NEW YORK — Organizations that track the removal of books from schools and libraries are denouncing a Department of Education announcement that called bans a “hoax” and dismissed 11 complaints that had been filed during the Biden administration. A conservative group praised the department’s actions as “welcome news.”

Over the past few years, PEN America and the American Library Association have reported thousands of bans around the country, with targeted books often containing LGBTQ+ or racial themes, from Maia Kobabe’s memoir, “Gender Queer,” to Angie Thomas’ novel “The Hate U Give.”

Many of the removals were organized by Moms for Liberty and other conservative organizations that advocate for more parental input over what books are available to students. Legislatures in Iowa and Florida, among other states, passed laws that restrict the contents of library books and give parents and other local residents more power to challenge books.

The Biden administration had criticized the removals and appointed a coordinator to handle complaints. But the Trump administration reversed those policies last week, eliminating the coordinator’s position and ruling the complaints as without merit.

“The department is beginning the process of restoring the fundamental rights of parents to direct their children’s education,” the department’s acting assistant secretary for civil rights, Craig Trainor, said in a statement. The DOE’s announcement is headlined: “U.S. Department of Education Ends Biden’s Book Ban Hoax.”

Such language is “alarming and dismissive of the students, educators, librarians, and authors who have firsthand experiences of censorship happening within school libraries and classrooms,” said Kasey Meehan, who directs PEN America’s Freedom to Read program.

The library association called the department’s announcement part of a “cruel and headlong effort to terminate protections from discrimination for LGBTQIA+ students and students of color.”