Parents call police after Illinois teacher offers LGBTQ book to her students

An Illinois teacher of over 20 years had the cops called on her after she gave her middle school students the option of reading a book about sexuality and gender.

Sarah Bonner held a “book tasting” for students in March and offered an array of fiction and nonfiction titles including Juno Dawson’s “This Book Is Gay,” which quickly became the epicenter of a massive controversy when parents called the police over the book choice.

“I wanted to give them a smattering of fiction and nonfiction to choose from on a day that we call ‘Reading Monday,’” Bonner told Today.com. “We just read and celebrate books.”

Bonner, 42, learned that parents had gotten hold of pictures their eighth-graders snapped on their phones of the book during class.

The parents filed a police report against the teacher for child endangerment.

“The notion that I was putting children in danger because of books — I didn’t feel safe,” Bonner told Today. “I knew I couldn’t go back.”

The best-selling nonfiction book has been promoted by publishers as an informational guide for “everyone, regardless of gender or sexual preference.” It is also the ninth-most banned book in America, according to Publishers Weekly.

The day after she learned of the police report, Bonner received a letter saying she had been placed on administrative leave at Heyworth Junior High School.

The letter, which was reviewed by Today, said the district “recently became aware of certain allegations” against Bonner and was investigating. Until the investigation was complete, Bonner was told “not to perform any duties for the school district.”

Instead, Bonner decided to resign.

“My first instinct was the kids,” Bonner said, noting that many spoke of how her classroom was always “a safe place” during a special board meeting where the district voted to accept her resignation.

Bonner told the outlet how she tried to help students acclimate to “bigger, more diverse spaces” by offering them a diverse library of literary texts, including books centering on black, Indigenous and LGBTQ characters and themes.

“If I am a safe place and I’m leaving, what does that do for our students?” Bonner asked. “‘What about the kids?’ has always been a question rooted in everything I do.”

Bonner expressed disbelief over the situation, slamming the “heightened culture war that’s continuing to build nationwide,” which she says caused the backlash to the book in the first place.

While she understands parents “know their children best,” she said the difference is that she loves and cares for all students.

“In regards to the book that was challenged in my classroom, it was a message to the LGBTQ+ community in my room and in my district that they’re ‘less than,’” she said.

Over 1,600 books were banned during the 2021-2022 school year, according to a report from PEN America. More than half of the books that were either banned or challenged had LGBTQ+ themes.

In 2022, efforts to ban books in the US hit a record high, according to a report from the American Library Association.