School district pauses diversity program as parents complain about trans book

The Murray School District suspended a diversity and inclusion program after parents complained a third-grade teacher read a book about a transgender child.

A young student at Horizon Elementary School brought a book from home titled Call Me Max.

“When Max starts school, the teacher hesitates to call out the name on the attendance sheet. Something doesn’t seem to fit. Max lets he know the name he wants to be called by — a boy’s name. This begins Max’s journey as he makes new friends and reveals his feelings about his identity to his parents. Written with warmth and sensitivity by trans writer Kyle Lukoff, this book is a sweet and age-appropriate introduction to what it means to be transgender,” reads the books promotional description.

Students in the class began to ask questions as the teacher was reading the book, according to District spokesman Doug Perry. One, Perry said, was about puberty, which the teacher deflected. He noted the teacher hadn’t read the book before starting to read it. Some students talked to their families about the book and the questions being asked, prompting parents to call the school and district out of anger the book was read without prior permission.

Though the book wasn’t part of the Equity Book Bundles program, the District decided to put the program on hold and review all titles.

Perry said books similar to Call Me Max might “cause concern.”

The equity book program is more focused on race and racism and introducing students to more authors of color.

A page announcing the books and the program was removed from the school’s website. A graphic on an archive of the deleted page shows LGBTQ-related books, including Rainbow Revolutionaries, 50 LGBTQ+ people who made history, and Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag.

The district has not yet publicly announced if the program will be restarted and what books, if any, will be removed from it.