Children's Books discussion
Banned Books: discussions, lists
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Discussion of censorship, equity, and other concerns.
Sad to say a Little Free Library stocked with banned books in the Saratoga Springs, NY area was robbed of all the books. The owner doesn't know who did it or what the motive was but it seems suspicious that ALL the banned books were removed and the Bible returned.Since the incident, the free library has been restocked. It's full of many familiar titles from 1984 to Angela's Ashes, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and the Diary of Anne Frank.
https://cbs6albany.com/community/posi...
Mod
Hmm, maybe the owners of those Little Free Libraries should consider security cameras.
A run down of the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania school board elections. A mixed bag. We have to fight harder to defeat Moms for Liberty. I'm pleased my mom's old school district did NOT go for the M4L candidates.Not surprised the Nazareth area went for both candidates endorsed by Moms for Liberty of Northampton County.
https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/elec...
In n Pine-Richland School District, in Pittsburgh the community elected book banners to the board. Ugh. Hope my cousin's kids don't go to that school.
https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/ne...
Manybooks wrote: "Hmm, maybe the owners of those Little Free Libraries should consider security cameras..."
She doesn't want to do that yet, too 1984 and would prefer a community member to community member conversation about it first.
Southwest Florida - SWFL school board members say law creates gray areas for removal of books from school librariesHB 1069 requiring school districts to remove s---ually explicit content from their school libraries has resulted in a significant difference in the number of books removed from school districts in Southwest Florida.
Collier County Schools has removed more than 300 books from their shelves, Lee County Schools has removed six, and Charlotte County has removed only one.
WINK News asked Lee County School Board chair Armor Persons if he believes the law has gray areas that leave districts with the job of interpreting it.
“It is I mean, that’s why we’re relying more on our ad hoc committee right now because you get a lot more input,” Persons said. “It’s a little different from each school. I think as it goes into effect statewide, we’ll get a list of books that other districts have looked at.”
Collier County School board member Stephanie Lucarelli agrees. She said the broad law has put Florida school districts in a position where they are left to make decisions on what is considered explicit content, and that has resulted in books she’s enjoyed as a student being pulled from their libraries.
“I think that what would have been more helpful to school districts is to have a list of books that have been commonly found in schools that the legislature felt should be removed.”
Lee County School board member Debbie Jordan said it concerns her that so many books are being removed from local school libraries, especially when children are exposed to much more dangerous content in other areas.
“You can’t really hone in on one topic. So, if we keep saying it’s the books, well, is it really the books?” Jordan said.
Lucarelli agrees and says parents really should be focusing on the content their child can access through other means.
https://winknews.com/2023/11/08/swfl-...
Indiana- The Hamilton East Public Library director will step down next month after leading the system through tumultuous times and controversies brought on by the library board's policy to move teen books deemed not "age appropriate."Edra Waterman, who held the library's top spot for more than 12 years, informed the board Thursday she would be moving on. Her last day is Dec. 22.
Waterman, like her library system, was pulled into the national spotlight following an uproar after John Green's "The Fault in Our Stars" was moved to the adult section because of its content.
Green called out the board's policy on social media, which resulted in even more attention. Green told IndyStar in August that the board could have avoided the flap.
"We never would have been in this situation if the majority of the board had listened to librarians and their constituents," Green said in an interview with the IndyStar. "There were people sounding the alarm about this long before I did. For whatever reason my sounding the alarm got a lot of attention."
Moving the book led to a tense back and forth between Waterman and library staff who said that they reshelved Green's young adult novel in accordance with the board's "zero-tolerance" policy.
Some board members accused library staff of deliberately misinterpreting the policy.
Waterman's decision comes a few months after former board president Laura Alerding was unseated in August and former board member Ray Maddalone
Alerding and Maddalone, along with Ditlevson and board member Micah Beckwith, sought to establish stricter guidelines on where books should be shelved, which some critics called censorship.
For now, the policy remains on hold. Thousands of books removed while the policy was in operation remain in the adult section.
The library board has still not yet decided what comes next.
However, during the board's October meeting, members showed slight movement toward a revised plan by discussing how they will seek community feedback and defining what they want from new legal representation.
https://www.indystar.com/story/news/l...
Surge of book removal requests turning Nebraska libraries into cultural battlegroundsIn one district a librarian resigned and a school board member could be recalled. It’s not the only community where tension over book removals has spilled out of the library.
Christine Knust planned to continue growing the journalism and yearbook program at Plattsmouth High School this year.
In her two years as the school’s librarian, Knust had nurtured the program from six students to 37. She also had grown and diversified the school library, adding titles by LGBTQ authors and writers from different ethnic backgrounds, she said.
Knust, who taught English for nearly 30 years in several districts, believed she’d retire at Plattsmouth Community Schools. Instead, she resigned in May.
Administrators at Plattsmouth Community Schools last spring moved 49 books from the shelves into a box that sat in the high school principal’s office awaiting “further review,” according to emails obtained by the Flatwater Free Press. The move, as Omaha news station KETV reported at the time, was in response to a request by a school board member.
https://flatwaterfreepress.org/surge-...
Kelly Jensen's book Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy has been banned by Clay County Schools in Florida in direct retaliation for her reporting on the county’s lead book banner and one of the most prolific book banners in the entire country, Bruce Friedman, last November. This is the third time the book has been banned and first time banned simply because she is an outspoken critic of book bans!Read her thoughts on the ban and frustration about the lack of media attention for books NOT written by rich, white men.
https://bookriot.com/retaliatory-book...
The Carroll County Public Schools Reconsideration Committee has recommended retention of five more of the 58 books that Superintendent Cynthia McCabe ordered removed from library shelves in September amid challenges from the Carroll County chapter of Moms for Liberty, a conservative group that advocates for “parental rights” in schools.https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland...
Those who submitted reconsideration requests have been notified and may appeal the decision within the next 30 days, according to CCPS Communications Officer Carey Gaddis.
Unless the committee’s decision is overturned in the appeal process, “The Bluest Eye,” by Toni Morrison; “The Kite Runner,” by Khaled Housieni; “Shine,” by Lauren Myracle (YA); “Homegoing,” by Yaa Gyasi; and “The Freedom Writers Diary,” (YA) by Erin Gruwell will again be available to students in school libraries.
As of this week, decisions have been made on 15 of the 58 challenged books in Carroll.
Kit Hart, chairperson of Carroll County Moms for Liberty, confirmed that all 58 requests for book reconsideration came from members of her group.
“Each and every one of them depicts (view spoiler)Hart said during public comment at a July school board meeting. “That is the only criteria we chose for selecting these books. When we began exposing passages from these books to the public, parents were appalled.”
Since the requests were made, some parents and librarians opposed to the removals have shown up at school board meetings.
A motion made by school board member Steve Whisler, to direct staff to update the school system’s policy on selecting books and instructional materials for students — adding language that would ban books defined as sexually explicit — as passed unanimously by the Carroll County Board of Education on Oct. 11.
School staff will draft language to update Policy IIAA, which governs the selection, evaluation and adoption of instructional materials, and the board will discuss and vote on the policy update at its Nov. 8 meeting.
Whisler said an update to the instructional materials policy would ensure, “a backstop so we can make sure instructional materials and supplemental materials do not include explicit sexual activity or explicit sexual content. It doesn’t necessarily have to relate to state requirements or state curriculum, I just wanted to see if the staff could come to us with a recommendation.”
Donna Mignardi, president of the Maryland Association of School Librarians, said the group is working to avoid book bans in Carroll County, which she said amounts to censorship.
“Book challenges and attempts at censorship have become more frequent in the past two years. These challenges are not isolated to Carroll County,” Mignardi said. “MASL has supported school librarians facing book challenges in Wicomico County, Worcester County, Calvert County, Somerset County, and Baltimore County, just to name a few.
In Sitka, Alaska, students introduced a resolution to their school board to ensure there are not book bans.https://www.kcaw.org/2023/11/03/sitka...
"Alaska high school students are asking local school districts to refrain from following national trends in banning books, which they believe are occurring for political – rather than educational – reasons.
A resolution on book bans was one of three resolutions brought before the Sitka School Board on Wednesday (11-1-23) by local students who had recently returned from the annual meeting of the Alaska Association of Student Governments in Fairbanks.
Sitka High senior Kylie Orlando prefaced her introduction of the student resolution by asking school board members to put aside their personal political agendas. Book bans, she argued, have become weaponized by politics, to the point that advocates don’t really understand what they’re banning.
“The resolution I am bringing is about book bans, and they go much deeper than reading,” said Orlando. “The message behind them goes far deeper. They’re about education and representation and so much more than that. They highlight not only the representation of minorities in the books, but also the representation that we are not receiving from many legislators who should have students wants and needs as a priority.”
Although the Sitka School Board may adopt some or all of the student resolutions in the future, this reading was simply an introduction. Board member Tom Williams said he couldn’t support it in its current form, which reads “Therefore, be it resolved that the Alaska Association of Student Governments does not support book bans in our state and country.”
“My issue with this resolution is it is all-inclusive,” Williams said. “All grades, all books, current books and future books. And without having a provision that would allow a banning of a book, regardless of its topic, its material, or its content seems unwise, and I would not support a resolution and did not have some type of ability to ban material that we either know or don’t know, at this time.”
In Washington state, a book banner on the city council is whining because he didn't get his way.Liberty Lake city councilman files ethics complaint against fellow Liberty Lake city councilman
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/202...
Well over a year ago, Liberty Lake resident Erin Zasada tried to get a book pulled from the shelves of her local library.
Zasada’s attempt to ban “Gender Queer,” a graphic memoir about nonbinary gender identity, ultimately failed. But she jump-started a debate about library oversight that keeps resurfacing at Liberty Lake City Council meetings and came up again last month.
During an Oct. 17 public meeting, City Councilman Tom Sahlberg said he was filing an ethics complaint against fellow b>City Councilman Chris Cargill. Sahlberg, a retired police officer, accused Cargill of dereliction of duty and violating his oath of office.
“Councilman Cargill’s actions have been personal, vindictive and partial,” Sahlberg said.
The complaint comes after Cargill has repeatedly voted against Mayor Cris Kaminskas’ appointees to Liberty Lake’s civil service and planning commissions. Cargill on June 6 vowed to vote against all mayoral appointments until the City Council has final say over the Liberty Lake library board’s decisions.
The board that oversees the Liberty Lake Municipal Library voted against banning “Gender Queer” in 2022, following Zasada’s request. The City Council upheld that decision in a 4-2 vote.
The City Council’s interest in library issues could have ended there, but the library board then altered its challenge policy – the process that allows residents to request a book’s removal.
Following the recommendation of the American Library Association, library board members unanimously decided that book challenge decisions should end with them, not the City Council.
That change concerned four of the City Council’s seven members. They argued that the library board, made up of volunteers appointed by the mayor and approved by the council, shouldn’t be able to make policy decisions without the City Council’s approval.
The council majority this year, in a 4-3 vote, passed an ordinance that would have given the council final authority over library policies. While the ordinance stated that the City Council couldn’t ban books, it said nothing about book restrictions.
The ordinance could have become city law, but it required final approval by Kaminskas. Kaminskas vetoed it, becoming the first mayor in Liberty Lake’s 22-year history to use her veto power.
Overriding the veto would have required a 5-2 vote, but only four council members wanted to override it, so the ordinance died.
The veto rankled Cargill, who sharply criticized Kaminskas during the City Council’s June 6 meeting.
Cargill vowed that until the City Council has final say over library board policies, he will vote against all of Kaminskas’ appointees, vote against all of the library board’s budget requests and “be very skeptical of any proposal that comes from the executive branch.”
None of Cargill’s fellow council members has followed his lead and, so far, his votes against mayoral appointments have had no practical effect.
Cargill said in an interview that he has no interest in banning books or micromanaging the library board. He said he’s simply concerned about oversight.
City Council members are Liberty Lake’s elected representatives, Cargill said.
Therefore, he argues, they should have the final say on library decisions instead of appointed volunteers who aren’t directly accountable to voters.
While the City Council can’t approve or deny library policy, it can remove library board members. Cargill said in an interview that he isn’t interested in removing particular board members.
He does, however, support the creation of a library district. If Liberty Lake went that route, voters would elect board members, and the City Council would no longer be responsible for funding the library.
Sahlberg said he believes Cargill’s pledge to reject mayoral appointees and library budget requests violates the oath of office that all City Council members take.
He has also repeatedly said that politicians shouldn’t be meddling in library decisions. Library boards should be apolitical, Sahlberg argues, and retaining a degree of separation between the City Council and the library is valuable.
Cargill said in an interview that he believes Sahlberg’s ethics complaint is “pretty silly” and “ludicrous.”
“Nothing in my oath requires me to vote for or against anything,” he said.
Interesting and good news from Marietta, GeorgiaMore than 100 signatures collected to bring back banned book at Marietta high schools
(This includes a local pastor!)
Flamer
https://www.11alive.com/article/news/...
Kayla Sargent failed in her first attempt to bring back a banned book to her kids' schools, but she's not giving up.
“When it’s read in completion, in context, the book is simply benign. My 10-year-old has read it," Sargent said.
Sargent organized a new petition. It now has almost 120 signatures.
Joe Evans is a pastor and parent who has a 12-year-old and 14-year-old daughter in the district.
“I see themes, and those themes make me nervous that marginalized groups in our school system are going to feel more marginalized because of the books that are being banned," Evans said.
Evans feels the school board has more important things to focus on besides banning books.
“This issue of book banning feels like a complete distraction because it’s taking attention away from the real issue," Evans said. "If the kids can’t read, it doesn't matter what’s in the library. This makes me kind of want to pull my hair out.”
Parent Stormy Webster has an eight-year-old son in Marietta City Schools and also signed the petition.
“It’s my job to raise my child," Webster said. "I want people to trust the experts in the schools. Trust the teachers. Trust the media specialists to do their jobs.”
Webster worries banning "Flamer" could lead to a slippery slope of many other books being taken off the shelves. The school district is reviewing more than 20,000 books at this time.
“There could be any number of books that might not necessarily be appropriate for my child, but the student sitting next to him needs to read that book because they are dealing with what they are going through to feel like, ‘I matter. I have a voice in this world,'" Webster said.
Some parents who signed the petition plan on showing up at the November 14th school board meeting to plead their case.
“I hope they have the integrity to really model for our students what it’s like to change your mind in light of new information. That’s what we expect from our students. We should certainly be seeing that in our leadership," Sergeant said.
18 books were challenged at Helix Character School (OR) this school year, and every single one of them had LGBT+ characters or content. The books will all remain on shelves https://www.eastoregonian.com/news/lo...
However it looks like they did remove some books. The story won't stick around long enough for me to grab the lists.
When the East Oregonian reported the complaints, Superintendent and Principal Brad Bixler declined to share the book titles. The EO made a public records request and received the list of titles of the books as well as what decision was made about each of them.
Leah on the Offbeat
Heartstopper series
The Breakaways
Too Bright to See
Simon and the Homo Sapiens
(all on M4L's hit list)
Anger Is a Gift (LGBTQ+ and "anti-police" themes)
In Maine, Greely High School Staff Say ‘Gender Queer’ Should Remain in Libraryhttps://www.themainewire.com/2023/11/...
In response to a Citizen’s Challenge of Educational Media complaint against the book “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe, an MSAD 51 review committee has recommended that the book remain in the district’s school libraries.
The complaint against “Gender Queer,” submitted Sept. 28 by Cumberland parent Scott Jordan, stated that the book is not age appropriate for high school students and the book should be removed from the Greely High School Library.
A committee comprised of a MSAD 51 administrator, a library and media specialist, a community member, a classroom teacher, and a curriculum leader met on Oct. 25 to discuss the complaint.
“Committee members read the book in its entirety, read a wide range of reviews, and reviewed the material in light of MSAD#51’s educational mission and vision,” Robbins wrote in the letter.
According to the committee, the book — which contains graphic depictions of (view spoiler)
The committee explains that the book “describe values that set a standard for student behaviors and attitudes needed to be successful in the world today.”
When describing how “Gender Queer” supports the “goals and objectives of the school unit’s educational programs,” the committee wrote “this book includes topics such as gendered social cues and acceptance for differences that helps our students prepare for a world with increasing differences.”
Responding to the complaint’s assertion that the book is not age appropriate for high school students, the committee wrote that “The School Library Journal says the book is appropriate for grades 9 and up,” and referenced a Washington Post interview in which the author of the book says “Gender Queer” was “originally written for my parents and then for older teens who were already asking these questions about themselves.”
“Gender Queer” is described by the committee as “approachable,” and a “well crafted book with strong voice and good storytelling.”
“We feel that the book speaks to many current issues faced by our high school students – sexuality, relationships, and self awareness,” the committee wrote. “It helps our students understand that there are many different ways to be okay.”
Part of the committee’s recommendation was based off the fact that the author, Maia Kobabe, “represents a diverse group” by identifying as “non-binary and asexual.”
Additional information considered by the committee in forming their recommendation included the book having received various awards, reviews of the book in professional journals, and recommendations from district employees, parents, and students.
The decision of the committee to recommend keeping the book in the high school library was unanimous.
Jordan told the Maine Wire that he is intending on appealing the committee’s decision.
Very surprising but good news from Arkansas. Let us note, the would-be banner surely must be a M4L or a follower at best. Her review sources are not valid. School Library Journal, Library Journal, Kirkus, New York Times, maybe Publisher's Weekly =professional review sources. Farmington School Board last week voted 4-1 to retain the fantasy book, "Kingdom of Ash" by Sarah Maas, in the high school library for all students.
https://wcel.nwaonline.com/news/2023/...
The board's decision Oct. 30 was in response to an appeal by parent Atina King, who first brought her concerns about the book to the media specialist on Aug. 31.
Board member Amy Hill voted against the motion to retain the book. Board President Travis Warren and members Josh Petree, Mark Vaughn and Lori Blew voted yes on the motion to retain the book.
A high school committee made up of Principal Jon Purifoy and six teachers recommended that the school retain "Kingdom of Ash" in the library for all students, and King appealed its decision to the school board.
In her request for reconsideration, King wrote that she failed to see how (view spoiler) She cited several sections with sexual content that she considered inappropriate and objectionable.
One review of the book from Ratedbooks.org states that the book is "not for young adults," King wrote on the form.
Her challenge also included an attachment from a review by BookLooks.org (NOT a valid review source) that listed sections in the book that included sexual content.
The report from the high school committee noted that "Kingdom of Ash" is the final book in the Throne of Glass series by Maas, and the book would appeal to those students who enjoy fantasy and also "love witnessing the development of complex relationships and war strategies."
The committee found that the "brief mentions of sexuality are not glorified nor do they dominate the novel. Instead, friendships, alliances and monogamy do."
The committee unanimously voted to keep the novel in the library and said the book is appropriate for high school students and should be available for those students interested in this genre.
All board members gave their opinion on the appeal.
Hill said she read most of the book, noted it was not her type of book and said it was not a book she would have given her 15-year-old or 16-year-old to read.
"For me, I think it could have been a perfect book without the explicit details," Hill said.
She said in her mind, a book for young adults is for ages 18-25.
Warren also said he read the book and did not believe the material was out of context. He pointed out that the committee thought the entire series should be available for students to read if they wanted.
"I didn't feel the material was something that needed to be restrictive," Warren said.
Petree said he believes that if books are relocated to a restrictive area, it creates even more curiosity from students.
Blew and Vaughn both said they wanted to abide by the committee's recommendation.
"It's a popular fantasy series," Blew said. "I would like for the series to stay together."
Vaughn said he did not like some of the sections in the book but believed "the recommendation of the committee is where I should lay my hat."
In an email after the meeting, King said she finds it "upsetting and sad" that the school is not putting the safety of students first.
In Brainerd, Minnesota, the fate of Maas’s Queen of Shadows will be determined Friday during traditional work hours. It won’t be recorded, either. https://www.brainerddispatch.com/news...
One more, a lengthy piece Inside the Knock-Down, Drag-Out Fight Over the Soul of a Pennsylvania School District
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/...
A few last stories to cap off the weekBest-selling author Jodi Picoult says Menomonee Falls School District won't discuss book ban
Picoult calls reasoning for banning 'Nineteen Minutes' weak
https://www.wpr.org/best-selling-auth...
When best-selling author Jodi Picoult learned her novel, "Nineteen Minutes," was one of the titles being pulled from the shelves of Menomonee Falls High School, she wasn’t surprised.
Picoult’s books have been banned in about 41 school districts in the U.S. But she also didn’t want to let her book, which is about a school shooting, disappear quietly.
Picoult reached out to Menomonee Falls Superintendent David Muñoz and School Board President Nina Christensen and asked them for a Zoom meeting, so they could explain to her why her book was targeted.
She didn’t get a response.
"I've written, I think, three times now asking when they'd like to meet, and I've heard absolutely nothing," Picoult said during an interview Friday with Wisconsin Public Radio. "I’m going to hazard to guess that it's a lot easier to be a bully when you’re not face to face with someone."
The author has been working closely with PEN America to raise national awareness against book bans. "I can't get to all the school board meetings, because, believe it or not, I do have a day job," she said. "I should be writing books not fighting bans."
While Picoult said she was probably banned 17 times the week Menomonee Falls decided to remove her book from the high school library, she believes Muñoz’s explanation is "weak."
“We all know the definition of p____graphy includes that there be no literary merit to material,” she said. “And every single book that was removed has literary merit.”
But what really struck Picoult was learning about the events in Wisconsin in the days that followed the Menomonee Falls book ban.
On Oct. 23, parents filled Menomonee Falls Village Hall to both protest and support the book ban. That same night, just four miles away, police shot and killed a person they said fired a gun at officers from the roof of Kennedy Middle School in Germantown.
"I just have no words for that," Picoult said. "I think when you choose to ban a book about school shootings, and there is literally a school shooting happening one town over from you, maybe you should be reevaluating your priorities."
recap: Collier County Florida removed over 300 books from schools. Yes 300+ books banned this time plus others previously removed. These books are said to violate a new law to prevent "obscene" content in schools. (the p-word)Following the removal of more than 300 books from school libraries in Collier County, WINK is hearing from Kelly Lichter, the chair of the Collier County school board.
https://winknews.com/2023/11/07/colli...
Among the hundreds of books pulled from shelves, 18 are by Stephen King, seven novels written by Anne Rice, one by Leo Tolstoy and three by Ernest Hemingway.
Lichter admitted she’s read some of the books on the list herself and was surprised to see some of the titles that were included.
“As a parent, I looked at the list too, and there were some titles that really surprised me, and I thought, how did this end up on the list?” Lichter said.
Collier County school administrators said following an extensive review, media specialists determined these books had to go because of a new Florida law prohibiting sexual content from appearing in schools.
“Even if it’s in one paragraph that’s in the statute, those books have to be pulled,” Lichter said. “I think there is some misconception that the Collier County School Board is banning books. This is actually just a compliance issue that we are following the state law. This is an ongoing process. We have media specialists that have to engage in extensive training.”
WINK asked Lichter what she would say to parents who have said they’ve enjoyed some of the books on the list and don’t believe they’re inappropriate.
“I have two children, and if any of these books that I think they ought to read, as a parent, I have the freedom to provide those books for my children, I can go to the local libraries, I can go online and purchase the book,” Lichter said, “so I just encourage parents, like, even if it’s on their school library, they can still access these books and, you know, we’re just following the law, and I think that’s ultimately the most important message. They need to understand that that’s what we have to do.”
Lee County Schools has pulled six books in accordance with this statute. When we brought up the significant difference in the number of books in other local school districts, Lichter said it may boil down to staffing shortages.
“Collier County is lucky that we have media specialists in every school. Some districts don’t, so the manpower that it takes to review all these books. I’m sure a lot of the counties are kind of behind,” Lichter said.
All of the books from the list have been removed. Some of the books require parental permission, and some of the books were removed by grade level. However, the district did say it plans to do an additional review of the books already listed.
Johnston County North Carolina- the latest to pass a "don't say gay" law disguised as "parental rights" Read more at: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/loc...
Johnston County plans to keep books about gender identity away from elementary school students and to tell elementary teachers to deflect questions from young students about that topic.
The county’s school board gave final approval this week to multiple policies meant to comply and expand upon what’s required for schools in North Carolina’s new “Parents’ Bill of Rights” law. The law bans instruction on gender identity, sexual activity or sexuality in the curriculum in kindergarten through fourth-grade classrooms. Johnston is applying the law to elementary school library books by saying they’re supplementary materials covered under the legislation’s definition of curriculum. The district is also expanding the ban to fifth-grade students. “Supplementary materials in K-5 that speak to gender identification, sexual activity and so forth, those supplementary materials will not be available in K-5,” school board vice chair Terry Tippett said at this week’s board meeting. The district will develop rules for reviewing which library books and other supplementary materials in elementary schools do not comply with the state law. Johnston County is the state’s seventh-largest school district, with more than 37,000 students. The school board is officially non-partisan but has a Republican majority.
The state’s fifth-grade standard course of study includes topics such as puberty. As a result, Johnston’s fifth-grade students will still get that instruction as part of the curriculum.
The law’s ban on K-4 instruction on gender identity, sexuality and sexual activity does include an exception if a teacher responds to “student-initiated questions.” Katie Cornetto, Johnston County’s school board attorney, will meet with principals next week to train them in how to follow the new law. She told board members that navigating how K-4 teachers should respond to student questions will be challenging. “If there is a question that’s questionable for the principals, I would instruct the staff to actually say ‘thank you for that question and I will be able to give you a response after I check with your parents or the principal,’” Cornetto told the board. “That would be my recommendation until we get further clarity about the law.” But Ben Chapman, a local activist for LGBTQ rights, said the caution elementary teachers are expected to show in responding to student questions underscores problems with the state law. “One, that it creates a culture of fear in classrooms whereby teachers may feel reluctant to express basic tolerance and support for students,” Chapman said in an email Thursday. “Two, that an often overlooked population, students of LGBTQ+ parents, may be marginalized by teachers attempting to follow policy and avoid personal or professional reprisal.”
Johnston County’s application of the Parents’ Bill of Rights was praised by Tami Fitzgerald, executive director of the N.C. Values Coalition.
“Any time the school can, it should involve parents,” Fitzgerald said. Fitzgerald contrasted Johnston with the concerns she’s hearing from parents around the state about districts skirting the law’s provisions. “If these schools can’t abide by the law, then it’s an insurrection and it will result in some sort of legal action,” Fitzgerald said.
The Campaign For Southern Equality released a legal memo last month accusing the Parents’ Bill of Rights of violating the federal Title IX law’s ban against sexual discrimination in federally funded educational programs. The group says the new law creates a hostile educational environment for LGBTQ+ students. “We are urging school boards to seek a declaratory ruling from the NC Department of Public Instruction on the potential Title IX violations,” White said in a statement Thursday. “In the meantime we are hearing from LGBTQ+ students, parents of LGBTQ+ youth, and educators who support dignity for all of their students about their concerns with SB49, and we are preparing to file a federal Title IX complaint about SB49.” White said Johnston County should have slowed down to consider how its policies will impact LGBTQ+ students.
Read more at: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/loc...
The literal cost of banning books from USA Today'Book-banning crusade' across the U.S.: What does it cost American taxpayers?
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
Report: Attempts to censor books surge (in Texas)AUSTIN (KXAN) — Should some books be banned? It’s a question that has some people saying “Yes,” while others say “No.”
https://www.kxan.com/news/local/repor...
“There are things I can never experience, but I can go to the library and check out a book, and I can walk in somebody else shoes,” said Former Llano County Librarian Suzette Baker.
Baker lost her job after she refused to remove books that some people claimed were “inappropriate”.
“You can’t deny someone access because you don’t believe in what it says,” Baker said.
In a special meeting in April, the Llano County Commissioners Court discussed whether to “continue or cease operations of the current physical Llano County Library System,” some claimed there were inappropriate books in the library that needed to be removed.
“These materials cannot be in the library. It has destroyed my family,” said one speaker at the meeting.
Several people speaking said they wanted some books removed.
“When you have s---ally explicit material in an area where a 5-year-old can get a hold of it, that is wrong,” said Ervin Light back in April.
“We are ranked number two in the country for the number of books and titles that have been challenged,” said Shirley Robinson with the Texas Library Association.
The association said parents have to be involved in the books their children pick up to read.
“It is vitally important for parents to get involved in the choices that their child is reading and to make sure the books they are bringing home reflect their own family values, but you don’t have that right to make that choice for another family’s child,” said Robinson.
This weekend, the Texas Book Festival kicks off in Austin. One panel discussion titled “Threats to Freedom of Expression” will feature two authors who have had their books banned.
“The right to read, write and think freely is the cornerstone of our democracy, so our organization will always champion that right,” said Hannah Gabel, literary director for the Texas Book Festival.
“Books help inform young children, as well as adults and provide them with the language they need to describe experiences that they have been through.”
This is very sad, especially for the children but I hope they come to the bookstore to support their favorite former librarian.The librarian who couldn’t take it anymore
She loved books. And in a time of spreading book bans in public schools, that’s why this Florida librarian had to quit.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation...
Tennessee officials are gunning for LGBTQ+ library books with sinister ordinance banning ‘public homosexuality’City officials in Murfreesboro, Tennessee met on Monday (6 November) to discuss removing all books featuring LGBTQ+ themes under an ordinance passed in June.
The ordinance prohibits “indecent behaviour” in public and outlaws “indecent materials” which are vague enough to include homosexuality.
It states that the local community has “the right to establish and preserve contemporary community standards” which would ban behaviour that local officials deem indecent.
The clause used to define indecency links back to Murfreesboro’s city codes which describe “s---ual conduct” as indecent. The s--ual conduct clause includes “homosexuality”.
The ordinance gives police officers the right to enforce bans on indecent behaviour under the clause and states that anybody using city funds for events that fall under indecency can be charged with further crimes.
Multiple board members reportedly claimed they had the right to “enforce community standards” and ban books they deemed indecent.
In August, library board officials decided to remove four titles: Mike Curato’s Flamer, Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan’s Let’s Talk About It, Jennifer Knapp’s Queerfully & Wonderfully Made: A Guide for LGBTQ+ Christian Teens and Juno Dawson‘s This Book is Gay.
The board then implemented a tiered library card system where most LGBTQ+ nonfiction could only be accessed through an adult-only library card.
https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/11/1...
What century do they think they're living in?
Librarians turn to civil rights agency to oppose book bans and their firingsRecap and how M4L rates books
https://www.stltoday.com/news/nation-...
Same-sex parents and mentions of racism are often grounds for Book Looks to give a picture or juvenile fiction book a rating of 1, or "child guidance," meaning it isn't appropriate for young children. Of the 133 picture and juvenile books rated "child guidance," nearly half mentioned "alternate gender ideologies" in the summary of concerns, and at least a quarter mentioned "alternate sexualities." "Racial commentary" was cited in 17% of the reports, like Lynda Blackmon Lowery's "Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March" Maikisch told Stacker that LGBTQ+ content is not a "major factor" in Book Looks ratings, but they want parents to be "prepared to provide the proper guidance."
It doesn't take much to receive a Book Looks rating that could drastically limit a book's readership. Gregory Bonsignore's That's Betty!: The Story of Betty White a picture book biography of Betty White meant for 4- to 8-year-olds, received a 1 rating from Book Looks because of two lines, effectively shutting out its intended audience. One referenced the backlash White received for featuring Black tap dancer Arthur Duncan on "The Betty White Show," and another mentioned a character with two fathers.
More than a third of juvenile books, which typically target children up to age 12, were rated by Book Looks as "teen guidance," meaning the content may not be appropriate for children under 13. Many of these feature transgender characters, mild violence, or nonsexual nudity.
One example is Sandy Kleven's "The Right Touch: A Read-Aloud Story to Help Prevent Child Sexual Abuse" a 1998 children's book aimed at teaching kids consent and preventing child sexual abuse. Prolific Goodreads reviewer Randie Camp praised its "warm, safe, and comforting" illustrations; another reviewer described it as "gentle and helpful." The book won the 1999 Benjamin Franklin Parenting Award from the Independent Book Publishers Association. By contrast, Book Looks flags passages containing nonsexual images of the bodies of boys and girls and a scene where a character shares a sexual abuse experience.
In Louisiana, From August 2022 to September 2023, 216 complaints have been filed, 160 of which were submitted by just one woman, Connie Phillips, on behalf of a small group called the St. Tammany Parish Library Accountability Project. St. Tammany Parish Library has rapidly become the site of one of the highest recorded number of book complaints in the country, accounting for 16% of all book complaints filed nationally in 2022.
Many of the complaints submitted by Phillips rely heavily on Book Looks reports. In at least three cases, however, Stacker identified complaints that copied information from a completely unrelated Book Looks report. Phillips' complaint forms for Theresa Thorn's "It Feels Good to be Yourself," shelved in juvenile fiction; Robb Pearlman's "Pink Is for Boys," a picture book; and "Tomboy," which Phillips identified as an audiobook by French Audo, and which wasn't found in St. Tammany's collection; all lifted quotes from the Book Looks report for Courtney C. Stevens' young adult novel "Dress Codes for Small Towns." (Phillips did not submit a complaint about "Dress Codes.") The St. Tammany Parish Library Accountability Project did not immediately respond to Stacker's request for comment.
Despite none of the quotes nor profanity appearing in those three books, the library still has to follow its official review process to respond to the complaints.
St. Tammany Library conservatively estimates that each statement of concern costs about $409 to respond to. That doesn't include the time it takes for librarians and board of control members to read the books.
Despite these grim figures, anti-censorship advocates have always vastly outnumbered those who favor restricting book access at library board meetings.
In Texas, According to Adrienne Quinn Martin, an outspoken critic of the Granbury book-banning efforts and the mother of one current and one former Granbury student, national groups like Moms for Liberty haven't taken root in Hood County because there is already plenty of local mobilization.
"This is already a Christian nationalist county, and it's being run that way," Martin told Stacker.
In the absence of Moms for Liberty, there is a Granbury chapter of Rated Books, which uses Book Looks to facilitate book challenges in communities nationwide. It is unclear whether the school board members responsible for campaigning for book bans in the Granbury school district are affiliated with the Granbury Rated Books site.
As quickly and prolifically as groups have emerged to challenge library materials over the last several years, organizations devoted to fighting book bans have sprung up to counter them.
Louisiana Citizens Against Censorship, a coalition of local groups, was founded in late 2022 after the conservative Lafayette Public Library board canceled the library's Pride Month displays and attempted to fire a librarian who acted against the measure. The board also gave itself the power to decide which challenged books would be removed from the shelves, a decision usually made by librarians.
So far, efforts by groups like the St. Tammany Parish Library Accountability Project and a similar organization, Citizens for a New Louisiana, have had a hard time gaining a real foothold in Louisiana libraries apart from Lafayette.
That's because many people have shown up to board meetings in support of keeping library materials accessible.
Paying close attention to what's happening at the hyperlocal level and being ready to jump into action are key parts of staving off book ban attempts, according to advocates.
Larger-scale efforts to stave off organized book challenges are also underway. National organizations like the ACLU, the National Coalition Against Censorship, and the Freedom to Read Foundation provide legal resources and aid to people fighting book bans. Students have also mobilized to support book access by forming "banned-book clubs," participating in protests, and getting involved in national initiatives.
https://www.stltoday.com/news/nation-...
Personally, I think it's time for the ACLU to do a test case like they did with the Scopes Monkey Trial in the 1920s. (Illegal to teach evolution in Tennessee) and even something like Rosa Parks.
Some good news from PAThis school board made news for banning books. Voters flipped it to majority Democrat
Central Bucks is well known both statewide and nationally for heated board meetings over masks and Pride flags, policies banning certain books and directives to not use students' preferred names and pronouns. Accusations of discrimination against LGBTQ students have also led to an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Department of Education.
Central Bucks School District is the third largest in Pennsylvania with more than 17,000 students. It's also in a politically mixed, swing county.
"I wasn't supposed to win," said Democratic candidate Heather Reynolds, who beat the board's current president and sole Republican incumbent in the race.
Reynolds' newly won seat represents a part of the district that's more red than others, she said.
"I think that the community has had enough. They've seen what this former board majority has done and they said, 'No more. We deserve better as a district, as a community. This isn't who we are.'"
Reynolds said residents and parents were exhausted by the chaos that had become a normal part of monthly school board meetings.
Local venture capitalist Paul Martino bankrolled the Republican campaigns and donated a majority of their funding — $239,000 of the $279,000-plus total. Martino – whose wife, Aarati Martino, ran for the board as a Republican this year – spent a total of $500,000 on school board races across Pennsylvania in 2021.
He also contributed $40,000 to the Stop Bucks Extremism PAC. During the campaign, the PAC mailed literature to district homes with excerpts from the often-targeted books Gender Queer and This Book Is Gay. The mailer included the message: "Extreme Central Bucks Democrats are fighting to keep these books in our middle school and high school libraries. Request an early vote ballot to protect our children!"
In total, the Democrats raised over $315,000. The Democrats' PAC, Neighbors United, raised over $174,000. Its largest donations came from Turn Bucks Blue, a local PAC that supports Democrats throughout the county, and the Pennsylvania State Education Association. Much of the Democrats' funding came from smaller individual donations, between $50 and $250. Each candidate also had their own PAC.
"We knew what [Martino] spent the last time, so we had to be prepared to respond to that," said Karen Smith, a Democrat who won her race as an incumbent.
https://www.npr.org/2023/11/11/121218...
Clean Up Alabama Claims State library disaffiliation from ALA not enough The state disaffiliation doesn’t prohibit local libraries from being members, which Clean Up Alabama said doesn’t go far enough.
The APLS has asked Attorney General Steve Marshall for an opinion on just how much control the state agency can exert on local libraries and has yet to receive a response. Without an opinion stating otherwise, the board has been reluctant to mandate any actions by local libraries.
The group is now calling on state librarian Nancy Pack to resign, or be otherwise removed. And clearly, the group has had the ear of some elected officials, plus ALGOP chair and APLS board member John Wahl.
https://www.alreporter.com/2023/11/13...
A lot of news stemming from yesterday and post-election aftermath. The censors will NOT back down and we must not either!Remember the English teacher book banner Vicki Blodgett? A student's mom is accusing the teacher of using the student as a pawn in the book ban battle.
https://www.tampabay.com/news/educati...
https://popular.info/p/how-moms-for-l...
According to the mom, Baggett convinced her daughter to check a book out of the Jay High School library that Moms for Liberty representatives later took to deputies, Storm and Fury complaining that librarians were providing p___graphy to minors. “I’m very angry that my daughter was used to do someone else’s dirty work,” said the mother, who was not named.
According to WEAR, Tom Gurski, one of the Moms for Liberty membes told its reporter that "a teacher asked the student to check out the book [and] that teacher then gave the book to a member of Moms for Liberty, who gave it to Gurski." A spokesperson for Santa Rosa County School District told Popular Information that "the request for the student to check the book out was from a 'teacher' who is neither a teacher at Jay High School nor in Santa Rosa County."
A source familiar with the matter told Popular Information that the teacher who requested the 17-year-old student to check out Storm and Fury was Vicki Baggett, who teaches English in neighboring Escambia County. Baggett is notorious for challenging hundreds of books in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties; many of those books discuss racial discrimination or include LGBTQ characters. Popular Information reported in January that several of Baggett's current and former students at Northview High School allege that she "openly promoted racist and homophobic beliefs in class."
Emails also show Baggett coordinating directly with Mariya Calkins, the Chairwoman of the Santa Rosa County Chapter of Moms for Liberty.
Baggett ran into an issue when she was informed over the summer that, since she is not a resident of Santa Rosa County, she is not permitted to challenge books in the county's public school libraries.
Baggett did not accept the county's rule but instead spent weeks arguing with the school board's attorney, Terry Harmon, about how to apply school board policy.
In a September 22 email, Baggett warned Witter and other school officials of "potential felonies from the public regarding sexually inappropriate material in the schools."
On October 13, Baggett obtained a power of attorney from a county parent to submit book challenges on her behalf. The document, signed by Sharon Regan, declares that Regan has "personally seen [books] listed as available in our Santa Rosa School District [that] contain, in my opinion, utter pornography." Regan also declares that "it is clearly a CRIMINAL ACT to make these books and media available to Children or to expose Children to their heinously violent or pornogra___phic content."
The document grants Baggett "retroactive to June 1, 2023, and thereafter" the ability "to determine, in her absolute discretion, Inappropriate Material and to file forms of challenges on my behalf." It also grants Baggett the ability to speak on Regan's behalf at board meetings and "Send and Reply to any and all correspondence or communications with the school district in my name.
Last month, Baggett submitted a form seeking to remove The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold from a Santa Rosa school library, alleging the book was [you know what]. On October 25, the librarian from Milton High School reached out to Baggett and said the first step in the challenge process was to have a meeting at the school to discuss her concerns. Baggett responded that she would not participate in a meeting and warned the librarian of "the legalities that could arise if this book remains accessible to minors."
https://popular.info/p/how-moms-for-l...
Queer In A Time of Book BanningA library worker shares her story with Book Riot
https://literaryactivism.substack.com...
In Nebraska, Trust the process you put in place': Plattsmouth Public Schools votes to remove 1 of 52 booksPlenty of strong words Monday in Plattsmouth over school library books. The board created a committee to review books and they took a look at 52 of them.
removed Triangles
moved 11 books to a restricted section November 9
Some didn't agree with the findings.
"We believe that they are not appropriate. There's many things in these books that are not appropriate for school," said one community member.
Terri Cunningham-Swanson is the board member who crafted the book removal policy.
https://www.ketv.com/article/plattsmo...
In Omaha better news
OPS board votes to keep All Boys Aren't Blue and Tricks in school libraries.
Two controversial library books will remain on shelves in the Omaha Public Schools after district-level reviews found that they help “students feel seen, heard and valued.”
Kathy Poehling, president of the Omaha Education Association, spoke at Monday’s meeting to ask the board to keep both books in district libraries.
“OPS is a diverse and inclusive district and our students deserve the rights to choose books that represent themselves and their families,” she said.
The district convened a district-level review committee, which included district staff and members of the public, to review the books. “All Boys Aren’t Blue” has five print copies and one audiobook in high schools around the district. They have been checked out 22 times since October 2021.
“Tricks” has four print copies, with one at a middle school and three in high schools, which have been checked out 41 times since 2009.
The review report, signed Nov. 8 by Susan Christopherson, OPS chief academic officer, said both books will stay in libraries because the committee has concluded they received significant positive professional reviews and grade-level recommendations, in addition to helping students feel seen and heard in literature, among many other reasons.
https://omaha.com/news/local/educatio...
AlaskaWasilla library book challenge sparks heated public hearing
https://alaskawatchman.com/2023/11/10...
Emotions ran high during a Nov. 8 book challenge hearing for Wasilla Public Library. The contentious public meeting featured concerned Mat-Su resident Jackie Goforth who formally challenged the suitability of a sexually explicit book that the library considers suitable for its teen section.
Red Hood
Approximately 25 people turned out for the public hearing, most of whom supported removing the book from the library’s teen section.
The meeting included three review board members, Laura Anderson, Jeanne Troshynski and former Mat-Su School Board member Sarah Welton, who is well known for her left-leaning views.
Troshynski, a member of Friends of Wasilla Library, chaired the meeting.
In a Nov. 9 letter sent to Wasilla Mayor Glenda Ledford, Goforth complained that the meeting was conducted in such a manner that her First Amendment rights were violated.
“This committee attempted to usurp my constitutionally protected rights as well those of the citizens I had asked to assist me,” Goforth wrote in describing the Nov. 8 hearing.
Goforth explained that her decision to challenge the book was motivated over concerns that the novel was placed in an area designated for teens, while containing obscene material. This, she argued, “provides a clear path to committing a Class C Felony as specified in Alaska Statute AS 11.61.128 – distributing obscene material to persons under 16 years of age. My request was – and is – to have ‘Red Hood’ moved from the young adult section to the adult section.”
Once the meeting began, Goforth began by offering evidence that the American Library Association (ALA), of which Wasilla Public Library is a member, should not be used as an authoritative guide when it comes to relocating books.
Goforth argued that while the ALA is “supposedly non-profit and non-partisan,” it led by an avowed “lesbian Marxist,” and many states are now cancelling their memberships due to the organization’s increasingly controversial stances.
In her letter to the mayor, Goforth noted that her presentation before the committee questioned how books for young adults (teens) are vetted for suitability.
“There appears to be absolutely no criteria for content of a Young Adult work,” Goforth maintained. “There is no limit as to what can be inserted into these books. This includes violence, profanity, drug and/or alcohol abuse, (view spoiler) and more.”
She added that libraries do not appear to be following Alaska law.
“I don’t believe glowing reviews, genre wins, bestseller status or publisher promotion back blurbs are adequate defenses for violating the statute,” Goforth stated. “And any book that if turned into a movie would receive an X rating should NOT be in the Young Adult area. ‘Red Hood’ hits two criteria of the Alaska Statute right off the bat: ‘sexual penetration’ and ‘lewd touching of a person’s genitals.’ It also has a lot of violence and a political agenda called ‘Toxic Masculinity’ threaded through it. This is a paranormal fantasy about girls who turn into werewolf hunters at the onset of their menstruation. Blood is the main theme. Graphic sex. Violence. And murder of males before they even commit a crime.”
Goforth said she told the committee that the book “lacks serious literary, artistic, educational, political or scientific value to persons younger than 16” and is “patently offensive to the prevailing standards in the adult community with respect to what is suitable for persons under 16 years of age.”
After Goforth’s presentation, Wasilla Library Director Zane Treesh proceeded to defend the library’s book selection process. This was followed by a question-and-answer session initiated by the three committee members – Sarah Welton, Laura Anderson, and Jeanne Troshynski.
Throughout the Q&A exchange, Goforth said she “repeatedly stated” that distributing “Red Hood” to anyone under 16 is a clear “violation of Alaska state statute.”
Goforth’s letter to the mayor noted that controversy broke out during her final five-minute final presentation.
She began by reading Alaska’s statute prohibiting the distribution of obscene material to minors.
“I read it verbatim and then I informed the committee that there was a segment of the community in the room, and that I would be calling on some of them to demonstrate the prevailing standards of the adult community,” Goforth recalled.
She first asked Mat-Su resident Mike Coons to share his views for 30 seconds.
“I utilized this format since I’ve seen it demonstrated, time and again, during congressional proceedings and there was no avenue available for me to play a recording,” Goforth explained of her decision to have community members offer evidence regarding prevailing community decency standards.
“Mike Coons stood and before he could say two words, Chairperson Troshynski loudly interrupted and stopped him – proclaiming that this was against the rules and turning to me, she said that I knew it,” Goforth wrote. “I replied that this was my presentation, and this was how I was utilizing my time. She immediately responded by telling me I was finished. The hearing was over, and demanded that I leave.”
Goforth refused to forfeit her presentation time. At this point, most of the attendees stood and expressed frustration over Troshynski’s actions.
According to Goforth, Chairperson Troshynski proceeded to “shuffle through paperwork” but was “unable to find anything about allowing someone else to speak during my time because it doesn’t exist in the rule sheet.”
Coons claimed there were no such rules, and therefore they couldn’t be enforced, Goforth noted.
“This was met with more audience outbursts and comments, at which time Chairperson Troshynski loudly called out to ‘call 9-1-1!’”
The meeting, however, did not end, and order was quickly restored.
Goforth said she was then allowed to utilize the rest of her time, but was warned that she could not invite anyone else to share their views.
Goforth said she was then allowed to utilize the rest of her time, but was warned that she could not invite anyone else to share their views.
“I had about four minutes left,” Goforth noted. “I turned back to Librarian Treesh, first telling him that the Wasilla library is his responsibility and that not every public library in the country carries every book. It’s up to him if he carries a book and where he shelves it. I informed him that only Wasilla and Willow have this particular book and I was in the process of gaining a reconsideration hearing with the borough to see it moved from Young Adult to the Adult section in the Willow public library also. It’s the librarian’s choice on where a book is placed. He doesn’t have to follow anyone else. Be a leader. Be an example.”
At this point, Goforth said she turned to the audience and asked the people in the room if they found the book to be “patently offensive.”
“All but two hands were raised,” she said. “At that point Chairperson Troshynski again tried to rebuke me, interrupting me with comments.”
After informing Troshynski that this was her time to speak, Goforth was allowed to finish. She concluded by describing what “grooming” actually means. [Claiming this book and others she objected to met the definition. She didn't state HOW or what evidence she had.]
The meeting then concluded, and the committee proceeded to meet in private to discuss the book and decide its fate.
According to Goforth, two Wasilla police officers were in the hallway as the crowd exited.
“Both were smiling, congenial, and waved,” she noted. “They informed us that they were just doing their rounds.”
In a now deleted Facebook post, reconsideration committee member Sarah Welton gave her own account of the hearing, claiming that those opposed to the sexualized book were closed minded.
“The audience called me names as they left the room,” Welton lamented. “I said I would pray for those who persecute me. I stated that God loves them.”
Her words were not well received.
“It was for me to not respond in kind by calling them names. But I guess it was taken as an attack,” she wrote. “I am sorry that minds are so closed and that one faction of a community, not the entire community, feels they know what is best for everyone. If you do not want your child to read the book, monitor it.”
Welton later posted a derogatory comment on Facebook, which appeared directed at those who oppose the book. Welton’s Nov. 9 Facebook entry included a meme defining the word “Agnorant” as “people who are extremely ignorant, yet are simultaneously extremely arrogant.” She personally added: “Witnessing this in the book debates.”
According to Wasilla Library Director Zane Treesh, a final decision from the reconsideration board has not yet been released.
“When the decision is made by the reconsideration committee, it gets mailed or sent to the patron that asked for the reconsideration and also to me,” he said in a Nov. 10 phone interview. “I haven’t received it yet.”
Treesh said he’s not sure how long it will take for a final decision, but expects it will be “timely.”
The committee’s decision is final, he said.
“The next step after that would be if the patron wanted to take it to court,” Treesh said.
West Ada, Idaho School District to o discuss 'The Nowhere Girls' reconsideration at board meetinghttps://idahonews.com/news/local/west...
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Request to pull Union library book gets chilly reception from parents
https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/edu...
A local organization’s request to pull a sexual assault survivor’s memoir from the shelves of Union High School’s library received a chilly reception from several Union parents at Monday night’s school board meeting.
“You have the right to opt out and censor your child’s experience,” Union parent Erica Stormont said. “You do not have the right to censor my child’s experience.”
Made during the public comment portion of the meeting, the request to remove Alice Sebold’s 1999 memoir “Lucky” came from members of the Tulsa County Chapter of Moms For Liberty.
“While there are offensive books sitting on your shelf, … there are new rules put into place, and you have to abide by them,” Tulsa County Moms For Liberty Chairwoman Janice Danforth said. “You have to remove it or risk losing accreditation.”
Danforth filed unsuccessful challenges in 2022 to have "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" and "13 Reasons Why" pulled from the shelves at her children's district, Bixby Public Schools.
Along with Stormont, Union parent Heather Cacoperdo also shared her objection to the request to pull the book from the shelves. A mother of three Union students, Cacoperdo acknowledged that “Lucky” might make some readers uncomfortable, but she said there may be students who have experienced sexual assault who can relate to it.
“We trust our leadership,” she said. “This is a large, diverse and, most importantly, inclusive district. A small, noisy group like Moms For Liberty is welcome to make decisions about what their own children read. They don’t get to make decisions for the 15,000 kids attending this district.”
Murfreesboro, Tennessee has banned public homosexuality A city in Tennessee is using a recently passed ordinance essentially prohibiting homosexuality in public to try to ban library books that might violate the new rules.
Murfreesboro passed an ordinance in June banning “indecent behavior,” including “indecent exposure, public indecency, lewd behavior, nudity or sexual conduct.” As journalist Erin Reed first reported, this ordinance specifically mentions Section 21-72 of the city code. The city code states that sexual conduct includes homosexuality.
Anyone who violates the new ordinance is barred from hosting public events or selling goods and services at public events for two years. Anyone who violates the ordinance “in the presence of minors” is barred for five years.
An ACLU-backed challenge to the ordinance has already been launched, but that hasn’t stopped city officials from implementing the measure. Last Monday, the Rutherford County steering committee met to discuss removing all books that might potentially violate the ordinance from the public library. The resolution was met with widespread outcry from city residents.
“When have the people who ban books ever been the good guys?” local activist Keri Lambert demanded during the Monday county meeting.
Murfreesboro city officials have already used the ordinance to ban four books that discuss LGBTQ themes. In August, the county library board pulled the books Flamer, Let’s Talk About It, Queerfully and Wonderfully Made, and This Book Is Gay.
The board also implemented a new library card system that categorizes books into certain age groups. When it takes effect next year, children and teenagers will only be able to check out books that correspond to their age group; they will need permission from a parent or guardian to check out “adult” books.
https://newrepublic.com/post/176915/t...
Scholastic book fairs are still under attack. Darned if they do, darned if they don't. Kirk Cameron is attacking Scholastic in order to promote his own Christian agenda publisher book fair. Let's review the First Amendment shall we? Christian book fairs have no place in a public school and if you don't like the books your kid brings home, take them away from the kid and don't let them attend the book fair next time. Don't tell every parent what their kids can and can not read.Here's the K-8 list of the books had available for a custom case
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oLn-...
The whole catalog from last school year
https://bookfairsfiles.scholastic.com...
https://kfor.com/news/local/moms-for-...
The Moms for Liberty Oklahoma chapter is requesting a change of book fair vendors because of “radical viewpoints and sexual ideologies” being pushed in reading material.
The parent led advocacy group claims several Scholastic books violate Oklahoma law.
In a Moms for Liberty Oklahoma press release from Friday the group said, “It has become undeniable that a regularly occurring conduit for inappropriate books into schools across Oklahoma is through Scholastic, particularly through their book fairs.”
“Scholastic, a once trusted company that happens to be one of the top publishers of children’s books, now appears largely focused on indoctrinating youth with radical viewpoints and sexual ideologies from a very young age at an increasingly rapid rate,” a Moms for Liberty Oklahoma press release reads.
The group said they condemn the current nature of business Scholastic is exhibiting and “look forward to alternative publishers and book fair companies embracing materials dedicated to building academia, character, and morality of our youth while respecting the values and traditions of parents.”
Defense of Democracy Oklahoma Chair, Bailee Tyler told KFOR her initial response to the Moms for Liberty press release was “here we go again.”
Moms for Liberty’s press release explains it’s a parent’s right to visit the library and the book fair to oversee what kids may be exposed to. However, parents are already allowed, and encouraged to visit the Scholastic school book fair, according to the publisher’s website..
“It’s just another thing they come up with to fight and make a fuss and to continue their attack on public education,” said Tyler. “Scholastic book fairs are ran by parents. Typically, parents sit down and pick out the books with their children. What is happening that they’re seeing that we’re not?”
Tyler said she has a 14-month-old son, and while she doesn’t currently have a child in the Oklahoma public education system, she fears what it might look like when her son is old enough to attend school.
“Now that I’m a mother, I really want to fight for his future. As parents, we have the right to determine when our children get to read material like that. Moms for Liberty doesn’t get to decide when everybody else determines the material is appropriate for their children,” stated Tyler.
The Oklahoma State Department of Education Director of Communications, Dan Isett said the agency is investigating.
“Superintendent Walters is always concerned and vigilant about eliminating woke indoctrination in the classroom,” said Isett.
Moms for Liberty has also recently requested McGraw Hill not be considered as a math textbook publisher for the state because it incorporates social-emotional learning.
Tyler said Defense of Democracy Oklahoma does not plan on sending OSDE their response to the Moms for Liberty press release.
"Our biggest goal is public awareness. We want family members, community members to know what Moms for Liberty is doing. Our politicians know what they’re doing,” stated Tyler. “They are hurting your public schools and we will continue to get that word out. We are a grassroots movement. We don’t have big donors. Moms for Liberty is funded by big political action committees like the Heritage Foundation. We aren’t funded by anything. We are just ran by the sheer will of parents who are fighting with everything they have to protect public education.”
https://kfor.com/news/local/moms-for-...
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A city in Tennessee is using a recently passed ordinance essentially prohibiting homosexuality in public to try to ban library books that m..."
So I guess a little boy or a little girl running around naked or semi naked in the backyard or on the beach could be scooped up by Gestapo like police “officers” taken from their families? I DESPISE American Taliban right wing Nazis.
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Manybooks wrote: "Honestly, Kirk Cameron and his supporters are probably ALL in the closet regarding their sexuality."Their m.o. is love and kindness but in their own way. People come out and hear the book and like his message without realizing what he's really saying or understanding that the book publisher is a Christian publisher pushing an agenda.
As far as Murfeesboro, backyard is private property but a beach or a park would be public so maybe yes a naked child would be breaking the law? What they REALLY mean though is to arrest all trans people or force them into the closet and lock the door and throw away the key- all in the name of protecting the children, of course! From what I've been reading, their way thought process is "If kids READ about LGBTQ+ people they might "decide" to become LGBTQ+ and they'll be inducted into some secret nasty society where they will be abused and destroyed by those g-d liberals and homosexuals." Yes we can roll our eyes and laugh at the absurdity but these people are in government positions - including Speaker of the House of the U.S. Representatives! They make the laws. The rest of us vote.
Yes! Exactly what I predicted. N.J. teen wins seat on school board. ‘He was made for that position.’
https://www.nj.com/education/2023/11/...
The 18 year olds are coming for you censors! This young man sounds lovely and like an excellent future leader. I wish him well!
"Jennifer Lonsky, one of Chad Wood’s running mates on the Stop Raising Taxes slate, recalls first noticing him at a later meeting when he addressed a controversy over moving a book from the middle school to the high school. The board attorney wouldn’t allow him to speak from his seat at the table he shared with board members. So he stood in line to speak as a member of the public.
“I said, ‘Wow, look at that kid’s initiative. He really cares about that,’” Lonsky said.
Kaitlin Gagnon, his other running mate, saw that as controversies on the board became more tumultuous, Wood became more vocal.
The district made headlines recently when parental rights advocates won board control last November and later dropped a policy that provided protections for transgender students. Afterward, the teachers’ union issued a no-confidence vote of five board members for injecting their politics into board governance.
Those members no longer form the majority of the board, with the victory of Wood’s, Gagnon’s and Lonsky’s slate.
Wood said the issue of whether schools should notify parents when trans students use different pronouns or bathrooms “hadn’t been a big issue until select parents made it a big issue.” He found it “extremely troubling” that no new policy replaced the dropped one.
“A lot more constructive things could be happening instead of these polarizing issues,” he said.
In his campaign statement on the town’s local news site, Wood wrote, “Through every board meeting I experienced, I kept drawing the same conclusion. We have the wrong priorities…Our Kindergarten program has been housed in temporary trailers for almost 30 years.” He promised that one of his first goals would be to hire a second nurse in the high school, as the current one works with 1,200 students.
His to-do list includes pursuing fund-raising activities to help address the district’s low reserves and getting the community to work toward common goals to help students instead of focusing on divisive issues."
Sad news from Sarasota but not unexpected. Emily Drabinski's personal views do not affect the decisions of the ALA. The ALA does not censor books and the fact that these districts are dropping out of the ALA proves they ARE actually trying to ban books and ideas they disagree with AND that they don't understand the meaning of "fascism". ALA = intellectual freedom = the opposite of fascism!They also have no idea what the ALA does. They don't teach kids how to read, that's what literacy means. They encourage intellectually freedom, like reading!
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Sarasota County Commission votes to end memberships in state, national library groups
Parade of residents supported association membership; cite '1984' and 'Farenheit 451' in raising concerns about book banning
"Commissioner Joe Neunder also cited what he called the book-banning misinformation and referenced concerns about Marxism influence “whether it’s Marxism or fascism they try to infiltrate.”
But he then equated the vote to protecting children when it came to reading materials.
“This has everything to do with keeping books in age-appropriate sections for our children,” he added.
In making his motion to end spending for memberships in the state and national associations, Moran said that for all associations, “Sticking to their core trade is important to me.
“We’re drifting into areas where these associations are acting like political action committees.
“My fingerprints will not be on a penny that goes to them, if I have a say in the matter,” Moran later added. “I'm very open to revisiting membership … if they are willing to stay focused.”
Commissioner Neil Rainford, who seconded the motion, said when he read the association's website, “Their first point on the web site is advocacy … I think their first point should be literacy.”
Commissioner Mark Smith, the only no vote in a 4-1 decision, said he was concerned about the potential impact on continuing education for Sarasota County library professionals and asked Renee Di Pilato, director of libraries and historical resources for Sarasota County to weigh in.
“We are members of ALA but we don't march in lockstep with any organization,” Di Pilato said, then noted that, in addition to professional accreditation, the association provides professional training and discounts.
“Many of us are personal members of ALA but a lot of our staff cannot afford that membership on their salary as a new librarian,” she added.
Sarasota County pays annual dues of $1,300 to the American Library Association and $2,673 to the Florida Library Association.
Ann Hardy, a retired Sarasota County librarian, had noted that she relied heavily on the American Library Association in devising how to implement a mobile library system.
“Who else could I have reached out to for this information?” she added.
Commission Chairman Ron Cutsinger, a former president of the Friends of the Elsie Quirk Library, said the decision for him was personal and noted that he, too, would be in favor of rejoining the ALA if it dropped its politics.
In reference to Drabinski, Cutsinger said, “This was an elected position and the directors at this point have not pushed back on that.
“My love and support for the libraries has nothing to do with our concern for this organization,” he added.
Conni Brunni, president of the Sarasota County Republican Assembly Chapter, as well as leader of Sarasota's Moms for Liberty chapter, had previously said that the push for the commission to defund the two library associations is part of an effort supported by the Christian Family Coalition through the Sarasota County Republican Assembly Chapter.
A majority of the residents who spoke in favor of maintaining membership in both professional development organizations linked the issue to book banning and a rise of authoritarian government.
Several drew parallels to the thought police in George Orwell’s “1984,” and the book burners in Ray Bradburry’s “Fahrenheit 451.”
Speaker Donna Cubit-Swoyer noted that, “When children come to the library they should be supervised by their parents at the library,” and presented the board with a petition signed by more than 400 residents in support of the libraries and association membership.
Robin Taub Williams later presented the board with petitions containing more than 600 signatures.
Neal Draznin stressed that the American Library Association is a professional association and a vital link for Sarasota County librarians to keep abreast of professional development learning opportunities.
“We need librarians able to function as technology changes,” he added.
Sarasota County resident Kelly Lavin, a member of the Library Foundation of Sarasota County, noted that all decisions on the content of county libraries are made on the local level and equated a library card with a card for freedom.
Speaker Barbara Vaughn said that the effort to end financial support for the library associations is not about banning books but is a reaction to what she claims is the agenda of ALA president Emily Drabinski, a self-proclaimed “Marxist-Lesbian.”
“Nobody that I know, except people on the liberal left, are talking about banning books – that's not what this meeting is about,” Vaughn said. “This meeting is about whether to pay for membership in a group that claims libraries need to be a site of socialist organizing.”
Clayton Taylor called the current leadership of ALA a travesty and called for Sarasota County to follow suit with Citrus, Lee and Collier counties in ending financial support for the ALA and the Florida Department of State, which will not accept grant applications from the association.
“Our money needs to go to a new library association in Florida,” he added. “If f the ALA ever fixes its board and changes its ideology issues to other than Marxist, perhaps we can rejoin at that point.”
In an email statement sent to local media Wednesday, Sarasota County Democratic Party Chair Daniel Kuether condemned the vote.
https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/n...
To top that, Texas doesn't believe climate change is real - backed by the oil and gas companies, of course. Some of the comments are so ridiculous! Texas education board rejects climate change lessons in textbooks
https://www.kxan.com/news/texas-educa...
The State Board of Education on Tuesday gave an initial rejection to some science textbooks after concerns over their lessons on climate change.
Members of the 15-seat education policy committee voted on party lines to withhold approval from numerous textbooks that recognize fossil fuels as a cause of manmade climate change.
Among the rejections were publisher Green Ninja’s middle school science textbooks, which provides exercises that direct students to write about the future changes to weather and climate. Another publisher, EduSmart, was struck from the list for depictions that one board member worried cast the oil and gas industry in a “negative light.”
“There’s an overemphasis on the evils of oil and gas and virtues of renewables,” District 15 board member Aaron Kinsey said of another textbook. Kinsey is a Midland Republican and CEO of the oilfield services company American Patrols, which contracts with oil and gas companies to provide aerial surveys.
“I just think this Accelerate learning curriculum does a disservice to our students because it only only presents one side,” Pearland board member Julie Pickren said of another publisher. “A general theme throughout their entire science curriculum is that climate change is manmade. There’s no discussion or presenting different theories.”
Experts agree — there is not another side to the science.
“This is not something that’s debated in the scientific realm at all, it’s just something that’s controversial in the political realm,” KXAN Chief Meteorologist David Yeomans said. “Teaching climate change to kids is the same as teaching them about gravity or addition and subtraction. These are settled scientific facts. It’s not being ‘anti’ anything.”
Democrat Aicha Davis worries the board is protecting the image of the oil and gas industry at the expense of objectivity.
“Do you want pictures of children in oil fields?,” Davis rhetorically asked the board on Wednesday. “We literally had that discussion on making sure oil and gas is always seen positively… we want to give students information, we want to give them knowledge… we want them to know how to keep our earth here.”
Publishers cater to Texas’ requirements because of the state’s large market of millions of students. Because of the higher cost associated with printing multiple versions of textbooks, other states often end up with the version Texas prefers.
https://www.kxan.com/news/texas-educa...
Well, finally, some clear guidance from Iowa. It's ridiculous guidance though.Iowa education leaders propose rules for interpreting controversial law
https://www.kcrg.com/2023/11/16/iowa-...
The new law says districts cannot provide instruction relating to gender identity or sexual orientation to students in kindergarten through sixth grade.
Also, Senate File 496 requires districts to take out books from school libraries that depict s-x scenes. Several schools started making lists of books they believed needed to be removed from school shelves. Now, the Department of Education says books that do not “describe or visually depict a s-x act” can remain.
The new guidance states school districts are exempt from that requirement if they share resources with a public library. It only applies to libraries under the direction of school districts.
If these rules are adopted, educators may face penalties starting the first of the year. Under the law, the first time a violation happens, the district will get a written warning. After that, educators may face disciplinary action by the state.
These proposed rules may not be the last word on Senate File 496. Two public hearings are set for January in Des Moines for people who wish to weigh in.
In a statement, the state’s teacher’s union says these proposed rules still don’t do enough to clarify the law.
“The proposed rules do nothing to address the chilling effect the law created. So far, hundreds of book titles have been pulled from shelves across the state and we’ve created ridiculous amounts of paperwork over topics like student nicknames.
“Public education professionals will still continue to spend valuable instructional time trying to meet vague state mandates.”
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Texas education board rejects climate change le..."
Any Texas science teacher who does not teach that climate change is real is basically an idiot and frankly all climate change deniers make me physically want to puke.
Very bad news South Carolina. What happened to "We don't co-parent with the government?"South Carolina education board deciding whether to limit books and other materials
The State Board of Education is considering a universal definition of “age appropriate” educational materials in South Carolina schools and libraries
The State Board of Education is considering a universal definition of “age appropriate” educational materials in South Carolina schools and libraries that would (view spoiler)
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/s...
A vote Tuesday to advance the policy is just the beginning of the process. Final approval is expected to be decided next year before the Republican-led state Legislature can then take up the proposal. A similar bill currently sits in a conference committee of state lawmakers.
People packed into a conference room in Columbia, South Carolina, on Tuesday afternoon. Some wore shirts for Moms for Liberty, a conservative group behind many book bans nationwide, while others donned buttons supporting local organizations that promote diversity in literature.
Patrick Kelly, a lobbyist for the Palmetto State Teachers Association, recommended that board members limit the complaint process to just students, their families and school employees. He said the current proposal “will create untenable working conditions for educators forced to reply to complaints rather than focus on student needs.”
Opponents decried the regulation as an overstep of local officials' authority, which could jeopardize the availability of inclusive books that address sometimes sensitive subjects, and can resonate with students from marginalized backgrounds.
“With all due respect, we do not want the state coming in and overriding what we have done locally," said Melinda Henrickson, the founder of Families Against Book Bans. She's also a resident of Beaufort County, where the Post and Courier newspaper reports that students lost access to nearly 100 books, including Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid's Tale.”
Supporters called the proposal a necessary step to ensure that students statewide have curriculum that is unbiased and matches their cognitive development stage.
The policy takes its definitions of “obscene” and “indecent” from federal statutes and broadcast television regulations. It would prohibit officials from removing any existing materials based primarily on disagreement with their viewpoints.
“We’re not sweeping the baby out with the bathwater here,” said Miles Coleman as he explained the policy to the board. Coleman is a partner at Nelson Mullins focused on First Amendment law and is listed as president of the conservative Federalist Society’s chapter in Columbia, South Carolina.
The proposal also requires district boards to consider whether library shelves could be “better filled" by materials that it considers more “rigorous” or “objective.”
A Lexington County resident advocated for the regulations because his district's library contained books that he found objectionable. [Elana K. Arnold's "Red Hood", Rupi Kaur's “milk and honey,” a popular poetry collection about surviving abuse and violence, and George M. Johnson's “All Boys Aren't Blue,” a memoir about growing up LGBTQ+ and Black.]
Elsewhere in Florida, there's better news.Brevard County School Board rejects proposal to ban hundreds of books
Board member Gene Trent announced a plan Tuesday night to ban nearly 300 books on a state-curated list.
The board then suggested only banning books that are already being challenged in Brevard County.
That motion also failed.
“We tried. I’ll try again. And every time it gets voted down, the ones up here that are voting no are voting for keeping those in front of our children,” Trent said.
https://www.wftv.com/news/local/breva...
And because he's awesome and so many of us grew up with Reading Rainbow and Star Trek, LeVar Burton speaks to Esquire Magazine on Book Banning
LeVar Burton Is Still Fighting For Your Right to Read
In an age of unprecedented book bans, the actor and literacy advocate is going to the mat for the freedom to read. "America loves to live in the shadows," he says, "but we're living in an age when the truth wants to come out."
https://www.esquire.com/entertainment...
Manybooks wrote: "Any Texas science teacher who does not teach that climate change is real is basically an idiot and frankly all climate change deniers make me physically want to puke."The panel review was done before the latest study that just came out but I'm certain that doesn't matter. Their comments are just so bizarre and ridiculous yet they BELIEVE what they're saying! At least one panel reviewer is literally in the pay of the oil and gas industries and I'm thinking, from the comments, more of them are.
Sad news from St. Mary's Public Library in Kansas. ‘I’m not real proud’: St. Marys public library gets new lease by removing LGBTQ books for kids
Advisory committee searched for LGBTQ words to identify and force removal of a dozen books
https://kansasreflector.com/2023/11/1...
I hate that the librarian was put between a rock and a hard place. Close the library and the people of the rural community have nowhere to go. Hide the books and the people have a library but you go against everything you've been taught and believe in as a library professional. These megachuches and ultra conservative Christian organizations have GOT to go. They have no business in public affairs.
also they need to stop keyword searching and actually READ some books. Keyword searching is dangerous because it pulls up books that are not actually LGBTQ+ themed like the author whose book was banned in Iowa because of her name.
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The story:
The public library in St. Marys has managed to hang onto its lease for one more year by removing all of the youth-oriented LGBTQ books from library shelves.
Library director Judith Cremer said the decision was the result of her efforts to work with the city commission, which has been threatening the library’s lease for more than a year.
Cremer said the adult section of the St. Marys location still contains some LGBTQ books, but in the junior collection, there are “probably not” any books left that contain LGBTQ content.
“I’m not real proud of that. … I feel bad because I think that there should be a variety of things for everybody, but like I say, we do have eight locations and I can get anything for anybody within about a day,” Cremer said. “So that’s a compromise I have to make.”
“I’m just trying to be realistic in the fact that we do have a precarious position here,” she added.
The St. Marys library is the headquarters for branches in more rural communities within Pottawatomie and Wabaunsee counties.
Cremer described the titles that were removed as “pretty mild” and “nothing that isn’t normal in mainstream society.”
A six-person library advisory committee is in charge of evaluating books. One of the committee members searched “gay,” “transgender,” “lesbian,” “bisexual” and “queer” in the library’s catalog to find books the committee wanted to review. They then read the books before determining which ones needed to be physically removed from the library premises.
They removed about a dozen books, including “Squad,” “Blood Countess,” “The Great American Whatever,” “Beyond Clueless,” “Red Rolls of Magic,” “Infinity Son” and “Icebreaker.”
“Most of these titles, the topic really isn’t LGBTQ or anything like that,” Cremer said. “It’s just describing a reality that is normal now for most people.”
Cremer has been working with the library advisory committee over the past few months in an attempt to appease city commissioners who threatened to pull the library’s lease because of religious-based objections to LGBTQ books. While the commissioners have no governing influence over the library, the Pottawatomie Wabaunsee Regional Library would be forced to find a new location if the lease weren’t renewed, giving up a community spot it has held for decades and depriving St. Marys residents of easily accessible library material.
The regional library has locations in Alma, Alta Vista, Eskridge, Harveyville, Olsburg, Onaga, St. Marys and Westmoreland, with county residents funding the library through taxes. Books removed from St. Marys were sent to these other locations.
The St. Marys location has struggled to work with members of the Society of St. Pius X, an extreme religious sect that has become a major influence in the small city of St. Marys. An estimated half of the library committee members have ties to SSPX.
All five of St. Marys’ city commissioners are tied to SSPX and have said their religion shapes their views, which includes an ongoing campaign against LGBTQ content. Some have characterized the library campaign as an SSPX attempt to dominate the last public space in St. Marys not already under its control.
Commission member Matthew Childs, who currently serve as the mayor, authored a lease renewal clause last year that demanded the library remove all LGBTQ and socially divisive books from the shelves. Facing intense public pressure, the commission in December dropped the clause and renewed the lease for one year.
But as public pressure faded, the commissioners renewed their fight against the library in the spring, arguing that LGBTQ content, such as transgender ... (view spoiler) needed to go. (view spoiler)
Commissioner Gerard Kleinsmith “They’ve been doing some good work,” Kleinsmith said. “They’ve gotten 12 books that have been removed from the St. Marys library. … They’re going in the right direction.”
Childs said the library’s actions showed they were able to work as a community.
“That was the question in the first place really, ‘Why don’t we work as a community?’ And it looks like we’re doing that. So that’s a win,” Childs said.
It’s uncertain how many more books could be removed from the library in the future. When asked if there was a line she would hold if the committee continues to ask for more removals, Cremer said it would depend on the decision-making process.
Her priority is hanging onto the St. Marys location, she said, because she feels city residents need the library.
“We need to protect all of our areas of information, so that when people need that information to make decisions about their life, we have that information available,” Cremer said. “I know that and that’s what I’m striving for. But I do have to compromise to keep the doors open.”
https://kansasreflector.com/2023/11/1...
With 14 challenged books, Pine-Richland School District wades into Pa. book ban debatehttps://www.wesa.fm/education/2023-11...
Everest, a third grader in the district, came to show support for the graphic novel series “Heartstopper” by Alice Oseman.
The books follow two boys — one gay and the other bisexual — as they navigate high school, and fall in love. Everest said he likes how all of the kids in the book respect one another.
“It just makes me feel comfortable,” Everest added. “It really explains me.”
And he said it might help explain other kids in the district coming to terms with their identity.
But that’s less likely to happen if it’s taken out of the school library. Pine-Richland, an affluent suburban district serving roughly 4,500 students north of Pittsburgh, is the latest school district grappling with a series of potential book bans.
The district is reviewing "Heartstopper" and 13 other books due to a spate of objections over what complainants say was sexually explicit content.
Other books in question are “All Boys Aren't Blue” by George Johnson, “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison and “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood. At least four were written by authors of color and more than half feature LGBTQ+ characters.
Inside the Pine-Richland School Board meeting Monday, Brittany Kindersmith, Everest’s mom, was one of more than a dozen parents urging the district not to remove these books from school libraries.
“There are queer kids at Pine-Richland High School. There are queer kids at Pine-Richland Middle School,” Kindersmith said. “Do not take these books from them because you are scandalized about a few paragraphs detailing sexual assault taken entirely out of context.”
Critics of the books in question dominated public comment during the subsequent school board meeting on Oct. 23. Among the speakers was John Amanchukwu, a North Carolina-based pastor who was scheduled to speak prior to the meeting at a rally affiliated with Turning Point USA.
Pine-Richland school board policy allows non-resident speakers to participate in public comment if a resident says they are “represented” by the speaker. That was the case last month when former school board member Therese Dawson told the body that Amanchukwu would represent her.
The comments sparked conversation among school board members, who weighed the idea of a measure that would restrict access to the 14 challenged books while they remain under review.
Board president Greg DiTullio said that he hoped to bring a measure to the Nov. 13 meeting that would mandate that the district notify parents if their student checks out one of those challenged books.
But board members put that plan on pause Monday night, citing closed-door discussions with the district’s attorney.
The Commonwealth’s library laws state that materials — including the names and other personally identifiable information regarding books taken out of a school library — must be maintained as confidential and may not be made available to anyone, except by court order in a criminal proceeding.
Maura McInerney, legal director at the Education Law Center (ELC), said the confidentiality of student educational records is further maintained by the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
But that same law also gives parents the right to access their students’ educational records.
Pennsylvania School Library Association (PSLA) president Leah Lindemann said that parents have the right to view their child’s school library checkouts as they are considered academic records.
The organization also supports parental involvement in their children’s education through communication with the school librarian, though PSLA leaders say recent book challenges across the state frequently circumvent established library policies and school librarians — the professionals trained to address questions or concerns regarding library materials.
“With such policies in place, it is particularly concerning that families and those generally concerned with the contents of the school library’s collection are not asking the school librarian for a solution that suits their needs,” PSLA president-elect Sarah DeMaria told lawmakers at a hearing on book bans last month. “To school librarians, it feels as though our professionalism is not being considered.”
At the Pine-Richland school board meeting Monday, directors voted to table the notification idea or any other changes to the district’s library policy. DiTullio encouraged board members to discuss it further at their December meeting when newly-elected school board members will take their seats.
Among the new members are three Republican candidates who put removing sexually explicit material from school libraries front and center in their campaigns. Their addition shifts the board even further to the right of the political spectrum.
Pine-Richland parent Nila Griffin says that as the parent of a trans daughter, the school board has sometimes made her family feel unsafe.
Griffin said the family has considered moving away, though they won’t just yet.
“We're staying because we love the admin, we love the teachers, we love the librarians and we believe in the school,” she said. “We know the majority of this community is supportive and loving. We just need to be a little bit louder about it.”
The challenged materials will stay in circulation while a committee of parents, staff and community members reviews each complaint. The district solicited community applications to join the panel earlier this month, and five representatives will be selected through a random and anonymized lottery.
Administrators say the entire review process could take months. Once the committee and school board issues its recommendations to remove the books or not, the district’s superintendent will have the final say.
In Germantown, Wisconsin neighbors are stocking Little Free Libraries with banned bookshttps://www.tmj4.com/news/local-news/...
Children's Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Out of the Blue (other topics)The Princess in Black and the Prince in Pink (other topics)
My Rainbow (other topics)
Butt or Face? Volume 3: Super Gross Butts (other topics)
The Day the Books Disappeared (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Jodi Picoult (other topics)Sarah J. Maas (other topics)
Ellen Hopkins (other topics)
Jodi Picoult (other topics)
Scott Stuart (other topics)
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A Court of Mist and Fury has been reviewed and deemed acceptable to return to the Lexington-Richland 5 school library.
The decision can be appealed to the school board, per district policy. After that, the book can’t be challenged for another five years.
Read more at: https://www.thestate.com/news/local/e...