Melinda Preston, executive director of Denton County for Citizens Defending Freedom, says the Denton Independent School District had five books under consideration.
The other three did not make the cut, but "Jacob's New Dress" and "Jacob's Room to Choose" – written to, in the author's words, "spark action" and "amplify LGBTQIA+ experiences" – did, even though neither has any educational value.
"The teachers are not medically trained to deal with gender dysphoria and these kinds of issues, and not to mention to even be pushing those kinds of ideals in the classroom," notes Preston.
Her group hired attorney Mitch Little, who made a strong case at a school board meeting about why the books are not age appropriate. He brought up the state's new collection development standards for school libraries that require books to be "age appropriate and suitable to the campus and students it serves."
"The dress code is you're not allowed to wear anything that distracts other students from their education," Preston points out. "Bathroom is boys go to the boys' bathroom; girls go the girls' bathroom."
She accounts that the board meeting was packed out with parents and other concerned members of the community. Even so, the board voted 6-1 to allow those two books to remain in the library.
"It just doesn't make sense," says Preston. "It was really sad to see that they really, really don't care about the kids. They're saying that it's a child's right to be able to read that book."
She asserts that her group does not want to ban books; they are concerned about what is appropriate for young children.
"How about let's just let our kids be kids and be innocent as long as they can?" she suggests. "They're going to have to grow up eventually, but let's let them just be kids."
