By: Dr. Ken Williams
The subject of “book bans” has become a national debate and concern. As an elected Orange County School Board Member in the state of California, I think parents deserve to know exactly what’s in some of these books and why they are so controversial. One of the “banned books” promotes the use of adult sex “hook-up” apps. Other “banned books” contain explicit pornographic content and radical gender ideologies. Mainstream media criticizes book bans, however misrepresents the real content of the most egregious “banned books”. Since Governor Newsom signed a law which attempts to prohibit book bans, I feel obligated to inform parents about what their children may consume in our schools through these “banned books”
The California Teachers Association (CTA) and National Educators Association (NEA) claim they advocate “banned books” to foster diversity and inclusion. However, one of these books contradicts the California Department of Education’s Health Framework. The Health Framework (p. 703) states students and staff should work together to identify unsafe social media apps and websites. Nonetheless, a banned book called, This Book Is Gay by J. Dawson, explains to students how to use the sex app, Grindr. It tells readers to upload a selfie to the app which can access the user’s location. It says the app is for adults, yet the CTA recommends this information for minors. According to the California Department of Justice, 60,346 children were missing in 2021. As a reserve Sheriff Deputy, I believe encouraging sex apps for minors could escalate kidnapping and exploitation.
The banned book PUSH by T. Jones, which is in many high schools under African American Studies, has detailed content of incest, sexual abuse to babies, and inferences about sex acts with dogs. Governor Newsom, State Superintendent Thurmond, and Attorney General Bonta wrote a letter in June 2023 saying schools may not adopt material that reflect adversely on persons on the basis of race or ethnicity. However, doesn’t this book’s content reflect adversely on African Americans? Christina Laster, former NAACP education chair for southwest Riverside County, speaking on her own behalf said, “As a black woman, I am greatly offended that African American History and culture is being degraded to sensuality and sex. I would not allow my children or grandchildren to read this book, nor would I read this to anyone else’s children. It is inappropriate for developing minds and inappropriate for the educational setting.”
Another “banned book” now in our schools is Gender Queer by M. Kobabe. See excerpts and explicit graphics here. The book references an X-Rated porn site, kink.com. According to California sexual harassment laws and policies, an example given of sexual harassment is “distributing sexually explicit text or pictures.” As a county trustee, I am concerned that districts will become liable of sexual harassment claims from students by distributing sexually explicit texts and pictures through “banned books”, especially when or if it is considered unwelcomed and interferes with the student’s work or school performance. Government Code section 12923 says that a single incident of harassing conduct is sufficient to create a triable issue regarding the existence of a hostile or offensive work / school environment.
I voted for a Parent Rights Policy because the fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing of their children is backed by the Supreme Court. The only way this can be done is if parents are equitably informed, however, this is not being done. A popular banned book in many elementary schools called, It Feels Good to Be Yourself by T. Thorn teaches young children that gender is based on feelings and can change from day to day or year to year. It tells them they can be a boy, girl, both, neither or something else and that there are many nonbinary identities. As a board-certified primary care physician, I believe books like this confuse children by falsely calling ideological indoctrination scientific fact. I am confident most parents, especially immigrant parents, would find this ideology outlandish. Title III, Section 311(b) says parent engagement is required and that Local Educational Agencies are to use funding to increase parent engagement that serve English learners, yet most immigrant parents across the state are unaware of these books now in their children’s school libraries. Withholding critical information from marginalized communities could cause non-compliance with Title III.
According to the law in the state of California, all parents, regardless of race. language or origin, deserve the respect of being informed about their children’s education, which includes knowing the real content of “banned books”.
About the author
Dr. Williams is a county board of education member in Orange County, California and primary care physician