The North Little Rock School District (NLRSD) has instructed its elementary school staff to immediately remove a selection of books containing LGBTQ+ themes from a widely used digital reading platform. The directive, issued on October 21, 2025, specifically targets materials available through the Epic Reading application, a popular tool in classrooms across the country.
A formal letter from the district's top administrators, including Superintendent Dr. Gregory J. Pilewski, was sent to principals and teachers, outlining the required action. The communication mandates that educators hide the specified titles to prevent students from accessing them.
Key Takeaways
- The North Little Rock School District directed staff to remove specific books from the Epic Reading digital platform.
- The books targeted were identified as containing "LGBTQIA+ content."
- The order was communicated via a formal letter from the superintendent and other key administrators.
- Teachers were given instructions on how to "hide" the titles to make them inaccessible to students.
A Directive to Restrict Access
On Tuesday, the leadership of the North Little Rock School District issued a clear mandate to its elementary school educators. The directive focuses on the digital library platform Epic Reading, a service that provides students with access to thousands of books, videos, and quizzes.
The official communication was co-signed by five senior district officials: Superintendent Dr. Gregory J. Pilewski, Assistant Superintendent of School Performance Network A Dr. Thomas Rogers, Assistant Superintendent of School Performance Network B Jacob Smith, Assistant Superintendent of Network Support Services Dr. LeAnn Stoll, and English Language Arts Coordinator Carmen Langston.
"Staff members are required to hide the following books, which contain LGBTQIA+ content, from their Epic Reading accounts. This action will prevent students from accessing these titles. Please complete this process as soon as possible."
The letter included a specific list of titles to be removed and provided technical instructions for teachers on how to navigate their Epic Reading dashboard to execute the directive. The term "hide" in the context of the platform means the content becomes invisible and unsearchable for students using the class account.
The Platform at the Center of the Decision
Epic Reading is a significant educational tool used in thousands of schools, offering a vast digital library tailored to students 12 and under. The platform's business model allows teachers to access a library of over 40,000 titles for free during school hours, making it an attractive resource for educators aiming to supplement their classroom libraries without personal or district expense.
The service is designed to give students a degree of autonomy in selecting what they want to read, a feature often praised by literacy experts for fostering a love of reading. Teachers can assign books, but students can also browse the library independently. It is this independent browsing capability that the NLRSD directive appears to target, by removing certain books from the pool of available options entirely.
What is Epic Reading?
Epic is a digital reading platform for children aged 12 and under. It provides access to a large collection of e-books, audiobooks, and educational videos from major publishers. Teachers can create student profiles, assign reading materials, and track progress. A key feature is the ability for students to explore the library freely based on their interests.
The National Context of Book Challenges
The decision in North Little Rock does not occur in a vacuum. Across the United States, school districts have become focal points for intense debates over the content available to students in school libraries, both physical and digital. Challenges to books, particularly those dealing with themes of race, gender identity, and sexuality, have risen sharply in recent years.
Organizations that track book challenges report that a significant percentage of titles targeted for removal involve LGBTQ+ characters or themes. These debates often pit concerns over parental rights and age-appropriateness against principles of intellectual freedom and the importance of providing diverse and representative literature for all students.
Rising Book Challenges
National reports indicate a surge in attempts to ban or restrict books in public schools and libraries. A majority of these challenges are initiated by a small number of individuals and organized groups, and they disproportionately target books written by or about people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.
While the NLRSD letter did not specify the catalyst for the decision, it reflects a broader trend where school administrators are taking pre-emptive action to curate digital content available to students. Unlike challenges to physical books, which often involve public meetings and review committees, decisions about digital collections can sometimes be implemented more swiftly by administrators.
Implications for Educators and Students
The directive places teachers in the position of implementing the content restriction. They are now responsible for altering their digital classroom libraries to comply with the district's order. This move directly impacts the range of materials students in North Little Rock's elementary schools can access through the Epic platform.
Supporters of such measures often argue that they give parents more control over the topics their young children are exposed to and ensure that classroom materials are aligned with their definition of community values. They may see it as a necessary step to focus on core academic subjects without introducing complex social topics.
Conversely, opponents argue that removing books featuring diverse identities sends a harmful message to LGBTQ+ students and their families, suggesting their experiences are not valid or appropriate for discussion. They also raise concerns about censorship and the importance of a well-rounded education that exposes children to a variety of perspectives and prepares them for a diverse world.
The immediate impact is a narrowing of the digital library for North Little Rock students. The long-term effects on classroom discourse, student access to information, and the role of digital platforms in education will continue to be a subject of observation and debate within the community and beyond.
