Books removed for a compliance review sit stacked on a table in the library of Ramstein High School near Kaiserslautern, Germany, in February 2025. (Jasmine Vu)
The Pentagon’s removal of nearly 600 books and lessons on race, gender and identity in accordance with a series of executive orders likely violated Defense Department school students’ First Amendment rights, according to a federal judge.
U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles on Monday ordered the immediate restoration of the restricted materials at five Department of Defense Education Activity schools.
DODEA did not seek to remove library books solely for “educational suitability” but to deny access to ideas determined to be “radical” or “divisive,” Giles said in a 44-page opinion.
The government “may not act to deny access to an idea simply because state officials disapprove of that idea for partisan or political reasons,” she wrote, quoting the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1982 decision in Island Trees School District v. Pico.
The executive orders and, by extension, the book removals, “do exactly this,” she added.
The ruling grants a request for a preliminary injunction filed in May by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of six military families and their 12 children.
The plaintiffs had asked for relief across all DODEA schools, but Giles denied the request in part because “the Supreme Court recently held that universal injunctions likely exceed the power Congress granted to federal courts,” she wrote.
Nevertheless, the ACLU said in a statement Monday that the decision sends a clear message that “DODEA’s censorship of books and curriculum materials is unconstitutional.”
Agency spokeswoman Jessica Tackaberry declined to comment on the decision, citing the ongoing litigation.
“DODEA remains committed to providing a high-quality, standards-based education for all military-connected students and will continue to follow established procedures,” Tackaberry said Tuesday in a statement.
The student plaintiffs range from pre-K to 11th grade and attend DODEA schools in Virginia, Kentucky, Italy and Japan.
The injunction applies only to the pertaining schools: Crossroads Elementary in Quantico, Va.; Barsanti Elementary at Fort Campbell, Ky.; Aviano Middle-High School in Italy; and Sollars Elementary and Edgren Middle-High School at Misawa Air Base in Japan.
The lawsuit was filed in April to challenge DODEA enforcement of three executive orders signed by President Donald Trump in late January.
They are titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling” and “Restoring America’s Fighting Force.” The complaint names DODEA and its director, Beth Schiavino-Narvaez, along with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as defendants.
Materials about slavery, Native American history, women’s history, LGBTQ+ identities and history, and sexual harassment and abuse prevention were removed from DODEA libraries and classrooms following the executive orders, and portions of the Advanced Placement psychology curriculum were no longer allowed to be taught in DODEA’s high schools, according to an ACLU statement.
In ordering the reinstatement of the books, Giles determined that the plaintiffs are “likely to succeed on the merits” of the case.
DODEA maintained that the books had not been banned but merely removed temporarily for a compliance review.
Giles, however, said the agency has not been transparent with the process, and she recently ordered the full list of 596 censored book titles to be filed publicly.
Giles also rejected DODEA’s argument that its library curation should be exempt from the First Amendment as an “expressive act” of government speech.
“DODEA school libraries lack the quintessential elements of government speech,” she ruled, adding that students must be free to “inquire, to study and to evaluate, to gain new maturity and understanding.”
