Elementary and middle school administrators in a Central Arkansas school district ordered faculty and staff to remove a book from library shelves in October after a parent complained it was “grooming” children by portraying LGBTQ+ characters.

Michael Moon submitted a library book challenge form to the Benton School District on Oct. 2 asking for the novel “Jo: An Adaptation of Little Women (Sort Of)” by Kathleen Gros to be removed from the library at Mountain View Middle School.

On Oct. 7, the school’s principal, assistant principal, media specialist and two language arts teachers “met and determined the book ‘does not meet the selection criteria and needs to be moved from the library,’” according to internal Benton School District correspondence the Advocate obtained Tuesday via a public records request.

All Arkansas schools are required to have library content challenge policies in place, and Act 372 of 2023 put the final say on the availability of challenged books in the hands of school boards. District correspondence does not indicate that the complaint reached the school board before Mountain View Principal Chris Johnson informed two district superintendents in an Oct. 7 email that the challenged book would be removed from the school library.

In his challenge form, Moon said the novel reimagining the classic “Little Women” had “no pedagogical purpose” and instead had “a pedophilia purpose.”

“My wife and I believe that the intention of the author is to pervert children’s sense of self and is therefore not only morally bankrupt, but also reveals the very sinister nature of the author,” Moon wrote.

A day earlier, Moon posted his opposition to the book on social media, and Mountain View Middle School Media Specialist Kristin Spadaro “let administrators know that the book was considered inappropriate” and that including it in the library was an oversight on her part, according to district documents.

Spadaro cited both Act 372 and Act 917 of 2025 as reasons to remove the book from the library. Act 917 of 2025 requires public elementary schools to “store non-age-appropriate sexual content, including without limitation a book or other resource that is located in the library media center that is available to the public, in a locked compartment within a designated area.”

Act 917 developed from parental complaints against LGBTQ+ books available in the Mountain Pine School District in 2023. The law applies to grades K-5, and Mountain View Middle School contains grades 5-7.

Later on Oct. 1, Angie Grant Elementary School Principal Stephanie Givens emailed school staff and told them the district requested the removal of two books, including the book Moon challenged.

“You may store them in my office if needed,” Givens wrote, attaching photos of the Kathleen Gros novel and “From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler” by E.L. Konigsburg.

A local conflict

Benton is the county seat of Saline County, a hotbed of conservative efforts against the availability of LGBTQ+ books to minors. In April 2023, Saline County Library Director Patty Hector refused to relocate books at the request of the all-Republican Saline County Quorum Court.

The quorum court responded by voting to give County Judge Matt Brumley hiring and firing power over library staff, and Brumley fired Hector in October 2023. Hector sued the county and Brumley in federal court earlier this year, alleging unconstitutional retaliation and violation of her free speech rights.

In October, Moody denied the defendants’ motion to have Hector’s claim of unconstitutional retaliation dismissed. The case is set to go to trial before U.S. District Judge James Moody in July 2026.

The quorum court asked Hector to keep certain books away from minors shortly after Act 372 became law. In July 2023, U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks temporarily blocked two portions of the law from going into effect: the provision that gave city and county officials authority over challenged library books and a provision that created criminal liability for school and public librarians who distribute content that some consider “obscene” or “harmful to minors,” two terms the law does not define.

Brooks made the injunction permanent in December 2024, and the state appealed the ruling in January.

The 18 plaintiffs in the lawsuit did not challenge the portion of Act 372 giving school boards authority over challenged library content.

Legal Advice

Two weeks after Benton school officials ordered two books hidden from students, the North Little Rock School District ordered staff to block students’ digital access to dozens of LGBTQ+ books. Administrators called it “a proactive step to ensure all content used in our classrooms is appropriate for our students and respectful of family beliefs.”

Several parents expressed opposition to the decision, calling it censorship and unrepresentative of all NLRSD families, in emails to the district that the Advocate obtained via a public records request.

As of Wednesday, NLRSD spokesperson Dustin Barnes had not responded to emails from the Advocate asking what prompted the memo.

In an October statement to the Arkansas Times, Barnes said: “The North Little Rock School District is bound to comply with all state laws while continuing to foster a rich learning environment that values respect, belonging, and academic growth for every student. Our actions are not based on individual or personal beliefs, but rather on the need to adhere to state law and maintain consistency across our schools.”

The Times reported that attorney Jay Bequette recommended hiding the books in question from students after NLRSD administrators asked for his guidance in response to a parent’s complaint.

Bequette is a partner at Little Rock law firm Bequette, Billingsley & Kees. Another partner at the same firm, Cody Kees, assisted the Benton School District in its response to the Advocate’s public records request about its removal of books.