As part of his ongoing commitment to transparency and the safety of students, Superintendent Chris Ragsdale updated the Cobb County School District board and community about the District’s ongoing book review process. While media centers routinely refresh their catalogs, the Superintendent confirmed six additional books were pulled for containing sexually explicit material not suitable for students to have unrestricted access.
The Superintendent’s full remarks from the October 17, 2024, afternoon Board of Education meeting are included below the video.
“Once again, as you have directed me to do previously, I am informing the Board that we are withdrawing six more books from general circulation in our District’s media centers. After review, it has been determined these books contain sexually explicit and graphic content unsuitable for children to access in public schools.
I know that it is election season, and during such times, the truth is often considered an acceptable casualty if it gets more votes. For the most part, like with most things political, I ignore it. But in the last month, it has reached a fever pitch, and a number of individuals are saying things that are not only untruthful but they know are untruthful. I want to set it straight.
First, I hate having to keep repeating what I must say next. Those who oppose this removal apparently hate it, too, because they keep complaining about me repeating the scope and focus of the District’s removal. This is not a ‘book ban.’ Those spreading that lie do not want me to remind you that this is an incredibly focused removal based entirely on not providing children with unrestricted access to sexually explicit and graphic material. If you want me to stop reminding everyone, stop being untruthful about it, and I won’t have to correct it. I respect you have an opinion different than mine, but to quote Patrick Moynihan, you are entitled to your own opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts. Second, this isn’t ‘about nothing.’
To suggest that dismisses deeply held concerns of a tremendous number of Cobb County citizens. Again, while I respect everyone’s right to an opinion, it is inappropriate to dismiss the concerns of parents, educators, and community members who do not want their children exposed to lewd, vulgar, and sexually explicit materials when they attend a Cobb County school. In my experience, parents – regardless of where they are on the political spectrum – do not want us to use the authority and resources of schools to advance anyone’s political or social agenda, and particularly if it is inconsistent with the social and religious beliefs of their family. Whether activists like it or not, our Supreme Court has recognized that one of our most fundamental rights as Americans is the right of parents and families to raise their children with their beliefs. Similarly, most educators do not want to be on the front lines of culture wars, being forced to use their classrooms and instructional time to promote a social activist agenda that has nothing to do with instruction.
The third lie is this is targeting books by gay authors or with gay characters or authors of certain ethnicities. It is not. This is not ‘the Board of Education going in after LGBTQ kids and teachers and families,’ as was claimed by a Cobb politician this week. People who say that are lying to you. In total, even with the titles I will mention tonight, this is a grand total of thirty-two books out of more than a million. Those million-plus works are incredibly broad and represent an array of experiences and individuals. However, they do not contain sexually explicit and graphic content inappropriate for children.
Fourth, people who compare this to restrictions of works widely considered to be literature are lying to you. One individual recently publicly suggested our focused removal of sexually explicit materials was akin to removing “To Kill A Mockingbird.” That’s not true. The only materials we are removing from general circulation are materials containing lewd, vulgar, and/or sexually explicit language and graphic depictions unsuitable to provide to children in a public school media center. In an example I’ve had to use previously, if these books were made into movies as they are actually written, they would at a minimum have an “R” rating and some would be “NC-17.” I’m having to add the qualifier “as actually written” as undoubtedly critics will say, ‘Hey, they made that into a movie and it was PG-13.’ Yes - and they were edited from the book. Several containing graphic depictions of sex between minors would be illegal to make into movies. Just listen to the language of those opposing removing these works. At no point will they say these books do not contain lewd, vulgar, or sexually explicit or graphic language. And that is what this is about. This is not a larger value judgment on the themes or characters in the books. Some of the books may have themes that would be appropriate for children; however, because the author and publisher decided to add lewd, vulgar, and sexually explicit language involving minors, it is not appropriate to give children unrestricted access to them in a public school media center. I recall one public commenter providing a summary of one of the books and saying it was great, it was about acceptance, and other virtues. Unfortunately, she omitted mentioning it contained graphic depictions of sexual acts between minors – including encouraging one that was non-consensual.
As I have repeatedly stated, I choose to believe those wanting children to have unrestricted access to these materials simply have not read them and have no idea what is contained in them. As I have repeatedly asked – before criticizing the removal, please read these works. On more than one occasion, I’ve had someone who said, ‘I’m against banning books,’ read one of the books we are removing, then say, ‘I had no idea what was in that book.’ If you do read these books and afterward you decide children should be given unrestricted access to lewd, vulgar, or sexually explicit language, well, you are entitled to that opinion. But please make it an INFORMED opinion.
There is widespread concern over having materials with lewd, vulgar, and sexually explicit content in our schools. In the past six months, there have been a parade of different speakers applauding the removal of these materials. They represent different voices, experiences, backgrounds, ethnicities, and religions. They share a common concern that they do not want their children to have unrestricted access to sexually explicit material in school. I have been informed that the concern is apparently deep enough that someone has apparently created a website where parents and others can check out whether sexually explicit and graphic drawings and depictions are in books aimed at children. The website is – booksinschools.com. This is not a CCSD website, and I have only looked at it briefly; however, it did appear to be a fair representation of some of the concerning language we have found in books aimed at children.
Before COVID-19, the Board made sure we provided every Cobb parent with school choices. Cobb’s school choice program continues to be one of the most in demand programs we offer.
During COVID-19, you made sure we did not make personal health or classroom decisions for children. Cobb’s parents made vaccination, mask, and classroom decisions which were best for their children.
After COVID-19, you made sure we offered choices for students who are ready to enter the workforce upon graduation. The recently opened Cobb Innovation and Technology Academy has become another high-quality option for high school students ready to earn while they learn.
And now, as activists attempt to force social debates into every classroom, you have made it clear certain choices should be made by families, not educators. In a Cobb school, the norm is media centers and classrooms which do NOT provide unrestricted access to lewd, vulgar, and/or sexually explicit content.
Not only is protecting children from sexually explicit content the best, and only, appropriate decision - I also believe it protects decisions which should be made at home by parents. Again, as our courts have repeatedly recognized, some choices belong to parents, not the schools or the state.
Today, I am announcing the removal of six additional books which do contain sexually explicit or graphic content inappropriate for children:
- Summer of Owen Todd
- More Happy Than Not
- This Book Is Gay
- We Know It Was You
- The Sun and Her Flowers
- City of Saints and Thieves
The titles of all 32 books that have been removed are available on our District website.
Why? Because we want you to seek out the books yourself—whether online, at your local bookstore, or at a public library—and decide if it’s something you want your child to read at home. No matter your decision, our Board has and continues to hold me accountable to leading the teaching of your children while you choose how to raise your family. We will continue to focus on that education – a focus that ensures the education we provide is not only the best in metro Atlanta but is consistently recognized as one of the best in the nation.”
The six books removed on October 17 include:
- Summer of Owen Todd
- More Happy Than Not
- This Book Is Gay
- We Know It Was You
- The Sun and Her Flowers
- City of Saints and Thieves
As Superintendent Ragsdale explained, the six books above were removed for containing explicit sexual content. Previously, the book review process resulted in the removal of 26 books that include sexually explicit or graphic content inappropriate for students to access at school.
The 26 books previously removed include:
- A Court of Wings and Ruin
- A Court of Thorns and Roses
- A Court of Mist and Fury
- A Court of Frost and Starlight
- A Court of Silver Flames
- Iron Fire
- Laid
- Crank
- Tricks
- Push
- Milk and Honey
- It Starts with Us
- The Infinite Moment of Us
- Casual Vacancy
- Identical
- Boys Aren't Blue
- Juliet Takes a Breath
- Monday's Not Coming
- City of Thieves
- Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl
- Flamer
- Blankets
- It Ends with Us
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower
- Lucky
- Thirteen Reasons Why
