ROCKFORD, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The Michigan Court of Appeals has spoken, and its message is loud and clear: if you’re a former student or an anonymous taxpayer, your opinion on school library books doesn’t count – at least not in their court.

The ruling came after a group called Parents and Taxpayers Against Pornography in Rockford Public Schools filed a lawsuit over 14 books, including the frequently challenged “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe. The plaintiffs argued the books were “sexually explicit,” “pornographic” and even criminally inappropriate for minors.

Court to plaintiffs: no student, no standing, no case.

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But the court dismissed the case with the judges ruling that the plaintiffs – who aren’t current students – weren’t directly harmed and therefore had no standing. Plus the court added that state law doesn’t give private citizens the green light to enforce obscenity statutes via lawsuits.

The lawsuit was sparked by a Rockford High School bulletin board that advertised “banned and challenged books available in this library.”

The plaintiffs wanted the district punished, asking it to cough up 1% of its state funding for the past two years. The court’s answer? A resounding “No.”

Explicit doesn’t equal illegal – and literary value wins the day.

Kent County Judge George Quist, who agreed that some of the content was “explicit,” said the books didn’t meet the legal standard of being “harmful to minors.” Why? Because apparently they have literary value by receiving accolades or being on best-seller lists. Also, none of the 14 books are required reading. Rockford Superintendent Steve Matthews has said that students choose whether to read them and parents can opt their kids out.

As for the books in question, they range from Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye to semi-graphic LGBTQ memoirs, some of which touch on sex, trauma, and identity. However, none were found to contain anything illegal or beyond the bounds of educational relevance, with Judge Quist ruling that the materials do not meet the legal definition of “sex education” instructional content and are just available in the school library.

For now, Gender Queer and its literary companions are staying put on Rockford school library shelves. In short, the court says that unless you’re a current student or have a legal dog in the fight, you don’t get to play librarian.