Pentagon school students are fighting back against book bans with a new lawsuit. Twelve American students in the U.S., Italy, and Japan attending Pentagon schools—a network for military families’ children run by the Department of Defense—have filed a lawsuit against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for removing books about race and gender from their school libraries. The American Civil Liberties Union is helping the group argue that this censorship violates their First Amendment rights and keeps them from learning about important topics like health, biology, and abuse. These Pentagon schools serve about 67K students and while they’re run by the military, they’re technically civilian schools—which grants them the same rights as any other U.S. child. At one high school in Japan, 61 books were removed, while an elementary school in Italy lost 25 books.The ban is part of Trump’s bigger push against diversity programs and extends beyond just books—the administration is even threatening to punish students who protest. (The Guardian)
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