LANSING, Michigan — The Michigan Civil Rights Commission has asked Attorney General Dana Nessel's office for a formal opinion on whether the banning of books and LGBTQ pride flags within schools violates a state law against discrimination.
The question could have legal repercussions in Michigan and potentially provide a broader path for students and parents to seek intervention from the state Department of Civil Rights on book prohibitions that have proliferated in some districts.
Lamont Satchel, general counsel for the civil rights department, submitted the opinion request to Nessel on May 26 and asked for a response by July 24, according to a document obtained by FOIA Services Michigan.
Michigan's Civil Rights Commission has asked Attorney General Dana Nessel for a formal opinion on whether banning books with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender themes in schools violates the state's anti-discrimination law.
The eight-member Michigan Civil Rights Commission voted in April to seek the Democratic attorney general's input. Commissioner Luke Londo of Hazel Park proposed the move because, he said, the banning of books with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender themes went against the protections embedded in the state's anti-discrimination policy.
"It just really felt like those actions fundamentally violated the spirit of the law," Londo said.
The commission is charged with investigating alleged discrimination in Michigan.
Londo, who is bisexual, mentioned Dearborn Public Schools officials' decision to ban some books from their libraries and Gwinn Area Community Schools' removal of LGBTQ pride flags from classrooms.
In November, Dearborn schools prohibited the book "Red, White and Royal Blue" by Casey McQuiston. Wikipedia describes the book as a "2019 LGBT romance novel." The American Library Association listed another book, "Gender Queer: A Memoir" by Maia Kobabe, as the most challenged book of 2022.
In an interview Monday, Londo didn't specifically discuss "Red, White and Royal Blue" or "Gender Queer." But Londo said he broadly believed banning books because they feature same-sex couples should violate the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act.
He also said his opinion request would apply to all protected classes in Michigan. Nessel's office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Parents and community members packed Dearborn school board meetings last fall to advocate for the banning of books with sexual content.
Michigan's civil rights law currently prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, real estate and education based on religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height and weight.
In March, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer approved a long-sought expansion of the law to also ban discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. The changes to the law will likely take effect early next year.
The civil rights commission asked Nessel whether "banning and censorship of content and materials, prohibition of paraphernalia and prevention of affiliate groups and safe spaces in educational institutions constitutes a violation" of the law.
David Worthams, one of the commissioners, said he wanted the panel to be prepared to confront the book bans with legal advice on how the civil rights law and the First Amendment impact the matter.
“I think it’s a pretty big issue, frankly," Worthams said.
Wayne State University describes a "safe space" as a place that is "intended to be free of bias, conflict, criticism or potentially threatening actions, ideas or conversations."
Londo said he's not aware of a ban on "safe spaces" in Michigan schools, but he noted that such prohibitions have been put in place in other states, like Pasco County, Florida.
The civil rights commission's request was vague and lacked the specifics needed for Nessel to respond, contended David Kallman, a conservative lawyer based in Lansing.
Such a determination should be fact based, and there were unanswered questions about who would be prevented from accessing a book, what grade levels a ban would apply to and whether the books were pornographic, Kallman said.
The Elliott-Larsen law was meant to be about programs and services, Kallman added.
"We’re getting into issues way beyond that," he said.
The opinion request came against the backdrop of schools becoming increasingly hostile places for LGBTQ youth, said Erin Knott, executive director of Equality Michigan, a nonprofit organization that works to promote respect for Michigan residents regardless of their gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation.
School board meetings in multiple districts have recently featured debates over whether to allow teachers to wear LGBTQ pride lapel pins or to have pride flags in their classrooms, Knott said.
"We’ve started looking at what’s happening with school boards all across the state," Knott said. "This is not a problem that is unique to rural districts, suburban districts or urban districts. It’s everywhere.”
If Nessel says that book or flag bans represent violations of state law, people could use the Department of Civil Rights complaint process to seek investigations, Londo said.
Those probes could eventually allow for penalties to be issued or court proceedings, he said.
--------
