LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Jefferson County Public Schools appeal panel has unanimously voted to keep a controversial graphic novel on the library shelves of two of the district's alternative schools.
Miranda Stovall, a mother and the vice president of No Left Turn in Education's Kentucky chapter, hoped to overturn a decision by leaders at Liberty High School and the Phoenix School of Discovery to keep copies of "Gender Queer: A Memoir" by Maia Kobabe in libraries at those schools.
Neither alternative school has a site-based decision making council, so the district's four-member SBDM Appeals Board considered Stovall's challenge Monday.
"As a mother of four, I believe the JCPS decision-makers should aid in the process of protecting children from obscene, pornographic content regardless of a child's sexual identity or orientation, especially without parental knowledge or consent," Stovall said in a July hearing.
"Gender Queer: A Memoir" (Photo courtesy of amazon.com)
"Gender Queer: A Memoir" has been a flashpoint for censorship in schools and libraries throughout the U.S. The American Library Association, which awarded the graphic novel an Alex Award in 2020 as a book written for adults with "special appeal" to young adult audiences, listed the title as the most challenged work in public libraries, schools and universities in 2021 based on its tracking of literary disputes.
Lynn Reynolds, executive director of library media services for JCPS, said all books challenged in JCPS libraries dealt with LGBTQ or racial subjects.
Chris Hartman, the executive director of the Kentucky Fairness Campaign, called the appeal an attack against all LGBTQ books.
"This is a book that's won two prestigious awards from the American Library Association, the oldest and largest library association in the entire world and has been nominated for a dozen other awards that aren't just LGBTQ specific," he said. "So, yes, this is a clear attack against this book and all LGBTQ books across the board."
Clint Elliott, Stovall's attorney, said the graphic novel should be considered pornography under Kentucky law.
In their decision, the SBDM Appeals Board said "'Gender Queer'" illustrates a lived experience that is not often represented in literature, especially in literature geared towards young adult or high school aged students."
"One of the key roles of our school libraries is to provide our students with access to diverse literary works that allow our students to see themselves and their peers reflected and to grow and learn in a safe and inclusive environment, the SBDM Appeals Board wrote in the decision.
"The board understands and respects the right of parents to make informed choices about the literature to which their students have access."
Stovall was at the meeting on Monday, but declined to comment on the decision.
This story will be updated.
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