by Linley Mueller, Staff Writer
On October 19th, schools in Boyle County, Kentucky decided to ban 100 books. When Senate Bill 150 was passed, there were intense restrictions put on talk about sexual and gender identity in classrooms.
As of March 2023, the book ban has spread to many schools. School libraries removed books that discuss gender and sexual orientation. Boyle County superintendent Mark Wade said that the Senate Bill mandates that schools ban these books. This is not truly the case, though. By using the Kentucky Legislative Bill passing, the Boyle County school board is making the decision to take away books that are important in shaping lives.
Some examples of banned books include The Real Riley Mayes by Rachel Elliott, The House That Whispers by Lin Thompson, and Obie Is Man Enough by Schuyler Bailar. These specific books are stories about young people discovering how they fit into the world based on their gender and how they want to express themselves through their gender. Taking these stories away from children is taking away a safe space.
Many members of the Kentucky Department of Education have opposed this decision by Boyle County. Many state officials have disagreed with this book ban, while many “school leaders” have declared that they are just following what the bill is stating.
In addition to removing these books, the bill prohibits any “instruction or presentation that has the goal or purpose of students studying or exploring gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation.” The bill also states that it will “prohibit a school district from requiring school personnel or pupils to use pronouns for students that do not conform to that student’s biological sex” and “limit authority of the Kentucky Board of Education in relation to parental rights and a student’s use of pronouns.”
This bill is both attacking trans children and taking away something that may be of help to them in the exploration and expression of their gender. The bill also prohibits gender-affirming care for minors. This suppressed the way kids express their gender, and the book ban is just reinforcing it. What is meant to be a place for children to learn is now something that can tell them that who they are is wrong.
By banning these books and prohibiting the healthcare that trans kids need, state legislators are creating a more dangerous world for transgender people to live in and grow up in. If kids are forced to feel like they don’t belong because they can’t see anyone like them in what they are reading, the school board should not be allowed to say that they know what is best for the kids they are meant to be taking care of.