School district fights back against book-banning Republican accusing them of giving porn to kids

A school district in Oklahoma is asking courts to defend its choice of books in its high school libraries in the wake of a crusade against “pornography” led by Oklahoma’s Republican State Superintendent Ryan Walters.

At issue are two books – The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls – both of which contain descriptions of sexual assault. The books do not contain pornography because the scenes are not intended to arouse the reader.

Related:

“Kite Runner” author has “never been prouder” as his transgender daughter comes out

“It’s a privilege to watch her enter the world as the beautiful, wise, and brilliant woman she is.”

“Edmond Public Schools is leading the charge to put pornography back in schools,” Walters posted to social media, referring to the school district that has the two books available for high school students. “Today we see Edmond Public Schools is fighting to keep pornography on their shelves and are challenging our rule to keep pornography out of the classroom.”

Insights for the LGBTQ+ community

Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more.

Daily

Weekly

Good News

The Oklahoma State Department of Education, which Walters heads, ordered Edmond Public Schools to remove the two books earlier this year after a committee at the agency decided that the books are “pornographic” and contain “sexualized content.” The agency threatened to downgrade the school district’s accreditation status if they didn’t comply.

The district has now asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court to intervene and to declare the agency’s rules about sexual content in books unconstitutional overreach of executive authority.

“It’s not about the books,” Edmond Superintendent Angela Grunewald said Tuesday. “It’s about who has the right to decide what books should be in a library and who can say what books should be removed.”

In a statement, Walters accused the school of wanting to “peddle porn” instead of “focusing on education.”

The Kite Runner is about two boys in Afghanistan in the 1970s. It is often challenged because of discussions of male-on-male sexual assault, depression, and attempted suicide. The Glass Castle is a memoir about the author’s dysfunctional upbringing. It is often challenged because it contains swear words and descriptions of child sex abuse, as well as depictions of alcoholism.

Both books have won awards and spent years on the New York Times bestseller list.

Walters has made book-banning central to his tenure as state superintendent. He hired hate influencer Chaya Raichik, who goes by “Libs of TikTok” online, to be on the state’s Library Media Advisory Committee, the same committee that declared The Kite Runner and The Glass Castle inappropriate for teenagers.

Walters has previously pushed the transphobic lie about schools providing litterboxes to students who identify as cats. He also recently referred to teachers’ unions as “terrorist organizations” and illegally tried to make rules banning LGBTQ+ books and transgender bathroom access in schools.

He also wants the Bible to be taught in schools.