Wisconsin ranked second for most book bans by PEN America in the 2023-24 academic year for banning more than 400 books across multiple districts. Now, several of the districts are looking to reverse the bans and find a fair way to account for parental rights in education.
In the 2023-24 school year, six districts in Wisconsin banned or removed books in their schools in response to pressure from extremist parents groups, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin. Menomonee Falls, Elkhorn Area, Howard-Suamico, Kenosha Unified, Elmbrook and Waukesha school districts had all banned books from their libraries that year, at one point tallying to more than 400 books removed across the six districts.
The state government debated the constitutionality of book bans due to a rise in recent years, and some proponents argue the 14th Amendment recognizes the “inherent right” of parents to “direct the upbringing and education of children under their control.”
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), a conservative law firm, works with schools to implement policies allowing parents to control what their children read. In a 2021 letter to the Elmbrook School District superintendent, WILL wrote the district had “violate[d] state law and parents’ constitutional rights.”
Book ban opponents quote the U.S. Supreme Court case Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District v. Pico (1982), which ruled “Local school boards may not remove books from school libraries simply because they dislike the ideas contained in those books.”
Grassroots Menomonee Falls Area is an advocacy group against the book bans in their district. Andy Guss, the co-leader of the organization, told The Daily Cardinal the majority of the 33 restricted books in Menomonee Falls had LGBTQ+ themes, including a children’s book called “Love Makes a Family.”
“[Diverse] families are the ones that are being targeted with all these different book removals, and we need to see representation,” Guss said. “Kids need to see people who look like them.”
Former Menomonee Falls board member Chris Stueland told Fox News in 2022 her mission in banning books was to remove distractions for students.
“Kids need to get back to learning and focus solely on learning and less on divisive ideology, curriculum and agendas,” Chris said “We want to do our best to get those out of our schools.”
WILL created the Library Materials and Parental Rights policy in 2023 that allows parents access to see all reading materials available in school libraries. Parents can then tell the librarian which books their children can check out.
Cory Brewer, a deputy counselor at WILL, told the Cardinal the policy gives Wisconsin residents the control they want while maintaining individual rights.
“With policies like this in place, instead of reacting to controversies case by case, districts can adopt clear standards that work for families and administrators so these types of conflicts don't escalate,” Brewer said.
WILL mostly receives concerns from parents of first, second and third grade students, but the policies they suggest apply to any student under 18, according to Brewer. She said the goal of this specific policy is to ensure parents are not left in the dark and are able to challenge curriculum and literature.
Guss said this policy would leave a heavy burden on librarians, and while parents have control in their own homes, he trusts experts to select age-appropriate books in schools.
“I think it's just adding more busy work to the teachers and librarians,” Guss said. “Librarians are professionals, and they deserve to be treated like it.”
Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction (DPI) told the Cardinal they do not have any guidelines for the bans since they are made at the local level, but they do not believe in unjust restrictions or bans.
“We believe in the freedom to read and for all to have access to diverse materials that foster curiosity and diversity of thought,” DPI’s Director of Communications Chris Bucher said. “That is what is best for kids.”
While there has been no recent news on the state of the Kenosha and Howard-Suamico districts, Guss said Menomonee Falls could step away from book bans this year.
Guss said Menomonee Falls’ previous board was part of WisRed, a conservative organization in Wisconsin, who made partisan decisions for the entire community. After the April 7 election, he said the newly elected district board members are expected to be “much more receptive.”
“We no longer have a school board that is trying to mute people,” Guss said. “We haven’t had any formal conversations with them.”
Guss said he believes the new board members will fight to bring back the banned books, but is worried the process won’t work since policies have only been written to restrict books, not reinstate them.
In the Elkhorn Area School District, a single parent got 444 books removed from circulation while they were being investigated for appropriateness. None were permanently banned, but many were restricted by grade or parental permission.
Molly Warren, the library collection manager at Madison Public Library, told the Cardinal book bans are “something that is always on our minds.”
“Madison Public Library receives complaints like any other library, and we deal with those individually,” Warren said. “We hope the types of coordinated banning efforts that are taking place in other parts of the country and in some parts of Wisconsin don't make their way to Madison.”
The Menomonee Falls Public Library declined to comment and the Elkhorn Area School District did not respond to the Cardinal’s request for comment.
