The ACLU of Wisconsin wants more information about the processes six school districts used to remove books from classrooms and libraries.
Attorney Tim Muth says open records requests will allow the public to see who requested removal of books and why.
“That seems completely crazy to us that one person could put together a list of 400 books and that then suddenly, the school district believes it needs to remove 400 books out of its library.”
Muth says many of the book removals have targeted L G B T Q friendly materials.
“When you have requests that are designed to prevent students from having access to ideas and viewpoints that the requester doesn’t like, I mean, that is simply a form of censorship.”
There is no one single state statute or policy that guides school districts in removing books from shelves, so the ACLU wants the public to see why these decisions were made. Menomonee Falls, Howard-Suamico, Waukesha, Elmbrook, Elkhorn, and Kenosha Unified are included in the records request.