ACLU Seeks Injunction to Block Book Bans in Military Schools

The American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday asked a federal judge in Virginia to immediately halt what it calls a sweeping campaign of classroom censorship in military-run schools — including at Crossroads Elementary in Quantico — stemming from executive orders issued by former President Donald J. Trump earlier this year.

The motion for preliminary injunction, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, follows a lawsuit brought last month on behalf of 12 students enrolled in Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools.

The students, from pre-K to 11th grade, are children of active-duty service members stationed in Virginia, Kentucky, Italy and Japan.

The ACLU’s new filing alleges that books and curriculum touching on race, gender and civil rights have been systematically scrubbed under the guise of enforcing executive orders 14168, 14185 and 14190, which instruct federal agencies to purge references to “gender ideology,” “divisive concepts” and diversity programming.

In Virginia, that has included removing materials from the library at Crossroads Elementary School in Quantico and canceling student events.

“The Trump administration cannot violate the First Amendment by removing books and curricula it doesn’t like,” said Matt Callahan, senior supervising attorney at the ACLU of Virginia. “Students have a right to see themselves reflected in their libraries and classrooms, and they also have a right to learn from the perspectives of people who aren’t like them. That’s no less true for military families than for anyone else.”

Among the 233 books listed as removed or “quarantined” in the latest motion are “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, “Looking for Alaska” by John Green and “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A Hip-Hop History” by Jeff Chang. The plaintiffs say the materials most frequently targeted are by or about women, people of color and LGBTQ individuals.

Jessica Henninger, a Virginia-based military parent and one of the lead plaintiffs, said her family had remained silent for months out of fear. But after watching DoDEA schools cancel Juneteenth and Holocaust Remembrance Day events and take down posters of Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistan education activist shot by the Taliban and winner of the Nobel Peace Price age 17, and Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, she decided speaking out was no longer optional.

“We make sacrifices as a military family so that my husband can defend the Constitution and the rights and freedoms of all Americans,” Henninger said. “If our own rights and the rights of our children are at risk, we have a responsibility to speak out.”

In court filings, the ACLU argues that the censorship campaign has disrupted students’ academic progress — particularly those preparing for Advanced Placement exams — and created a chilling effect in classrooms. Some students now hesitate to ask questions about race or gender, worried that even inquiry could trigger administrative pushback.

“These are American students in American schools, and they have the same First Amendment rights as their peers,” said Emerson Sykes, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “Families in DoDEA schools have the right to access books about race and gender and the right to learn about the vibrantly diverse world around them.”

Virginia plays a central role in the case. Not only are some of the plaintiffs based in the state, but the case is being heard in the Eastern District of Virginia — a jurisdiction with a history of high-profile First Amendment rulings. Attorneys believe the court could set a national precedent on how far federal agencies, including the military, can go in shaping the content of public education.

While DoDEA officials have said the policy is about “safeguarding children,” critics say it’s political overreach, forcing public servants’ children to bear the brunt of ideological battles.

The ACLU says the orders violate the Supreme Court’s 1982 decision in Island Trees School District v. Pico, which barred school officials from removing library books simply because they dislike the ideas within.

“This kind of political meddling is antithetical to the First Amendment,” said Corey Shapiro, legal director of the ACLU of Kentucky. “And in DoDEA schools, which are some of the most diverse and high-performing schools in the nation, the impact is magnified.”

If successful, the injunction could compel DoDEA to immediately restore books and classroom materials removed this year — including at Virginia installations — and affirm the rights of military families who, attorneys say, have been sidelined in a fight over what their children are allowed to read and learn.

“Our children are not political pawns,” Henninger said. “They deserve to learn the truth — and we intend to make sure they can.”

by Markus Schmidt, Virginia Mercury

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