Nearly two years after a Menomonee Falls couple filed discrimination complaints over their school district’s removal of a children’s picture book from 4K classrooms, the state has issued its answer. There was no discrimination, but the district had been using a biased resource to evaluate books and will need to come up with a different method.
Here’s what to know about the Department of Public Instruction’s decisions issued May 4.
What happened at Shady Lane Elementary?
In July 2024, two parents asked the Menomonee Falls School District to remove “Love Makes a Family” by Sophie Beer from 4K classrooms at Shady Lane Elementary.
The picture book is designed to read aloud to children and depicts all kinds of families – including those with same-sex parents.
One parent said the book was inappropriate for 4-year-olds, and said showing children images of same-sex couples was “grooming.”
Grooming refers to tactics used by adults to gain a child’s trust for the purpose of sexual abuse. The term has been used by critics of LGBTQ+-inclusive content in schools, including conservative politicians.
The district’s curriculum committee voted unanimously to remove the book.
Who filed the complaints?
Michelle and Jesse Cramer of Menomonee Falls filed the complaints.
Jesse Cramer was elected to the Menomonee Falls School Board in April 2025 and was elected board president on April 27, 2026.
What did the Cramers try at the district level?
The Cramers first filed a discrimination complaint with the Menomonee Falls School District in July 2024.
The HR director investigated and dismissed the complaint.
They then took it to Superintendent David Muñoz, who reviewed it and reached the same conclusion.
When the Cramers tried to take it to the School Board, the board declined to hear it – citing concerns about bias, since board members had voted to remove the book – and pointed them to the state instead.
What complaints did they file with the state?
The Cramers filed two separate complaints with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction:
In August 2024, they filed a PI 8 complaint – a challenge under the state standard requiring schools to maintain library materials that reflect the diversity of American society.
And in November 2024, they filed a PI 9 appeal – a pupil nondiscrimination complaint alleging the district created a hostile environment for LGBTQ+ students and families.
What did DPI decide on the PI 8 complaint?
It was dismissed.
DPI found the 4K traveling library was never subject to PI 8 review in the first place; it was created to fulfill a state requirement that 4K programs log a certain number of hours of activities with families, not as a library collection.
No librarian was involved in selecting the materials, and they were never kept in a library setting.
On top of that, a state law passed about 10 months after the Cramers filed the complaint eliminated the outreach requirement entirely, stripping DPI of any remaining oversight over the program.
What did DPI decide on the PI 9 complaint?
DPI upheld the district’s finding of no discrimination.
According to the agency’s decision, DPI’s role under PI 9 isn’t to make its own judgment on whether the book removal was discriminatory.
Instead, DPI reviews whether the district conducted a sufficient investigation and whether that investigation was supported by credible evidence. The agency concluded it was.
During the district’s investigation, the HR director interviewed Michelle Cramer and three other families, all of whom said they hadn’t experienced harassment or discrimination as a result of the book’s removal. That was enough for DPI.
What that means is the broader question the Cramers were really asking – whether removing a book because it depicted same-sex families constitutes discrimination under state law – was never fully answered. DPI’s process didn’t require it to go there.
According the decision, “any person aggrieved by this decision” can petition for judicial review in circuit court within 30 days.
Other options could include a federal civil rights complaint or a lawsuit under state or federal anti-discrimination law.
The DPI also ruled it has no authority over statements made by community members – only over whether the district followed its own policies.
But it did find one violation: The district had used BookLooks to evaluate the book.
BookLooks was a website launched in March 2022 by Emily Maikisch, a former Moms for Liberty member, to rate books for “objectionable” content. It shut down in March 2025.
DPI ruled it did not meet the district’s own policy requiring “reputable and unbiased professional selection aids.”
It’s uncertain what resource the district has been using since BookLooks shut down.
What does the Menomonee Falls School District have to do now?
The district now has 60 days to submit a plan for what it will use to evaluate classroom materials going forward.
Has Menomonee Falls School District removed books before
Yes.
Less than a year before “Love Makes a Family” was pulled, Menomonee Falls High School removed 33 books from its library, including titles by Toni Morrison, Kurt Vonnegut and Khaled Hosseini, citing sexually explicit content and profanity.
Quinn Clark is a Public Investigator reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be emailed at QClark@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Menomonee Falls School District used biased resource to vet books, state finds
Reporting by Quinn Clark, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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