On November 13, 2012, a mother filed a lawsuit against the Davis County Schools in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, on behalf of her two children, A.W. and C.W. The Plaintiffs, represented by the ACLU and bringing suit under 42 U.S.C § 1983, sought injunctive and declaratory relief, as well as nominal damages, alleging that the school district violated their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights by removing a children's book, In Our Mothers' House, from the library shelves to a restricted access section. The book depicts a same-sex couple and their three adopted children. Specifically, the Plaintiffs alleged that the book should be returned to the regular collection and that similar books should not be restricted from student access. Plaintiffs also sought to class certification.

Defendant argued that the book violated Utah's sex education law, U.C.A. 1953 §53A-13-101, which prohibits sex-education curricula from using instructional materials that advocate homosexuality. Defendant also claimed that because elementary school students have structured time in the library, such time should be treated as part of the curriculum.

The matter was referred to alternative dispute resolution on December 11, 2012. It then settled. Defendants agreed to return the book to regular circulation, to not remove the book from libraries for any reason based on its content, and not to rely on Utah Code §53A-13-101 as a basis for content discrimination. Plaintiffs agreed that the book may be restricted on a per-student basis, just as any other book may, at the request of a parent or guardian. As part of the agreement, both parties filed motions to dismiss. The case closed on February 4, 2013.

Jeanette Pitts - 04/01/2013


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