As a mother and professor, I never imagined being in a drawn-out fight with my local school district. But standing up for your children can be a lonely path. It all started when my 15-year-old son came home visibly upset after finding Beyond Magenta in his school library. I read it myself, and I was stunned.
“From six up, I used to kiss other guys in my neighborhood, make out with them, and perform oral sex on them. I liked it. I used to love oral. And I touched their you-know-whats. We were really young, but that’s what we did…” (p. 139)
Nowhere did the text suggest this behavior was harmful or that the child was being exploited. Instead, it normalized these actions, offering no guidance for children in similar situations.
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My son, whose younger brother was also six years old — just like the child in the book — looked at me and asked, “What are you going to do?” The question lingered. I knew I had to act, but I wasn’t sure how.
Two weeks later, at my younger son’s back-to-school night, I decided to check his library. Within 30 seconds, I found numerous problematic books, including A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara, a self-described Marxist who believes “capitalism is inherently exploitative.” The book included quotes like:
“L-G-B-T-Q! Love who you choose, ‘cuz love is true!”
“T is for Trans. For Trains, Tiaras, Tulips, and Tigers Too!”
“Z is for Zapatista, of course!”
“Z is for Zapatista, of course!” Really? How many kindergartners know about the violent Marxist group that overthrew their local government in Southern Chiapas, Mexico, in the 1990s? Reducing such a complex issue to a positive slogan is pure propaganda with no educational value.
I asked the librarian why this book was available to my son. She robotically said it was approved for grades K-5 and peer-reviewed, refusing to say if she had read it or even looked at the problematic pages. When I asked if she knew who the Zapatistas were, there was no response. An administrator arrived, insisted the book was appropriate, and advised me to follow district protocol by submitting an online form.
I eventually did. But it was a trap, and I, naively, walked right into it.
The school district immediately released my personal information to the media. The headline, “Alachua County school district removes book about transgender teen after parent complaint,” revealed my name, professional title, and political affiliation.
The backlash was swift. A colleague confronted me at the bus stop, insulting me in front of my child. She later asked the district to keep my 6-year-old from sitting near her child, and, shockingly, they complied for the entire school year. Worse, they initially claimed it was due to my son’s behavior, which led me to punish him — until the bus driver revealed the truth.
Friends and colleagues cut ties, refusing even to meet for coffee. My world was turned upside down, and this was just the beginning of the district’s coordinated effort to silence and intimidate any parent who questioned their content choices.
I initially thought the district would review the books and reconsider their appropriateness. Instead, what I uncovered was much worse than I had anticipated. For example, at the high school level books like The Kid by Sapphire narrate and explicitly describe the tragic story of a boy sexually abused (sodomized) in foster care by another youth and ultimately becoming a sexual abuser of younger children. Or Wicked by Gregory Maguire, which narrates the sexual escapades of the wicked witch of the west. Or Lucky by Alice Sebold which not only graphically and explicitly narrates a violent rape scene, but falsely accuses a black man of the crime.
At the elementary level, books like It Feels Good to Be Yourself, When Aidan Became a Brother, My Maddy, and Melissa teach children they can be a boy one day and a girl the next, suggesting only the child can declare their true gender. In Melissa, author Alex Gino teaches kids how to find transgender services online, how to hide their browser history, and normalizes consumption of pornography through dialogues between a 14-year-old brother and an 8-year-old boy who is secretly transitioning with the help of friends and teachers.
“Naw, I found them this weekend. I knew Mom was upset about something, and then I saw the bag sitting on her bed. Dude, I thought you had PORN or something in there, so I took a peek. You know, just to find out what kind of stuff my little bro was into […]”(pg. 141)
Instead of addressing these concerns, the district defended the books as promoting “diversity” and “inclusion.”
The district held trial-like hearings where I had to defend my objections as if I were a lawyer — submitting evidence, calling and questioning witnesses, and facing objections from both the staff attorney and hearing officer. The district manipulated the process, changing rules, limiting evidence, and denying key witnesses. The system was designed to overwhelm parents like me.
Not surprisingly, I am the only parent who has taken it this far. The threat of facing this legal gauntlet has deterred others from continuing their challenges, effectively blocking their ability to appeal to the state Department of Education. The complexity and intimidation of the process have silenced their voices.
The district worked with activist groups to discredit me, sharing videos of my hearings with misleading commentary on social media. Staff also distributed the videos via email, leading to hostility from teachers and peer harassment of my older son. The environment became so toxic I had to withdraw both of my sons from the public school system.
However, some of the district’s strategies backfired. While they eagerly shared clips to defame me, one clip, showing the elementary school’s vice principal admitting it was appropriate for 8-year-olds to read about pornography, went viral among conservative groups. After this backlash, the district quickly pulled all recordings from their YouTube channel.
The district’s efforts to silence parents like me have been aggressive and coordinated. I’ve been labeled a “racist,” “bigot,” and “book banner.” But despite the public shaming and fallout, I won’t back down. I’ve taken my fight to the state level, filing an appeal challenging the Department of Education’s failure to enforce the law. God willing, we will see success soon.
As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil.” I urge parents everywhere to get involved, speak up, and challenge this inappropriate content being taught in schools.
Dr. Crystal Marull, Ph.D. (Gainesville, Florida), is a mother of three, professor, and distinguished advocate for educational standards. Broadly trained academically, she holds advanced degrees in Education and Psycholinguistics and is a certified Florida teacher and media specialist. As Senior Lecturer and Coordinator of the Online Language Program at the University of Florida, she has been recognized with awards such as the University of Florida Excellence in Teaching Award and for her leadership in online education. A strong advocate for parental rights, she has challenged her district’s practices regarding inappropriate content at both local and state levels.
