This conservative group is challenging over 100 books in Fort Worth ISD. Here’s why.

Debates over which books should be available in Fort Worth school libraries have intensified within the past month, with the latest complaint to the district alleging there are more than 100 “age-inappropriate” books on middle and high school shelves.

The Tarrant County chapter of Citizens Defending Freedom, a nonprofit organization endorsed by conservative figures such as Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA and Mike Lindell of MyPillow, on Wednesday announced its independent audit of the Fort Worth Independent School District’s library catalogs, which contained some books with sexual and violent content, members said.

Notable titles on the flagged list include “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson, “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky. All three were on the American Library Association’s list of the top 13 most-challenged books of 2022 over content such as LGBTQ+ themes and sexual explicitness.

Additionally, 21 of the titles on the list were volumes of “Assassination Classroom” by Yusei Matsui. The science-fiction manga series is about students assigned with the task of assassinating their octopus-like teacher before he destroys Earth.

The extensive list of books was released a week after parents and community members spoke out against library books that they considered inappropriate at the district’s Board of Education meeting. About 20 people spoke and demanded certain titles be removed from shelves, 13 of whom were “rallied to come and speak” by Citizens Defending Freedom, said Kris Kittle, education division lead of the Tarrant County chapter.

The organization has “a mission to empower and equip American citizens to defend their liberty at the local level” with focuses such as “protecting our children at any cost.” This noted focus on the organization’s website is accompanied by a photo of someone who appears to be a drag queen reading to children.

Although the list is only a starting point of what books the group is flagging, Kittle said its purpose is for “the district to know, clearly this is a problem and they need to do a better job with… how they secure library materials.”

“The root of the problem is they need to have a stronger book policy, so those books are not procured,” Kittle added. “If the policy is not different, we’re just going to continue to be playing whack-a-mole.”

In mid-July, the school district announced it was removing three books from elementary and middle school libraries: “Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe; “Flamer” by Mike Curato; and “Wait What? A Comic Book Guide to Relationships, Bodies, and Growing Up” by Heather Corinna. District officials determined in a review that the titles that touch on growing up and exploring sexuality and gender identity were inappropriate.

John Cope, the district’s director of communications, said in a statement Wednesday that the district is reviewing book guidelines and policies for the upcoming school year. Moreover, the district offers a request for reconsideration form for instructional resources that will become digitally available.

“All librarians will receive training prior to the first day of school and each library catalog will be inventoried,” Cope said.

The first day of school for Fort Worth ISD is Aug. 14.

“We also want to mention that a parent or guardian can request their campus librarian mark any book unavailable for their individual student, ensuring they cannot check it out,” Cope added. “When a community member wants to request the removal of a book from the entire student population, we follow a formal process found in” the school board’s policy manual.

According to the policy, a reconsideration committee is formed that includes at least one member of instructional staff with experience using the challenged resource, among others, when a formal complaint is submitted through a form to a school principal. All members must completely review the resource and write a report about whether it meets the selection criteria outlined in the policy.

A state law that goes into effect Sept. 1 also will impact what books are allowed in school libraries. It aims to regulate library materials by requiring book vendors to assign ratings to books based on sexual content.

“Books with a ‘sexually explicit’ rating will be removed from bookshelves. Students who want to check out school library books deemed ‘sexually relevant’ would have to get parental permission first. Criteria for these ratings are being developed by the state and will be provided to vendors and school districts by April 1, 2024. The state will make these ratings available to the public,” Cope said.

A report released in September by PEN America, a free speech advocacy organization, noted that Texas led the nation in school library book bans during the 2021-22 school year with 801 titles removed across 22 school districts. Florida followed with 566 books banned in 21 districts.

Here’s the full list of titles in alphabetical order being challenged by Citizens Defending Freedom:

A-E:

• “A Game of Thrones” by Daniel Abraham

• “A Stolen Life” by Jaycee Lee Dugard

• “Allegedly” by Tiffany D. Jackson

• “Almost Perfect” by Brian Katcher

• “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson

• “All the Things We Do in the Dark” by Saundra Mitchell

• “All Your Perfects” by Colleen Hoover

• “Anatomy of a Boyfriend” by Daria Snadowsky

• “Assassination Classroom,” volumes 1-21 by Yusei Matsui

• “Blankets” by Craig Thompson

• “Boy Toy” by Barry Lyga

• “Breathless” by Jennifer Niven

• “Burned” by Ellen Hopkins

• “Collateral” by Ellen Hopkins

• “Crank” by Ellen Hopkins

• “Damsel” by Elana K. Arnold

• “Deal with It! A Whole New Approach to Your Body, Brain, and Life as a gURL” by Esther Drill, Rebecca Odes and Heather McDonald

• “Empire of Storms” by Sarah J. Maas

F-J:

• “Fade” by Lisa McMann

• “Fallout” by Ellen Hopkins

• “Firekeepers Daughter” by Angeline Boulley

• “Forbidden” by Tabitha Suzuma

• “Forever” by Judy Blume

• “Forever for a Year” by B.T. Gottfred

• “Melissa” (previously published as “George”) by Alex Gino

• “Glass” by Ellen Hopkins

• “Grown” by Tiffany D. Jackson

• “How Beautiful the Ordinary” by Michael Cart

• “I Never” by Laura Hopper

• “Identical” by Ellen Hopkins

• “I’ll Give You the Sun” by Jandy Nelson

• “Impulse” by Ellen Hopkins

• “Infandous” by Elana K. Arnold

• “Jesus Land: A Memoir” by Julia Scheeres

• “Juliet Takes a Breath” by Gabby Rivera

L-O:

• “l8r g8r” by Lauren Myracle

• “Last Night at the Telegraph Club” by Malinda Lo

• “Let’s Talk About It: The Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human” by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan

• “Like a Love Story” by Abdi Nazemian

• “Living Dead Girl” by Elizabeth Scott

• “Lucky” by Alice Sebold

• “Milk and Honey” by Rupi Kaur

• “Nineteen Minutes” by Jodi Picoult

• “Oryx and Crake” by Margaret Atwood

• “Out of Darkness” by Ashley Hope Pérez

P-T:

• “Perfect Chemistry” by Simone Elkeles

• “Push” by Sapphire

• “Red Hood” by Elana K. Arnold

• “Red, White & Royal Blue” by Casey McQuiston

• “Rumble” by Ellen Hopkins

• “Shine” by Lauren Myracle

• “Skin” by Donna Jo Napoli

• “Slaughterhouse-Five” by Kurt Vonnegut

• “Slaughterhouse-Five (Graphic Novel)” by Kurt Vonnegut

• “Smoke” by Ellen Hopkins

• “Sold” by Patricia McCormick

• “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison

• “The Carnival at Bray” by Jessie Ann Foley

• “The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend” by Kody Keplinger

• “The Freedom Writers Diary” by Erin Gruwell and Freedom Writers

• “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood

• “The Handmaid’s Tale (Graphic Novel)” by Margaret Atwood

• “The Haters” by Jesse Andrews

• “The Infinite Moment of Us” by Lauren Myracle

• “The Lovely Bones” by Alice Sebold

• “The Misfits” by James Howe

• “The Nerdy and the Dirty” by B.T. Gottfred

• “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky

• “The Poet X” by Elizabeth Acevedo

• “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” by Haruki Murakami

• “The Grace Year” by Kim Liggett

• “The You I’ve Never Known” by Ellen Hopkins

• “This is Kind of an Epic Love Story” by Kacen Callender

• “This One Summer” by Mariko Tamaki

• “Tilt” by Ellen Hopkins

• “Traffick” by Ellen Hopkins

• “Triangles” by Ellen Hopkins

• “Tricks” by Ellen Hopkins

U-Z:

• “Water For Elephants” by Sara Gruen

• “We Know It Was You” by Maggie Thrash

• “What Girls Are Made Of” by Elana K. Arnold

• “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” by Gregory Maguire

• “Yolo” by Lauren Myracle