The American Civil Liberties Union of Maine and the legal advocacy group GLAD are urging Maine schools to standup against calls to ban certain books.
The two organizations sent a letter Wednesday to Maine school administrators that provides the legal framework to resist the push from some community members and lawmakers to censor books. The ACLU of Maine's legal director, Carol Garvan says that often the books targeted are about LGBTQ people and people of color.
"The goal of this letter really is not about a specific decision or a specific legal action, but is instead an effort to explain that the First Amendment, and then the laws about equal educational opportunity do need to guide the decisions these schools are making."
Garvan says the push to ban certain books is part of national agenda that's been imported into the state, and doesn't represent the position of most Mainers.
