Minnesota school district removes LGBTQ children's book with nudity, despite objections
A Minnesota public school district defended its decision to pull an LGBTQ children's book from its elementary school shelves, despite facing objections from some parents and school librarians.
Rochester Public Schools said it pulled the 2022 book, "The Rainbow Parade" by Emily Neilson, from its elementary school media center last month after a Franklin Elementary School parent raised concerns about nude illustrations in the book.
The book tells a story about a young girl going to her first Pride parade with her two moms. Several pages within the book have illustrations depicting full or partial public nudity, including two men in bondage gear.
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"The sidewalk outside is filled with people waiting for the parade to start. Everyone is wearing whatever makes them feel most like themselves. Even if that means wearing hardly anything at all," the text reads.
After concerns were raised by a parent, the book was reviewed by a committee comprised of librarians, community members and teachers, who ultimately recommended the district keep the book on the shelves, according to a report in The Minnesota Star Tribune.
"Not all books are for everyone, but our goal is to have books that represent all students in our school district," said Tammy Van Moer, library media specialist at Rochester Public Schools, according to the report.
However, Superintendent Kent Pekel decided to remove the book from elementary school libraries, saying the nudity shown was inappropriate for younger children.
"My decision to direct the removal of the book The Rainbow Parade from our elementary media center shelves is not based upon restricting student access to a viewpoint, message, idea, or opinion. It is based solely upon the depiction and celebration of public nudity in illustrations on two pages of the book. I believe that the depiction of public nudity makes the book inappropriate for the open shelves of a media center in an elementary school where students as young as kindergarten can access the book without adult supervision or guidance," he wrote.
School board members expressed mixed opinions on the superintendent's decision, with some members wondering aloud if removing the book would take the district down a "slippery slope" and set a "precedent" for removing other LGBTQ books from school libraries.
The board ultimately approved sending the superintendent's recommendation to the Minnesota Department of Education, the Tribune reported.
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After the topic was brought up at the January 7 school board meeting, Superintendent Pekel vowed there would be "no backtracking" on their schools' commitment to LGBTQ students and families, after repeated outbursts from one parent angry about the district's decision.
"There will be no slippery slope on backtracking on books that celebrate the lived experiences of LGBTQ students and families," he pledged.
He also clarified that the nudity alone was the reason for his decision and not other content in the book some might find objectionable, such as two men dressed in bondage gear or a protest sign reading "Silence equals death."
When reached for comment, Rochester Public Schools provided Fox News Digital with Pekel's previous memo to the board.
The district's decision comes at a time when books with explicit content in school libraries are being challenged by parents.
The American Library Association (ALA), the oldest and largest library nonprofit in the world, has been an outspoken champion for "banned" books in children's libraries. In 2023, the top ten challenged books were all challenged due to explicit sexual content.
During National Library Week last year, the ALA claimed that the "censorship" of sexually explicit books in children's libraries is discriminatory to the LGBTQ+ community.
Fox News' Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.