ACLU of Colorado Statement on Elizabeth School District’s Abandonment of its Appeal in Book Ban Lawsuit

DENVER - On January 20, 2026, the Elizabeth School District abruptly abandoned its appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, after pursuing the appeal for ten months. The district’s abandonment came just days before the conclusion of the appeal and oral argument before a panel of three federal judges, which had been scheduled for January 23, 2026. The Court of Appeals noted in its January 21, 2026 order that “the court has expended valuable time and resources studying the briefing and record in this matter,” and that the School District’s last-minute action was “not well-taken.” After ESD abandoned its appeal, the case now returns to the district court where it will proceed to trial.

The following statement can be attributed to Tim Macdonald, ACLU of Colorado legal director:

“The Elizabeth School District engaged in blatant view-point censorship by removing books from school libraries that do not align with their political views. We filed this case to protect the constitutional rights of students, staff, parents, and authors, and to prevent the school district from banning more books by Toni Morrison, Khaled Hosseini, and other authors just because the district opposes the viewpoints of the books and authors. The court found that removing these books violated long-standing precedent and was contrary to fundamental First Amendment protections. More than ten months ago, the court ordered the school district to return the banned books to library shelves.

“Instead of accepting the district court’s decision and prioritizing their time, energy, and resources into serving the school community, the school district spent massive amounts of money, time, and resources pursuing a fruitless appeal that furthered their political agenda at the cost of its community members. Just days before concluding the appeal with an oral argument before a panel of three federal judges, and long after all the work had been done on the appeal, ESD abruptly changed course and abandoned the appeal. Far from seeking to conserve its allegedly limited resources, ESD spent those resources on a wasteful appeal and then sought retreat when it was time to face the Court. We hope that the district will learn from its mistakes, agree to stop banning books, and return to the important job of teaching kids to read. If they will not, we will continue to expose the district’s censorship and fight for the freedom of all students to read without government interference.”