Nonprofit Watchdog Investigates Biden Admin’s Push For ‘Vulgar Gender-Extremist Books’ in Schools

President Joe Biden greets lawmakers and their families during a Congressional picnic at the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on July 19, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

Nonprofit legal foundation America First Legal (AFL) is investigating the Biden Education Department’s decision to appoint a “coordinator” at the agency, a move said to be aimed at trampling parental rights and promoting “vulgar gender-extremist books” in classrooms.

Over the past years, “age-inappropriate” books have been bought by government run-schools and placed in K-12 schools under the guise of “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said a July 27 letter (pdf) sent by AFL to the Department of Education (DoE). Many of these books encourage children “to engage in sexual activity, question their biological sex, and avoid parental involvement in their mental, physical, and emotional well-being.” Parents have challenged the presence of such books in schools in accordance with the rights granted under the U.S. Constitution and state laws.

“The Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed that parents, not the State, have the authority to direct their child’s education and upbringing and that this right may not be hindered by government school ideologues and bureaucrats,” the letter said.

However, “leftist extremists and their media propaganda arm have attacked parents for exercising their legal rights by falsely claiming that parents are trying to ‘ban books.’”

AFL raised concerns about the Biden administration’s June 8 announcement of appointing a new “coordinator” to the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights. In the announcement, the White House said that the coordinator will be tasked “to address the growing threat that book bans pose for the civil rights of students.”

“That coordinator will work to provide new trainings for schools nationwide on how book bans that target specific communities and create a hostile school environment may violate federal civil rights laws.”

The AFL letter said that they are “alarmed” by the new appointment given the Biden administration’s “history of abusing federal power to surveil, track, censor, and punish constitutionally protected speech and conduct” by parents, conservatives, political opponents, and COVID dissenters.

“Once again, the Biden Administration is weaponizing the federal government, overrunning the Constitution to advance leftist indoctrination and promote a cultural revolution.”

The letter asked for the release of records related to all political appointees in the Office of the Secretary, some political appointees and career employees in the Office for Civil Rights and the Office of the General Counsel, and other individuals.

It sought records related to the Biden Administration’s June 8 announcement as well as terms like “book bans,” “book challenges,” “banning books,” and “challenged books,” among others.

Problematic Books in Schools

The letter highlighted two books as examples of pushing sexual content within schoolgoers. One is “Gender Queer,” which AFL points out has been challenged in “several middle and high schools for graphic, age-inappropriate depictions” of sexual content.

“Gender Queer” has topped the American Library Association’s (ALA) list of most challenged books in the country in recent years. The National Education Association (NEA), the largest teachers union in the United States, even added the book to its list of “Great Summer Reads for Educators.”

The second book cited in the AFL letter is “It Feels Good to be Yourself,” which targets first and second-grade students, encouraging them to question their biological sex. A piece of content from the book is as follows:

“See, when you were born, you couldn’t tell people who you were or how you felt. They looked at you and made a guess. Maybe they got it wrong, maybe they got it right. What a baby’s body looks like when they’re born can be a clue to what a baby’s gender will be, but not always.”

Ian Prior, America First Legal Senior Advisor, pointed out that the Biden administration’s push to “hamper parents” from exercising their parental rights “should concern every American,” according to a July 27 press release.

“Given the hostility this administration has shown to mothers and fathers trying to ensure that local school districts are focused on core academics over social indoctrination, it is imperative that the public understands these unprecedented federal intrusions on the rights of parents to guide the education of their children.”

Threatening Parental Rights

There are ongoing attempts to suppress parental objections to sexual content in schools. The New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), a teacher’s union, is using a reporting tool for educators to monitor parents and parental rights groups who have challenged obscene books at libraries.

The NJEA’s actions came following parental outrage triggered by sexually explicit curriculum and library books in the state’s public schools. Groups like “Team Protect Your Children” campaigned to have such books removed from libraries.

In December, it came to light that the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights was investigating a North Texas school district after its superintendent was secretly recorded giving instructions to librarians to remove books containing LGBT themes from the library.

Recently, a graphic sex book aimed at kids under the age of 18 came under criticism for its sexual content. Called “Welcome to Sex,” the book provides children with advice on how to take naked selfies. It also contains information on how to engage in homosexual intercourse and details about masturbation.

Cyber safety expert and former police officer Susan McLean criticized the authors for having no clue about the reality of the digital world that kids today live in. Children who send nude images can become targets of pedophiles and blackmailers, she said.

“Once you send an image, you have lost control over it … I have seen children become blackmailed at school. It became a competition among the boys of ‘Guess the body from the headless nude photo.’ I’ve seen pedophiles tell children to just cut their heads off [initially], and eventually, they get a full nude photo.”