Parents Express Outrage Over Inappropriate Book in School Library

On Tuesday evening, school board members representing Penfield Central School District walked out on a packed house of parents who were upset about an inappropriate book on display at the elementary school library called "The Rainbow Parade." authored by Emily Neilson.

The book in question is about a young girl attending a pride parade with her lesbian parents. The illustrations show men in sexual BDSM gear holding hands, drag queens, and naked people.

Instead of taking on comments from concerned parents, the board's president called a motion to adjourn and ended the meeting abruptly. Kimberly DeRosa, who attended the meeting, told The Daily Wire that it ended after "more than an hour of presentations celebrating Black History Month and the superintendent detailing the process of submitting objections to books in the school."

As noted by DeRosa, the board told parents that they should submit their complaints, which apparently negated their right to speak out at the meeting.

"We are here at our board meeting, conducting our business," one board member told parents, who began booing. One parent responded, "It's our board meeting," and others yelled, "cowards!"

DeRosa, who is a Penfield taxpayer, concerned mother, and on the executive board of the Monroe County Federated Republican Women, told The Daily Wire that it was "a slap in the face to everyone there when the board members walked out before any public comments could be made."

No board members returned, but prepared parents stayed back and voiced their outrage over "The Rainbow Parade," which was brought home by a fifth grader and is available in the school library to students as young as kindergarten.

The Daily Wire has reached out to Penfield Central School District Superintendent Dr. Tasha Potter but has yet to receive a response. According to a district website, Potter, who was named superintendent in September 2024, previously served as Penfield's "Assistant Superintendent for Equity & Access," and before that, as "Director of Diversity and Equity Planning for Monroe One BOCES."

According to parents, "The Rainbow Parade" is not only in the elementary school library, but out on display, seemingly to attract the attention of students.

"The sidewalk outside is filled with people waiting for the parade to start," the text of the book reads. "Everyone is wearing whatever makes them feel most like themselves. Even if that means wearing hardly anything at all."

The illustration shows two men in BDSM harnesses holding hands, as well as other naked individuals.

"The Rainbow Parade" also shows drag queens, one with a beard and another who interacts with the main character, a young girl with two mothers. The drag queen tells the girl, "Look at those moms! Honey, you have so much to be proud of. Y'all should join the parade!" Indeed, the two women and the hesitant child end up joining the parade.

"Moving forward, we want to see all sexually-explicit material and dangerous ideology removed from schools," DeRosa told The Daily Wire. "Our children deserve a quality education and healthy learning environment."

"We, as a community, are more united than ever," she continued. "We were the majority for the first time here."

DeRosa added that parents "will vote for new school board members in May," noting that candidates for those positions were in attendance at Tuesday's meeting.

Parents stayed behind to voice their concerns about the book also spoke out about other aspects of "woke" ideology seeping into the district. One father, for example, said that students are now identifying as cats, and when others in the school speak out about the disruption, they are the ones reprimanded.