FORT CAMPBELL, KY (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Families of students in DoDEA schools on military installations, including four students from Fort Campbell, filed a lawsuit Tuesday arguing that DoDEA’s book removals and curricular changes following executive orders from President Donald Trump violate their First Amendment rights.
The suit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of 12 students from six families that attend Department of Defense Education Activity schools as children of active-duty servicemembers. DoDEA operates 161 schools across 11 countries, seven states, Guam and Puerto Rico. As previously reported by Clarksville Now, since January, their schools have removed books, altered curricula, and canceled events that the government has accused of promoting “gender ideology” or “divisive equity ideology.” This has included materials about slavery, Native American history, LGBTQ identities and history, and preventing sexual harassment and abuse, as well as portions of the Advanced Placement (AP) Psychology curriculum, according to an ACLU news release.
“Learning is a sacred and foundational right that is now being limited for students in DoDEA schools,” said Natalie Tolley, a plaintiff on behalf of her three children at Aviano. “The implementation of these EOs, without any due process or parental or professional input, is a violation of our children’s right to access information that prevents them from learning about their own histories, bodies, and identities. I have three daughters, and they, like all children, deserve access to books that both mirror their own life experiences and that act as windows that expose them to greater diversity. The administration has now made that verboten in DoDEA schools.”
The Fort Campbell plaintiffs include three children from one family and one child from another. They are two fourth-graders, a kindergartner and a child in pre-K, all enrolled at Barsanti Elementary School. The other families are based at Quantico, Virginia, USA; Aviano, Italy; and Misawa Air Base, Japan.
Clarksville Now reached out to DoDEA for comment, and a spokesman declined, citing pending litigation.
| PREVIOUSLY: Books mentioning slavery, civil rights removed from shelves at Fort Campbell schools
Executive orders on DEI, gender
In January 2025, President Donald Trump signed three executive orders which led to these removals: Executive Order (EO) 14168 titled “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government”; EO 14185 titled “Restoring America’s Fighting Force”; and EO 14190 titled “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling.” The suit names Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and administrators of the DoDEA system, arguing that by revoking students’ access to books and curricula about race and gender, defendants are harming students’ First Amendment right to receive information, the release said.
The Department of Defense has also prohibited cultural awareness months, including Black History Month, Pride Month, Women’s History Month, and National Hispanic Heritage Month. Schools have also released guidance for yearbooks to prohibit students from using them to promote “gender ideology” or “social transition.” The lawsuit cites Clarksville Now reports on incidents at Fort Campbell Schools.
Books removed from the shelves within some DoDEA schools have reportedly included “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini; “Freckleface Strawberry” by Julianne Moore; “Hillbilly Elegy” by Vice President JD Vance; “The Antiracist Kid” by Tiffany Jewell; and a preparation guide for the AP Psychology exam.
“Our clients have a right to receive an education that includes an open and honest dialogue about America’s history,” said Corey Shapiro, legal director for the ACLU of Kentucky. “Censoring books and canceling assignments about the contributions of Black Americans is not only wrong, but antithetical to our First Amendment rights.”
The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Virginia, and the ACLU of Kentucky.
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