‘INAPPROPRIATE’

Georgia School District Follows Up Teacher’s Firing With Book Bans

One of the works was about a boy realizing he’s gay.

The second-largest school district in Georgia on Monday informed parents that it had removed two books from 20 school libraries over allegations the works contained “highly inappropriate, sexually explicit content.” The bans in Cobb County come after the Republican-majority school board last week voted to fire an elementary teacher for reading a book featuring a nonbinary character to her fifth-grade students. The two books pulled from shelves are Flamer by Mike Curato—a graphic novel about a boy who realizes he’s gay—and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews. The latter includes profanity and has some discussion of sex. “Protecting our students from sexually explicit content isn’t controversial, it’s what our parents expect,” said John Floresta, the district’s chief strategy and accountability officer.