Chino Valley Unified School District removed more than 20 library books focused on LGBTQ+ and minority experiences without the public hearings state law requires, according to a complaint filed with the California Department of Education. The complaint lists 22 titles allegedly pulled from shelves since 2023, including Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye and Beloved, Elizabeth Acevedo's The Poet X, and Gabby Rivera's Juliet Takes a Breath. Board President Sonja Shaw, who is currently a candidate for California Superintendent of Public Instruction, has dismissed the allegations as politically motivated.
The complaint was filed by Public Counsel on behalf of district parents Kristi Hirst and Tracie Perez, according to Daily Bulletin, which reports that Public Counsel is a nonprofit Los Angeles-based law firm. The complaint alleges the school board targeted marginalized identities and vulnerable communities, and that the removed books are predominantly LGBTQ+ and minority stories written by authors from those communities. Titles named in the filing also include Push by Sapphire, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews, It's Perfectly Normal by Robie H. Harris, and several Sarah J. Maas novels, including A Court of Thorns and Roses and Kingdom of Ash. Some of the removed titles have appeared on the American Library Association's 2025 most challenged books list, per the same report.
How the Policy Took Shape
The Chino Valley school board approved its original library materials policy in 2023, with Shaw stating at the time that the goal was to remove sexually explicit material, according to KVCR News. Opponents at the time argued that existing district review policies already addressed instructional content. The board later revised the policy, which now requires a title to stay on the shelf if it lacks sexually explicit material, gives principals two days to review a flagged book, requires the principal to notify the superintendent within three days, and requires the superintendent to notify the board within two days. The revised policy also calls for a public hearing within 45 days of a book's removal and requires that pulled titles be taken from all school libraries within five days of a vote.
The complaint alleges that several titles were pulled shortly after the original policy passed without any hearing at all, and that books were removed without documentation, accountability or community input. Karen England provided a list of books discussed at an October 2023 school board meeting that included excerpts from Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and works by Ellen Hopkins and Sarah J. Maas. The complaint separately notes that officials asked staff for an inventory of challenged books in fall 2023, and that while a formal November 2023 request to remove the Bible in all its forms was never executed, 14 other titles were formally requested for removal in October 2024, according to the Los Angeles Times. The complaint lists this alongside complaints against the Bible and John Green's 2006 novel Looking for Alaska, alleging the two remained on the shelf for political reasons.
State Law and the Fight Over Enforcement
The complaint alleges the district's policy violates California laws that ensure access to inclusive education materials, prohibit discrimination, limit the removal of reading materials, and protect First Amendment rights. Central to that argument is Assembly Bill 1078, also known as the Safe Place to Learn Act, which Governor Gavin Newsom signed in September 2023. The law, known as the Freedom to Read Act among other names in California's political shorthand, requires a two-thirds supermajority school board vote to remove instructional materials and requires districts to obtain permission from the State Board of Education before pulling reading materials, while authorizing the state to purchase necessary textbooks and reduce funding for districts that don't comply.
The California Department of Education has confirmed it received the complaint and said it is reviewing whether the district sought the required permission or could face a fine under the law, per a department spokesperson cited by the same report. Chino Valley spokesperson Andi Johnston said the district had not received a copy of the complaint, and separately confirmed in June 2025 that the district does not keep a list of books removed from its libraries.
Shaw Pushes Back Amid Statewide Campaign
Shaw called the complaint politically motivated and said it was designed to create headlines. She said she first learned of the filing from news media, argued that the Department of Education lacks authority to order the district to return the books, and maintained that removing sexually explicit material is a basic responsibility of the school board. Shaw also said librarians had authority to remove books on their own after the policy passed.
The dispute lands as Shaw runs for California Superintendent of Public Instruction, having advanced to the November 2026 general election runoff against Democrat Richard Barrera after leading the June 2026 primary, according to Stocktonia News. Barrera has secured endorsements from Equality California and the California Teachers Association, while Shaw has raised $165,000 in campaign funds that include contributions from conservative political action committees. Shaw's tenure on the Chino Valley board previously sparked a lawsuit from Attorney General Rob Bonta after the district became the first in California to pass a parental notification policy on student gender changes in July 2023, a policy the district later updated in March 2024 to focus on student record changes.
Parents Push for a Different Process
Kristi Hirst, who has three children in the district and co-founded Our Schools USA, said parents should have a say over the books their children can access, but argued the district failed to follow its own rules when it pulled books without a hearing. She has proposed that a committee of parents, teachers and librarians read contested books and hold public discussions before any removal decision is made. Our Schools USA describes its mission as supporting equity in education.
Chino Valley is not alone in adopting these kinds of restrictions. Redlands Unified pulled or restricted The Bluest Eye and Push within months of implementing its own policy and later approved a broader policy on explicit library books in August 2025. Temecula Valley Unified has also faced controversies and litigation over educational materials, and Public Counsel had already sued that district in August 2023 over restrictions on critical race theory and inclusive curricula, according to the California Teachers Association. Orange Unified has also faced political disputes over school materials.
The Chino Valley complaint also arrives amid broader debates over school library books. Whether the California Department of Education will invoke AB 1078's penalty provisions against Chino Valley Unified, and how the complaint might shape Shaw's statewide campaign, remain open questions as the November election approaches.
