After months of litigation, the Elizabeth School District this week dropped its appeal just days before oral arguments in a court case litigating the removal of library books that included content the district had deemed “highly sensitive.”
The Elbert County school district moved to dismiss its appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit on Tuesday. Oral arguments before a three-judge panel were scheduled months ago for Friday, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, one of the plaintiffs that sued the district over the book removals.
In response, the Court of Appeals noted in its order dismissing the appeal that “the court has expended valuable time and resources studying the briefing and record in this matter,” and that the district’s last-minute action was “not well-taken,” according to court records.
The case now returns to district court, where it will proceed to trial, the ACLU said.
Jeff Maher, spokesperson for the Elizabeth School District, Maher said district leaders decided their “limited resources” were best used preparing for trial and any potential future appeal of the outcome.
“Cases are first decided in trial courts and that is where we intend to tell our story,” Maher said in a statement. “The school district has been consistent in standing up for parents’ rights to make decisions relating to the well-being of their children. We will continue to defend those rights by vigorously defending the school district and school board’s actions. We appreciate the overwhelming show of support from the community during this lengthy process.”
The ACLU of Colorado and others sued the school district in federal court in December 2024 for removing books from school libraries — titles largely featuring people of color or LGBTQ individuals — in an act the organization alleged violated free speech protections.
The case has since been tied up in back-and-forth legal proceedings.
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The removed books primarily featured Black, brown and LGBTQ people, the ACLU said, including “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas, “Beloved” and “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison, “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini and “#Pride: Championing LGBTQ Rights” by Rebecca Felix.
The books have since been returned to library shelves following a judge’s injunction in the district court case, which the school district had appealed.
ACLU of Colorado legal director Tim Macdonald said in a statement that the organization will continue to “fight for the freedom of all students to read without government interference.”
“The Elizabeth School District engaged in blatant viewpoint censorship by removing books from school libraries that do not align with their political views,” Macdonald said. “Instead of accepting the district court’s decision and prioritizing their time, energy and resources into serving the school community, the school district spent massive amounts of money, time and resources pursuing a fruitless appeal that furthered their political agenda at the cost of its community members.”
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