“Attached is a list of all the books challenged last year. By the end of today, I need all the books pulled from the library and classrooms,” Keller Independent School District Director of Curriculum Jennifer Price instructed principals in an email Tuesday, obtained by The Texas Tribune. “Once completed, please email me a confirmation. We must ensure that this action is taken by the end of today.” The books were seized because of a new compliance policy the school district board approved on Aug. 8, local newspaper WFAA Dallas reported. According to The Dallas Morning News, Keller’s spokesman Bryce Nieman said the new policy requires every book that has ever been challenged to go through a review process. Keller associate John Allison said each book will be returned to its respective library if found to be in compliance with the district’s guidelines. But officials say they don’t know how long the process might take. Forty-two books in total—including The Bible, a graphic novel adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, and Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe—were removed from school shelves, even though some of them had previously approved by officials to remain in circulation. According to the district’s list of questionable books, a parent expressed concern in November 2021 about “any variation” of the Bible written by “men who lived a long time ago.” The parent withdrew his challenge in December. However, another parent questioned the Bible in Feb. 2022. After the board reviewed it, members initially determined it would remain in the library’s current location. The Diary of Anne Frank: The Graphic Adaptation, reimagined by Ari Folman and illustrated by David Polonsky, was challenged by a parent in Feb. 2022, but the board also initially decided it would remain in its current position. Both books were pulled Tuesday for review because of the district’s new policies. According to the Tribune, conservative district administrators Joni Shaw Smith, Sandi Walker and Micah Young voted unanimously in the spring to amend the district’s textbook policy. Trustees were elected by the school board in the spring and reportedly received financial contributions from Christian political groups. “These books went through the formal process of the challenge committee established by the district. But because they all went through the committee process, the extremist Christian Nationalist school board decided the process was ‘rigged,’” book committee member and parent Laney Hawes wrote in a Twitter thread. “This is a violation of our children [sic] constitutional rights”. “I want to make it clear that the administrators, teachers, librarians and staff are NOT to blame for the extremist takeover and banning of books at @KellerISD,” Hawes continued. “It’s our … extremist school board members who are funded by right-wing PACs. They brought the political culture wars to my children.” The Keller Independent School District did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment Wednesday.
