Moms for Liberty criticized Scholastic book fairs on social media, but OKC schools have no complaints

Scholastic book fairs, a staple in schools throughout the U.S. for decades, are being decried as “a regularly occurring conduit for inappropriate books into schools in Oklahoma” in a social media post made by the Oklahoma chapter of the conservative group Moms for Liberty.

Without citing specific examples, the Moms for Liberty post said Scholastic “now appears largely focused on indoctrinating youth with radical viewpoints and sexual ideologies from a very young age at an increasingly rapid rate.” The group’s Oklahoma chapter did not return inquiries made by The Oklahoman.

On the opposite side of the political spectrum is the group Defense of Democracy. That group’s Oklahoma chair, Bailee Tyler, said Scholastic book fairs typically are hosted by schools but run by volunteers with oversight by educators, “so children don’t go into these book fairs and blindly pick up books. They’re more likely to pick up trinkets on sale.”

“Defense of Democracy recommends that parents parent their own children and keep their beliefs to themselves,” Tyler said. “We don’t need Christian nationalist ideology pushed onto everyone else’s children.”

'Our community seems pretty excited about book fairs'

The Oklahoman asked 11 of the largest school districts in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area if they had received any recent complaints about Scholastic or book fairs. The 10 responding said they had encountered no issues.

“Our community seems pretty excited about book fairs,” Stillwater Public Schools spokesman Barry Fuxa said. “They’re an awesome time when we welcome families into our schools during the evening to browse and purchase books for their families.”

The Moms for Liberty post encouraged “all parents to pay extremely close attention to the materials advertised and displayed by Scholastic inside their children’s schools. It is a parent’s right to visit the library and the book fair at their child’s school and to oversee what they may be exposed to during the school day.”

More: Major textbook publishers withdraw from Oklahoma as fight over content worsens

The post said Moms for Liberty “look forward to alternative publishers and book fair companies embracing materials dedicated to building the academia, character, and morality of our youth while respecting the values and traditions of parents.”

State schools Superintendent Ryan Walters previously has spoken at national events conducted by Moms for Liberty. Recently, he posted a video on his page on X (formerly known as Twitter) pledging that Oklahoma textbooks “won’t go woke.”

Dan Isett, a spokesman with the Oklahoma State Department of Education, said that the agency is investigating the situation involving Scholastic.

"Superintendent Walters is always concerned and vigilant about eliminating woke indoctrination in the classroom," Isett said.

Scholastic's national controversy over changes to its book fairs

Scholastic Corp. bills itself as the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books and a leading provider of literacy curriculum, professional services and classroom magazines, as well as a producer of educational and popular children’s media. It says it’s currently active in 115,000 schools with a reach of 3.8 million educators, 54 million students and 78 million parents/caregivers in the U.S.

In a post on its website dated Oct. 25, Scholastic said this fall it “made changes in our U.S. elementary school fairs out of concern for our Book Fair hosts. In doing this, we offered a collection of books to supplement the diverse collection of titles already available at the Scholastic Book Fair. We understand now that the separate nature of the collection has caused confusion and feelings of exclusion.” It said it will not offer the collection, called “Share Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice” with the company’s next season in January.

Twelve days earlier, Scholastic had noted in a post that there “is now enacted or pending legislation in more than 30 U.S. states prohibiting certain kinds of books from being in schools — mostly LGBTQIA+ titles and books that engage with the presence of racism in our country. Because Scholastic Book Fairs are invited into schools, where books can be purchased by kids on their own, these laws create an almost impossible dilemma: back away from these titles or risk making teachers, librarians, and volunteers vulnerable to being fired, sued, or prosecuted.”

The earlier post noted that reasoning is what led to the company’s decision to create the “Share Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice” collection.

"Scholastic is committed above all to supporting every child's journey to learn to read and love to read, in partnership with schools and families," Scholastic spokesperson Anne Sparkman said.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Scholastic book fairs targeted by Moms for Liberty Oklahoma