Hinsdale D181 Counters Conservative Activist

HINSDALE, IL – A Hinsdale conservative activist says her group's efforts have resulted in a Hinsdale District 181 policy that lets parents opt their children out of school materials.

And Kristina McCloy contends that Concerned Parents of Illinois, which she founded, pressured the district to remove two books from the district's library collections.

The district denies those assertions.

McCloy, a former Downers Grove Township trustee, made the statements last week in the DuPage Policy Journal, a conservative online publication. She objects to what she considers sexualized and LGBT-themed materials.

"By standing firm, we forced them to change, and today, parents in D181 finally have the right to shield their children from this age-inappropriate agenda," McCloy told the publication. "This is what happens when moms fight together for parental rights and never back down. Thank you to Judicial Watch for standing with parents and defending their rights, and to D181 for finally listening to its parents."

On Tuesday, Patch asked the district about McCloy's statements. A day later, the district emailed a statement to the public, saying it enacted the opt-out policy years ago.

"We recently received a few questions regarding curriculum information that is being shared across the community, which has caused some confusion that we would like to clarify," the district said.

In 2003, the district enacted a process to approve curricular materials, according to the statement. It involves a committee of teachers, administrators and district curriculum officials.

In 2016, the district developed a process by which parents could express their concerns or opt out of certain lessons and materials for their children, the district said.

"Please know that any individual 'opt-out' request does not have an effect on what is taught in our classrooms," the district said.

In the DuPage Policy Journal story, McCloy also said the district removed two books from its library collection – "My Princess Boy" by Cheryl Kilodavis and "It Feels Good to Be Yourself: A Book About Gender Identity" by Theresa Thorn.

Asked about this, Karen O'Connor, the district's spokeswoman, said the district has not removed books from its libraries.

When Patch contacted McCloy, she stood by her assertions.

"As is evident from the June 16th Board meeting, the D181 Board adopted a policy that affirms a parent’s right to prevent access to objectionable material by their own children," McCloy said in an email. "This change came after my specific request for such a policy, which the administration initially denied."

As for the two books, McCloy said the district's online catalog indicates they are not in the collection.

"If they are still physically present in the library, why are they not reflected in the catalogue?" she said.

O'Connor said the district made no substantial changes to its book challenge policy earlier this summer. But she said the school board made a few key adjustments to the process for challenges.

"These changes are designed to ensure the policy is used as intended, but the intent of the policy remains intact," O'Connor said.

Among the changes, she said, are limiting challenges to District 181 parents and residents, preventing others from influencing school library collections.

The district also removed the option of challenges by phone. All challenges must now be in writing, maintaining a clear, documented process, O'Connor said.

"These updates reinforce the core concept of the policy, which has been in place since 2016," she said. "Our goal has always been to maintain a consistent process for addressing parent concerns."