Homegoing”, were authored by non-white and LGBTQ+ authors. Nixa Public Schools previously restricted several other books featuring minority viewpoints.
“The First Amendment not only protects our rights to express and share ideas and information, it also protects students’ rights to access and receive information,” said Gillian Wilcox, Deputy Director for Litigation at the ACLU of Missouri. “It is especially concerning that the recent, coordinated book bans largely focus on authors of racial and sexual minority communities. The ACLU of Missouri will always stand up for students’ and teachers’ First Amendment rights, including their right to talk and learn about race and gender in school.”
Citizens with a complaint against Nixa Public Schools related to potential violation of their rights may notify the ACLU of Missouri by filling out an online complaint form: https://www.aclu-mo.org/en/legal-help
Read the Formal Demand for Preservation of Tangible & Electronic Evidence.
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