Mat-Su Borough School District ordered to return banned books before school starts [Video]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Dozens of previously banned book titles from the Mat-Su Borough School District are being returned to school library shelves following a preliminary decision from a federal judge.

After removing 56 books from library circulation, the school district came under fire for not reviewing the books prior to removing them after concerns were voiced to the Mat-Su School Board in public comments in April 2023.

In April 2024, the Northern Justice Project lead counsel Savannah Fletcher requested a judge issue a preliminary injunction ordering the books be returned to school library shelves. According to a Tuesday press release from the ACLU of Alaska, Judge Gleason of the U.S. District Court of Alaska ordered that the school district return all but seven of the 56 book titles it removed.

Gleason ordered the books be returned to shelves prior to the start of school on Aug. 14. According to Fletcher, the books will remain available in libraries until a final …