Parents, GOP leaders press Catoosa County board to review classroom books; superintendent cites state complaint process

Residents and local Republican Party officials urged the Catoosa County Board of Education to review dozens of books they said are inappropriate for students, reading long excerpts at the board’s public participation period and urging the board to remove the titles from classrooms.

The push came during public comment at a board meeting where multiple speakers named specific books, including The Fault in Our Stars, Paper Towns and The Hate You Give, and read lengthy excerpts they said demonstrate sexual content, profanity and racism. Joanna Hildreth, chair of the Catoosa County Republican Party, handed board members a copy of a resolution condemning those materials and urged partisan elections for the school board.

Why it matters: Speakers said classroom exposure to the material harms children and that community members should be allowed to review library and classroom holdings. Board and district officials responded that Georgia law sets a specific parental-review path that must be triggered by a parent complaint and that principals and a review committee handle initial challenges.

At the meeting Christine Lawson, identified in her remarks as a resident of District 4, said a teacher’s petition had “brought to light some books being made available to students in the Catoosa County Schools” and provided the board with screenshots dated 08/08/2023 and 08/14/2024 showing titles she said contained “sexual content, racism, violence, foul language, and DEI.” She also noted that some citizens who raised concerns reported receiving cease-and-desist letters.

Superintendent Nix described the formal process under state law. “The principal will, with the committee, review that book. If that book is determined to be inappropriate, they remove the book. It’s that simple,” he said. Nix added that if a book is retained, “by law, [we] must publish the title on the district website for a year,” and that a parent may then appeal to the board. He told the speakers the district had not received any parent-initiated complaints that would have triggered the formal review since the law passed in 2022.

Board members and other officials repeatedly asked speakers to use the established process rather than read extended excerpts at the meeting. One board member said the law and the district’s website mechanisms exist specifically because the board cannot inspect every classroom and media center directly.

Speakers asked for additional transparency, including the ability for parents and community members to inspect library and classroom holdings and to be allowed into school libraries and classrooms to verify whether the titles are present. William Beals, who said his child is hospitalized, asked that community members be allowed to “come into the libraries, to come into the school rooms” to review holdings when the district says it will remove books.

The board did not take a formal vote on book removals or adopt any immediate policy changes at the meeting. Board members moved on to recognitions after public participation and asked citizens who wished to press a review to file complaints with principals so the statutory procedure can begin.

Looking ahead: Several speakers indicated they plan to file complaints with principals to trigger the review process; the superintendent said principals, the local review committee and the board are the next steps after a parent complaint is filed. The board said it will follow the process outlined in state law and publish any titles retained after that review on the district website for the required one-year period.