Judge Blocks Book Removals at Five Military Schools

Federal Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles granted a preliminary injunction ordering the Department of Defense Education Activity to immediately restore library books and curricular materials removed from five DoD-run schools and to bar further removals while the case proceeds. The order applies to Crossroads Elementary (Quantico, Va.), Barsanti Elementary (Fort Campbell, Ky.), Aviano Middle‑High (Italy), Sollars Elementary (Misawa, Japan) and Edgren Middle High (Misawa, Japan) and does not extend to DoDEA’s roughly 161 schools worldwide. The American Civil Liberties Union sued on behalf of six military families (12 students and six parents), arguing the removals — tied to Trump-era executive orders targeting “gender ideology” and other so-called divisive topics — violated students’ First Amendment rights. Judge Giles found the plaintiffs showed a likelihood of success and concrete harm, rejected the Pentagon’s arguments that the removals were government speech or purely pedagogical, and preserved students’ access to the restored materials while the litigation continues.