President Donald Trump’s administration is seeking the removal and review of certain books from Department of Defense Education Activity schools, “potentially related to gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology.”

According to the Guardian, a memo was sent out Monday to parents of students at Pentagon schools stating that library books would be under a “compliance review.”

Prior to the memo on Monday, the Washington Post reported Friday that school administrators with the Department of Defense Education Activity received a separate memo ordering the removal of certain class materials.

The memo stated that certain books will be removed from circulation that do not align with the Trump administration’s directives to eliminate “gender ideology” and “discriminatory equity ideology.”

There are approximately 67,000 students comprising 160 Pentagon schools that could be affected by the review and book removals.

Several materials already under review include:

• Black history month lessons for sixth graders
• “Freckleface Strawberry” by actor Julianne Moore, a book for children ages 4 to 8 and tells the story of a girl coming to love her freckles.
• Fifth grade lessons on immigration
• “No Truth Without Ruth”, a picture book about late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

According to NBC News, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was booed Tuesday by military families for implementing anti-DEI initiatives within the Department of Defense.

The Trump administration’s compliance review of books that do not match partisan definitions is similar to a battle waging in Alabama.

Over the past couple of years book challenges have been brought against Alabama public libraries claiming certain material should be moved due to sexual or explicit themes.

Many of these challenges were part of a coordinated campaign by conservative organization, Moms For Liberty, targeting books about gender or sexuality aimed at younger audiences.

Last year, Alabama legislators filed bills to extend obscenity laws to public libraries. This could then lead to librarians being criminalized for not removing “obscene” books or materials challenged by patrons.

Although the legislation did not pass, lawmakers quickly re-filed similar legislation, HB4 and SB6, ahead of the 2025 legislative session.

Book challengers have primarily argued against books with LGBTQ+ themes or promote “gender ideology” as they claim these books are inherently obscene or not fit for minors.

Under the Trump administration’s compliance review it is yet to be determined how certain books will be considered unfit for student’s to access.