A new letter submitted to the Buncombe County School Board argues that the removal of books and curriculum mentioning LGBTQ+ people and people of color violates federal and state law.
This week, four organizations – the Campaign for Southern Equality, Public School Strong, Youth OUTright WNC, and Good Trouble WNC – submitted a letter to the Buncombe County Schools Board of Education regarding the many classrooms in Buncombe County that are over-complying with state laws that target the public school curriculum.
SB49, the so-called “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” became law in 2023, and SB227, the so-called “Eliminating DEI in Public Education” bill, advanced in 2025 and was vetoed by Gov. Stein – although the veto could still be overridden. Technically, these laws are neutral, but in practice, parental reviews across the district have found that they result in biased classrooms:
- Library and instructional materials include little or no representation or information about LGBTQ+ people, while heterosexual and cisgender (that is, not transgender) people are overwhelmingly represented.
- Library and instructional materials represent white or European American characters, perspectives, and culture far more often than they represent people of color.
- Books that specifically address race, racism, racial justice or racial injustice are particularly limited, if not entirely absent.
- White, straight and cisgender people are overwhelmingly portrayed as ‘natural,’ ‘normal,’ or ‘superior,’ while LGBTQ+ people and people of color are silenced, reflecting the political agenda of the far-right “Make America Great Again” MAGA wing of the Republican Party.
In doing so, these schools are engaging in political speech, in violation of state and federal laws that require public schools to be politically neutral and fair to everyone.
The letter asks that the school district issue clear instructions to school staff and families to bring curriculum and libraries back into compliance with the laws that require public schools to be politically neutral and treat all members of the school community fairly.
Click here to read the full letter.
Craig White, Supportive Schools Director for the Campaign for Southern Equality, said today:
“Recent state laws have increased parents’ ability to review their child’s classroom library and curriculum. What they have found varies widely from school to school, classroom to classroom, which is why we are asking the Board of Education to provide clear and specific guidance to all teachers in the district. In general, parents are finding learning materials that align with a MAGA agenda, including little to no representation of LGBTQ+ people, and a whitewashed version of our racial history. So we are also asking the district to comply with the many federal laws and U.S. Supreme Court decisions that require public schools to be politically neutral.”
Last year the Campaign for Southern Equality launched “Mirrors and Windows,” a set of resources and support materials to assist people who are ready to create safe, affirming, and welcoming classrooms for every student. The resources are based on the educational principle of “Mirrors and Windows,” which proposes that every student, no matter who they are, should see themselves reflected in the books they read at school, as in a mirror, and should see people different from themselves in the curriculum, as in a window.
Craig White continued:
“Having a window into the lives of other people helps prepare young people to live in a diverse and multicultural democratic society, and having a mirror shows them they belong and are welcome at school. We’re hearing from teachers that they would include diverse books if they could, but they believe they will be sued, or fired, or their schools will lose funding, if they treat LGBTQ+ students and students of color fairly. This belief comes, not from the actual law, but from the threats of conservative politicians and political groups who are bullying teachers into over-complying with deliberately vague curriculum laws.”
“We are seeing the impact of a decade of book bans, censorship, and executive orders targeting our public schools, at the same time that state and federal education funding is being gutted, and civil rights protections for students and staff are being stripped away. We encourage every parent and guardian to get involved in supporting our public schools. The fight for our democracy begins in your child’s classroom.”
