


In July 2021, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, a nonprofit conservative law firm, sent a letter to the Elmbrook School District on behalf of parents calling for the removal of three books that contained sexual content. This is not the first time that an organized effort has been successful in removing books from the district. When asked why the books were removed, the Elmbrook School District declined to comment. The seven books removed were “Embrace,” by Jessica Shirvington “Perfect,” by Ellen Hopkins “Queer: The Ultimate LGBTQ Guide,” by Kathy Belge and Marke Biesche “The Infinite Moment of Us” and “TTYL” by Lauren Myracle “Traffick: The Sequel To Tricks,” by Ellen Hopkins and “This Book is Gay,” by Juno Dawson.

Of the 28 books, nine were made more restricted under the district's policy and seven were removed. The review found that the Elmbrook district possessed 28 of the 45 books on the list. Then-school board member Glen Allgaier was contacted about the list, and by January of this year, the list was being reviewed by the district. In December 2021, a nearly identical version of the list started to gain attention in Elmbrook, as a handful of parents began to call on the district to remove the books. Since James received the list from his constituents, other parents across Wisconsin have used similar lists to try to get the books removed from their school districts. The list was given to Jesse James, a Republican member of the Wisconsin State Assembly representing the 68th Assembly District.

Each of the seven books that has been removed from Elmbrook School District libraries fits those criteria. The list comprises 45 books, primarily those that feature any sexual content or the inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters or topics.
