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Book Bans Live On in School District Now Run by Democrats
Democrats swept a school board election in Bucks County after Republicans instituted book bans and other changes. But the right-wing “parental rights” movement has left an indelible mark.
Dana Goldstein reported this story from Perkasie and Dublin, Pa., two communities in the Pennridge School District.
For two years, the Republican Pennridge School Board, north of Philadelphia, governed with a burst of ideological energy. It instituted book bans and curriculum rewrites — the sort of politics pushed nationwide by Moms for Liberty, the conservative advocacy group allied with Donald J. Trump.
But in this closely divided community, the board’s moves created a backlash.
A slate of Democrats swept school board elections. They promised to put “Pennridge over politics” and end an era of drama and division for this community.
Still, a year later, the legacy of the district’s Moms for Liberty moment has not at all been undone.
Some removed books have been restored to library shelves, but others have not. Transgender students can use some bathrooms that align to their gender identities — but not all of them.
At least for now, teachers remain barred from displaying identity markers like rainbow flags. There has been no move to reinstate the diversity, equity and inclusion trainings and reading assignments that were canceled by the previous board.
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