Granbury ISD under federal investigation over book ban
AUDIO: Granbury ISD superintendent orders librarians to remove LGBTQ books
Granbury ISD responded to leaked audio from January, in which the district's superintendent tells school librarians to pull books that focus on sexuality and gender. Shortly after that. more than 100 titles were removed for review.
GRANBURY, Texas - The U.S. Department of Education is investigating Granbury ISD over alleged sex discrimination for the removal of certain books from the school district's libraries.
The ACLU of Texas filed a civil rights complaint against Granbury in July 2022.
A report from NBC News, ProPublica and the Texas Tribune revealed a leaked recording of Superintendent Dr. Jeremy Glenn from a January meeting in Granbury ISD.
Dr. Glenn told the librarians there was no place for books in school libraries that discuss transgender people or sexuality issues. He said students should not have access to those books even if the books don’t describe sexual conduct.
The comments and the removal of books that the district said had sexually explicit content.
The ALCU said the comments and book removals are sex discrimination and created a hostile environment for LGBTQIA+ students.
The Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights says they are investigating to see if Granbury ISD violated Title IX.
"Public school districts cannot discriminate against students on the basis of sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation. By choosing to open this investigation in response to our complaint, the federal government is signaling that remedying discrimination against LGBTQIA+ students is a top priority and that school districts cannot deny students the right to be themselves in school, be it through book bans, discriminatory comments, or other harmful policies," said ACLU attorney Chloe Kempf.
Granbury ISD is not the only local school district facing a DOE investigation.
The department has previously opened multiple investigations into Carroll ISD in Southlake.