Trump’s Education Department sacks ‘book ban coordinator,’ tosses complaints over removal of ‘sexually explicit’ material

President Trump’s Department of Education announced Friday that it will eliminate its so-called “book ban coordinator” position and dismiss numerous complaints related to the removal of “age-inappropriate” and “sexually explicit” literature from public schools. 

The 11 complaints from local school districts alleged that the deshelving of materials created a “hostile environment for students,” a claim the Trump administration’s Department of Education deemed “meritless.” 

The department argued that the Biden administration “amplified” the “false narrative” that removing books violated students’ civil rights, leading to the complaints.  

“By dismissing these complaints and eliminating the position and authorities of a so-called ‘book ban coordinator,’ the department is beginning the process of restoring the fundamental rights of parents to direct their children’s education,” Craig Trainor, the department’s acting assistant secretary for civil rights, said in a statement.

Former President Joe Biden announced the creation of  the “book ban coordinator” position at the Education Department in June of 2023 to advise local school districts against removing material on library shelves over civil rights concerns. 

“The coordinator’s responsibilities included developing guidance and training to deter schools from limiting student access to sexually graphic or racially divisive books by claiming that these efforts may contribute to a hostile environment that may violate students’ civil rights,” the department said Friday.  

Trainor indicated that under Trump the Education Department will adhere to “the deeply rooted American principle that local control over public education best allows parents and teachers alike to assess the educational needs of their children and communities.”

 “Parents and school boards have broad discretion to fulfill that important responsibility,” he added. “These decisions will no longer be second-guessed by the Office for Civil Rights at the US Department of Education.”

The department also announced that it has rescinded all guidance to school districts related to the “dubious legal theory” that removing age-inappropriate books from libraries may violate civil rights laws.