Rochester schools remove LGBTQ-themed book over public nudity concerns

Despite objections from school librarians, the Rochester Public Schools have removed an LGBTQ-themed children’s book from its shelves based on its depictions of public nudity.

The district said the decision to pull the book, “The Rainbow Parade” by Emily Neilson, came after a parent at Franklin Elementary School raised concerns about the book’s illustrations while reading it with their first-grader.

The book tells the story of a child who attends an LGTBQ parade with her two moms. Two pages of the book show people in the parade who are nude or partially nude.

In a memo to the Rochester school board explaining the decision, Superintendent Kent Pekel said that while he strongly supports inclusion of books that celebrate lives and experiences of LGBTQ people — he grew up with a gay father — the depictions of public nudity make it inappropriate for an elementary school media center.

“... My decision to remove the book from the shelves of one of our elementary school libraries does not constitute denial or diminishment of the life experience of LGBTQ people in any way,” Pekel wrote. “It is simply a reflection of my conclusion that the nudity depicted in the book is inappropriate for placement on the open shelves of a library where students as young as five and six years of age can pick up the book.”

Before Pekel’s decision, the book went through a reconsideration process involving a committee of community members, teachers and media specialists. The committee overwhelmingly voted to recommend keeping the book on the shelves on the grounds of intellectual freedom.

“Not all books are for everyone, but our goal is to have books that represent all students in our school district,” said Tammy Van Moer, media department chair at the district.

On Tuesday, Rochester school board members shared mixed opinions on the superintendent’s decision, which by rule is final. While the board voted to take the procedural step of sending the superintendent’s recommendation to the Minnesota Department of Education, some members said they were concerned about the precedent it could set.

“I strongly believe that it is important to rely on the expertise of people who are knowledgeable in their areas of expertise,” said Board Member Karen MacLaughlin, noting the committee’s recommendation was 9-1. “I equate it to ‘following the science.’ I think we also need to follow the expertise that we have here in our district.”

Board Member Jean Marvin said she was torn over the decision, saying that in general she believes it is dangerous to start removing books or banning them. But, she added, the superintendent’s decision was not about the content of the book but about its depictions of nudity.

“This was a cute book, but with the plethora of other books about gay rights and celebrating LGBTQ, I am not sure that this one in particular is meaningful enough that we really have to fight for it,” Marvin said.

The comments from Marvin prompted an outburst from an audience member, who warned that the decision would set a “dangerous precedent.” Pekel later pushed back against those concerns.

“There will be no slippery slope on backtracking on books that celebrate the lived experiences of LGBTQ students and families,” Pekel said.

The debate within the district over the book comes amid heightened concerns over book bans in the United States. In 2023, the American Library Association (ALA) recorded 4,240 books that have been targeted for removal or restriction in libraries in schools, a 65% increase from the previous year. The majority of the most-targeted books focus on LGBTQ content, according to the ALA.

In May, Gov. Tim Walz signed into a law a prohibition on book bans or other material based “on its viewpoint or the message, ideas, or opinions it conveys.” However, the statute gives exceptions for schools and libraries to exclude books based on the “appropriateness of potentially sensitive topics for the library’s intended audience.”

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