After the Rutherford County School Board’s controversial, successful and steadfast effort to remove over 145 books from school libraries, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a First Amendment lawsuit defending students’ right to read and authors’ right to be read.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday at the United States District Court in Nashville, Tennessee, names two rising freshmen and one rising senior at three RCS high schools, along with their parents, as plaintiffs. In addition, PEN America, an authors’ advocacy group, is also named as a plaintiff. PEN America joined the suit on behalf of 32 affected authors who belong to the organization.
Plaintiffs are asking the court to block RCS from removing books in the future and to reinstate materials already restricted and banned, according to a joint press release from the ACLU and PEN America. These requests are based on the students’ right to access information and the authors’ right to free speech, the press release said.
Prior to the Sept. 19 meeting, the ACLU sent a letter reminding the school board that “the First Amendment does not permit school board members to remove books from school library shelves simply because they dislike the ideas contained within those books.” ACLU representatives attended that meeting, during which the board voted to remove Toni Morrison’s “Beloved,” along with five other books.
Ken Paulson, director of the Free Speech Center at the College of Media and Entertainment at Middle Tennessee State University, has followed RCS book bans closely throughout the process.
“They had a sensible strategy at one point, which involved letting educational professionals review the books and make their recommendations,” Paulson said. “But their actions suggest they were not sincere, because as the lawsuit notes, more than 70% of those recommendations are rejected. These are censors, not educators, making the decisions.”
The request for recommendations from librarians came at a Nov. 14 meeting as a way to address 150 books flagged for immediate removal. Board members voted on these titles from January-April, concluding with their most recent meeting April 9.
The Rutherford County Library Alliance formed as a grassroots organization in August 2023 as a response to censorship in the Rutherford County Library System. The group has since gained non-profit status, and members have been a reliable vocal presence at school board meetings.
“We are happy that a lawsuit is taking place from the perspective that they are standing up for our children’s rights,” said Keri Lambert, RCLA vice-president. “But we are disappointed in our school board officials that have allowed it to get to this point that we are now going to spend taxpayer money defending [the board] banning books unconstitutionally.”
The suit names the Rutherford County Board of Education and RCS director James Sullivan as defendants.
“We can’t comment on pending litigation but we do plan to respond through the judicial process,” RCS Chief Communications Officer James Evans said in an email.
PEN’s involvement demonstrates that what’s happening in Rutherford County is part of a larger effort to fight book bans, Paulson said.
“This lawsuit is on firm First Amendment legal ground, and the plaintiff should prevail,” Paulson said. “The efforts to limit access to some actually extraordinary and worthy books is misguided, at best. At a time when our young people are exposed to stunningly troubling content on the internet, we should be applauding authors who write books that engage students and address their concerns. What we’re seeing in Rutherford County is a throwback to the 1950s, and should not be reflective of the educational system of the 21st century.”
The next Rutherford County School board meeting takes place Thursday, April 24 at 5:30 p.m.
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