Anne Frank Book Gets Texas Teacher Fired

A middle school teacher in Texas has been fired after reading a graphic novel based on the diary of Anne Frank to her eighth-grade class.

The teacher was sent home from Hamshire-Fannett Middle School in Hamshire on Wednesday after reading a section from Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation about male and female genitalia, local news station KDFM reported.

Hamshire-Fannett Independent School District spokesperson Mike Canizales told the station the book hadn't been approved by the district and that an investigation is ongoing.

In a statement sent to parents, which was provided to Newsweek, the district said: "As you may be aware, following concerns regarding curricular selections in your student's reading class, a substitute teacher has been facilitating the class since Wednesday, September 13, 2023. The District is currently in the process of posting to secure a high-quality, full-time teacher as quickly as possible."

The statement added: "During this period of transition, our administrators and curriculum team will provide heightened support and monitoring in the reading class to ensure continuity in instruction. We appreciate your trust and partnership as we all work towards the common goal of safeguarding your child's educational environment."

Anne Frank chronicled her time hiding from the Nazis with her family and other Jews in German-occupied Amsterdam. The Jewish teenager's diary was published in 1947, about two years after she died in a concentration camp. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl has become a classic read by tens of millions all over the world and is used in schools to teach students about the Holocaust.

The graphic novel was adapted from Frank's diary by Israeli filmmaker Ari Folman, whose parents were Holocaust survivors, with illustrations by David Polonsky. While other versions of Frank's diary have omitted sections where she wrote about sexuality, the graphic novel remains faithful to the original.

In an email to parents on Tuesday, the district said the content that was read to the class was "not appropriate."

According to KDFM, while district officials say the graphic novel hadn't been approved, it was on a reading list sent to parents at the start of the school year.

The graphic novel has also caused controversy and has been pulled from schools in other parts of the country. It was removed from a library at Vero Beach High School in Florida earlier this year after the leader of Moms for Liberty, a conservative group, challenged it.

The graphic novel and other books were removed from classrooms in the Keller Independent School District in Texas following complaints from parents last year, but the district later said it would be reinstated following protests.

Update 9/20/23, 9:46 a.m. ET: This article was updated with a statement from the Hamshire-Fannett Independent School District.