September 17, 2026 — As part of his ongoing commitment to transparency and student safety, Superintendent Chris Ragsdale updated the Board and community about the District’s ongoing book review process. 

While school media centers routinely review and update their collections, the Superintendent explained that The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison is being removed from Cobb schools because it contains sexually explicit material not suitable for children.

During the review process, several passages were found to violate the District’s standards for content acceptable for 6th graders through 12th graders. 

Content advisory: 

The following excerpt contains graphic language depicting the rape of an 11-year-old girl by her father.

“He wanted to break her neck, tenderly… his eleven-year-old daughter… he wanted to fu** her tenderly… the gigantic thrust he made into her… removing himself from her was so painful… he snatched his genitalia out of the dry harbor of her vagina… she appeared to have fainted.”

Source: Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye, p. 161-163. 

The quotes above combine noncontinuous selections from the cited text; ellipses indicate omitted language. The District considered the language and its context in reaching its decision.

“The words speak for themselves,” Superintendent Ragsdale said. “Both as a father and as a superintendent, I think about a parent having to explain to their sixth-grade daughter after she encounters explicit descriptions of child incest and rape in a book provided at school, without parents' knowledge. As the superintendent responsible for the instruction of 100,000 students, I do not have the luxury of making that decision for other parents and their children.”

Other works by Toni Morrison remain available in Cobb schools. 

Cobb’s library media rule provides for qualified personnel to evaluate materials and recognizes parents' right to raise concerns through established procedures. It also requires library materials to support the curriculum and District goals and subjects their selection to Georgia law, including requirements concerning material harmful to minors.

If you or your child is struggling, going through a difficult time, or needs someone to talk to, please reach out to your school counselor or social worker. Our school counselors and social workers are here to listen, care for students and families, and help connect you with the support and resources you need. 

For additional information and FAQ about Cobb’s library review process and previously withdrawn titles, click here.

Superintendent Ragsdale’s Complete Remarks:

Once again, I am forced to recognize that we are in a political season, and it often seems the truth goes missing during this season. 

I also recognize that I am not a small target for those who are unhappy with the success of this district and our focus on student success. They look past Cobb's performance and teaching quality and lobby for Cobb to look more like other districts who better align with their political goals. 

First, we do not allow students unrestricted access to age-inappropriate, lewd, vulgar, and sexually explicit materials. It is being repeatedly alleged that because we do not, I do not support teachers. 

That is absurd. 

I am a huge supporter of our teachers and have been for more than a decade. Since day one as interim superintendent, I have said this District is one team, and that team has two kinds of members. Those who teach and those who serve those who teach. And we live that every day. 

Education is about talent, and I have repeatedly recommended to this Board that Cobb prioritize attracting and supporting the best talent in this state. And we have. 

All over this state, we are known for supporting our educators. There is no district in Georgia - perhaps in the country - that supports its teachers more than the Cobb County School District. When I became interim superintendent, we had fallen behind most metro districts in teacher pay. Over the last eleven years, we have returned to paying Cobb teachers more than any district in the state. 

In addition to compensation, three years ago, we broke a glass ceiling by creating Georgia's BEST, which was and remains the most generous program for supporting educator professional education. 

Today, we have or are funding the graduate degrees of over 1,500 Cobb educators. Through Georgia's BEST, in the last three years, we have saved more than 1,500 participating Cobb educators millions of dollars in college tuition. 

As a result of our support for teachers, we not only have phenomenal teacher retention but also a phenomenal magnet for teacher talent. This year, despite Georgia having one of the nation's most severe teacher shortages, Cobb County School District had more than 100 applications for every vacant teaching position. 

One hundred applications for every teaching vacancy is a fact. Campaign propaganda to the opposite -claiming Cobb is a bad place to teach and we are losing teachers because of it - is a lie.

Instead, those campaigning against our schools turn to their one issue - their desire to force us to enlist students, staff, and families into their culture war. They repeatedly turn to their ONE issue - the one most important to them - giving your children unrestricted access to age-inappropriate, lewd, vulgar, and sexually explicit materials. And I want to address that. Those campaigning against our schools say the process to review books is not transparent. 

They say we refuse to provide books that are classics. They say the books we are removing do not contain language that is age-inappropriate, lewd, vulgar, or sexually explicit. 

They say, "students don't need to be protected from books.” 

They say, "not a single book" we have removed contains language sexualizing children. 

The same local politician has even bragged that he spent a day recently putting books we removed in "little libraries" near our schools - ones targeting Cobb's children. So, someone is lying about this. It is either me or someone else. 

Tonight, I want you to decide who it is. And I'm not going to direct you to a website or other resource. I'm not going to ask that you read the book. I am going to read to you the actual words. 

Now, Ms. Wilcox, I provided you with a copy of what I want to read from this book. 

Can I read all of the words contained in what I gave you? 

The next couple of minutes are going to be difficult, particularly for those of you who are daughters, sisters, mothers, or any one of the 51,000 young women in a Cobb County school. And for those of us who are dads, particularly dads of daughters, the next couple of minutes are going to be equally difficult. 

Through conversations with superintendents in Georgia and across the country, we became aware of another book that has been in the hands of students, some as young as 11 years old. 

After investigation, we discovered that publishing companies have sold the same book to media centers across Cobb County schools. 

The book is Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye," which is an award-winning book. However, just because a book wins an award does not automatically mean we should give children access to it. 

This book introduces children, without their parents' consent, to sexually explicit descriptions of child murder, rape, and incest. And this is only one excerpt from this book. 

"He wanted to break her neck, tenderly...his eleven-year-old daughter...he wanted to f**k her, tenderly...the gigantic thrust he made into her...removing himself from her was so painful...he snatched his g*******a out of the dry harbor of her v****a...she appeared to have fainted." 

Now — that was incredibly distasteful to me to have to read, and it makes me incredibly uncomfortable. It should have made every adult in this room uncomfortable. But I believe it is important for you to know the truth - what our so-called "book banning" is actually about. 

Both as a father and as a superintendent, imagine a child reading this explicit description of child incest and rape. Imagine your child reading this explicit description of child murder, incest, and rape. Imagine an unprepared parent having to discuss it with their sixth-grade daughter — without their knowledge or permission, because they were given access to the book at school.

You may be perfectly comfortable allowing your children to have access to particular books; we fully support your right to raise your children how you'd like. You may feel entirely uncomfortable, and as parents, we fully support your right to raise your children how you'd like. 

As the superintendent responsible for the instruction of 107,000 children, I do not have the luxury of making that decision for other parents and their children. And if you believe this decision means we do not support teachers, I suggest your agenda is not really about teachers or teaching, and you really don't care anything about the protection of children. 

Effective immediately, and in every Cobb County school, children will not have access to this sexually explicit description of the planned murder, rape, and incest of a child. The words speak for themselves.