A Denton ISD grandmother is fighting to remove books she considers to be inappropriate from the school district’s libraries.
Debi Scaggs has several grandchildren in Denton ISD and has challenged several library books she claims promote “transgender ideology,” according to a press release.
Although three books were removed, Denton ISD opted to keep the following two purportedly pro-transgender books by author Sarah Hoffman: Jacob’s New Dress and Jacob’s Room to Choose.
Citizens Defending Freedom (CDF), a non-profit organization, released a press release on February 19 demanding the removal of the books, stating:
“The December 18 decision [by Denton ISD] retains ‘Jacob’s New Dress’ and ‘Jacob’s Room to Choose’ in the library and allows their use in classrooms. Scaggs contends that these books are educationally unsuitable and do not meet the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) collection development standards for school libraries, underscoring the need for these discussions to be within the purview of parents with a focus on foundational subjects.”
Scaggs said in the CDF press release, “Parents should address this topic at home based on their child’s maturity. Introducing it to young children may be seen as indoctrination, planting seeds in young minds not mature enough to navigate such complexities. When a school district intentionally provides such educationally unsuitable material, particularly without considering age appropriateness, the district increases the risk of enabling gender confusion, which adversely affects or endangers the mental health of the students.”
Denton ISD is not the only school district in North Texas with officials facing criticism from parents concerned about the appropriateness of classroom and library materials. Concerned parents also accused Dallas ISD of failing to hear them out, claiming the district has maintained a number of potentially inappropriate titles on its library shelves, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Scaggs said she plans on attending the February 27 Denton ISD school board meeting and told CDF that she is willing to file a Level 3 grievance with the district, which would allow Scaggs to bring her case before the school board regarding the books in question if action is not taken to address the issue.
An attorney helping Scaggs in her mission is Mitch Little, the lawyer who helped defend Attorney General Ken Paxton during the impeachment trial in 2023. Little is also running for a seat in the Texas House, reported by DX.