Children's Books discussion
Banned Books: discussions, lists
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Discussion of censorship, equity, and other concerns.
Manybooks wrote: "Find it encouraging that some teachers in Saskatchewan are fighting back, but more collectivist en masse rebellion against ALL Fascism in the USA and in Canada is needed.https://www.cbc.ca/news/c..."
That's good news. I hope the teachers aren't threatened, harassed and fired the way they are in Florida.
Follow-up on the banning of public indecency aka LGBTQ+ in Murfeesboro, Tenn.Homosexuality' is now legal in Murfreesboro, city leaders decide in response to lawsuit
The Murfreesboro City Council updated code prior to Oct. 28 BoroPride
A mixed bag of news though
Court order tells city officials they shall not enforce enforce a code that includes 'homosexuality' within definition of 'sexual conduct'
City manager: 'The term homosexuality is an anachronism unenforceable under current law'
The city manager accuses BoroPride of exposing 'children to a harmful prurient interest'
BoroPride volunteer: 'It’s hurting our LGBTQ+ community'
BoroPride attracts 4,500 in attendance in 2023 after have more than 7,000 in 2022
https://www.dnj.com/story/news/2023/1...
The term "homosexuality" stopped being part of a city code prohibiting inappropriate "sexual conduct," the Murfreesboro City Council decided recently.
City Manager Craig Tindall advised the council Oct. 19 to update a city ordinance, dating back to 1949, following a federal First Amendment lawsuit from BoroPride LGBTQ+ supporters and a court order from Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr., the chief judge for the U.S. District Court in Nashville.
The council unanimously voted to eliminate the term, "homosexuality," from the code's definition prohibiting inappropriate sexual conduct.
The LGBTQ+ festival organizers and the American Civil Liberties Union won the court order and a change in the city code prior to the Oct. 28 BoroPride free event for all ages at Tennessee Miller Coliseum in north Murfreesboro.
Crenshaw's ruling tells the Murfreesboro city manager, Mayor Shane McFarland and the council that they "shall not enforce or take any action pursuant to the provision to Murfreesboro City Code 21-71 that includes 'homosexuality' within the definition of 'sexual conduct.'"
The city responded to the court order by saying the government reached a compromise with BoroPride pertaining to the code in question.
Enforcement of the code and the city's recent community decency standards ordinance has concerned supporters of BoroPride and the Rutherford County Library System who worry about book banning.
The council and mayor refrained from commenting when they agreed to update the code by deleting the word “homosexuality” from the definition of “sexual conduct."
Tindall during the meeting only talked about updating "language" in a code that's "unenforceable" without discussing details of the language in question.
The City Council Oct. 19 agenda report from Tindall suggested updating the ordinance was about clarifying code sections that are enforceable for purpose of public safety.
Tindall’s report also said the city has no recollection of ever having enforced the code that prohibited “homosexuality.”
BoroPride volunteer Matt Ferry of Murfreesboro said he's glad the council took "homosexuality" out of the ordinance.
"Of course, they only did that after the judge slapped them down and said that BoroPride must happen," Ferry said. "The problem is that the mayor and the city manager keep equating LGBTQ+ with actual sex predators, which couldn’t be further from the truth."
Ferry, past chairman of the Rutherford County Democratic Party, said city officials "keep trying to push this" perspective.
"It’s hurting our LGBTQ+ community," Ferry said. "It’s intimidating them. They were already afraid to come out in the open in Murfreesboro. This is going to make it worse. This is going to make them not want to live here. If Murfreesboro is truly a welcoming place, we should be embracing these folks and not trying to push them away or criminalize them."
In September 2022, city manager Tindall sent a letter to BoroPride organizers about a month after the 2022 festival telling them he'd deny any future permits on city property and accused them of exposing “children to a (view spoiler)
The 2022 event attracted more than 7,000 people to Cannonsburgh Village, a historic parks and recreation property on Front Street and across Broad Street from Murfreesboro City Hall in the downtown area.
BoroPride organizers were able to book the 2023 festival by reaching an agreement with MTSU by using the Murfreesboro university's Tennessee Miller Coliseum off West Thompson Lane in north Murfreesboro.
The 2023 event attracted 4,500 people, which is a decrease of more than 2,500 from previous year.
Not so fast good news - Rutherford County (where Murfreesboro is located) eyes library changes, age-based checkout amid community decency debatehttps://www.tennessean.com/story/news...
County officials are looking to pass stricter rules on funds provided to their local libraries, along with an age-restrictive checkout policy. The new policy debate comes as the county and city of Murfreesboro have been embroiled controversy and legal wrangling over what constitutes community decency.
The proposed resolution, which was discussed at the county commission's Nov. 6 Steering Committee meeting, seeks to ban county libraries from using county funds — which make up about 60% of the library system’s budget — to purchase any materials, display any materials or host any events that “may be judged as obscene or patently offensive in accordance with the social morals of the community.”
The resolution will come to vote at the January meeting to give time for committee members to discuss ways to police the library. Proposed options include auditing the library, removing staff and even the possibility of building an entirely new library to comply with the restricted standards.
"The money we give to the library cannot be used for the types of books (considered objectionable)," said Murfreesboro City Manager Craig Tindall, who spoke in support of county resolution. "Not to buy, circulate or display. The governmental entities can choose where to expend its money to address the universe of books to be put in a library."
The proposed age-restrictive checkout policy would implement tiered book access to prevent minors from checking out books with “explicit content” at libraries in the Rutherford County system.
The new policy would divide library cards into three tiers — adult, youth and child — with specific levels of access for each. Child cardholders will only have access to books that are in the juvenile area, while youth cardholders will be able to access books in the juvenile and youth sections, and adult cardholders will be able to access all sections.
“I’m a product of the public library here,” said Pettus Read, vice chair of the Rutherford County Planning Commission. “I read those book titles that the board moved (to the adult section). Most definitely they need moving. They needed moving so high on a shelf that even I can’t even reach them. Whenever I read the titles—that told me right quick what those books were.”
Read was referring to six recently challenged books titles, four of which were removed, according to the decency policy, and two were kept and moved to a higher age category.
Removed were “Flamer" by Mike Curato; "Let's Talk About It" by Erika Moen; "Queerfully & Wonderfully Made" edited by Leigh Finke; and "This Book is Gay" by Juno Dawson. Moved titles included "An ABC of Equality" [a board book!] by Chana Ginelle Ewing , and "Gender Queer" by Maia Kobabe.
Steve Sullivan, chair of the Library Board of Directors, who was appointed to the position by the county, noted that the biggest challenge to unrolling the more-restrictive policies came from library staff.
He described a staff member that “asked what would happen if they refused to remove a book,” and commented on the presence of the local First Amendment advocacy group Rutherford County Library Alliance, which he said is “largely opposed to this ordinance,” at the Rutherford County Library’s booth at BoroPride.
Keri Lambert, a Rutherford County resident and a member of Rutherford County Library Alliance, attended the meeting and spoke with The Tennessean detailing her opposition to the policy.
“A big perspective from myself, as a member of this community, is that it is literally (the library’s) duty to fight against censorship,” she said.
Sullivan also said the library is not supposed to represent everyone in the community—an idea that, according to him, library staff need to get behind for the policy to work. “Our community is changing…and the (library staff) believes that if you have one member of the community that could benefit from (a book), you’re supposed to have it,” he said. “We need to represent the majority, not every single person of the community. And that’s the biggest struggle—how do we get the staff to understand the goal and come behind it, when they’ve been always trained to see it a different way?
“I don’t know how to rectify that without replacing staff. But what else can you do? I don’t want to get to that.”
[uh ye that's the literal definition of a PUBLIC library! It's for the PUBLIC, the people of the community, everyone!]
https://www.tennessean.com/story/news...
Shame them publicly and they will change their minds. Good news from Hamilton East Library in IndianaHamilton East Public Library shelves controversial book review policy
https://fox59.com/indiana-news/hamilt...
The Hamilton East Public Library ended a book review and relocation policy that brought controversy and national attention to the central Indiana community.
The “Collection Development Policy” required the review of all books in the teen section to make sure they were age appropriate. After the policy went into effect in December 2022, staff members had to review books for profanity, sexual content and violence; they were pulled off shelves and unavailable during the review process.
The board suspended the policy in August as it made national headlines. Local author John Green, whose young adult best seller “The Fault in Our Stars” was moved to the adult section, heavily criticized the policy, calling it an “embarrassment.” The book was later moved back to the young adult section.
The board voted to adopt a plan from board member Michelle Payne, whose proposal noted that the library conducted a survey of 3,109 respondents between July 18, 2023, and Aug. 6, 2023. The survey showed 533 respondents agreed with the statement, “Stop book banning/censorship/improve board/trust librarians.”
The survey indicated that 44 respondents urged the board to “continue the new collection development policy/provide age-appropriate materials/remove ‘p__n.’”
“The majority of public comments this board has heard at meetings plus the majority of emails we have received during the past year have indicated that patrons do not support the policy,” Payne wrote.
Her proposal promoted a “fresh start” in 2024 and said some elements of the original policy would remain, including a “parental responsibility” information campaign urging parents to be aware of and monitor what their children are reading and watching. It also promoted the expansion of the parenting section within the children’s zone.
Any books that were moved from the “Teen Zone” to the general/adult section could be reshelved at the discretion of staff.
“Essentially, make parents accountable and trust our librarians,” the policy said.
The IndyStar reported that Board President Tiffanie Ditlevson abstained from the vote, while board member Micah Beckwith voted against revoking the policy. Those voting in favor of ending it were Andre Miksha, Craig Siebe, Michelle Payne, Bill Kenley and Susan Crandall.
In MissouriConservative issues stall after backlash in St. Charles County
While several high-profile conservative political efforts in St. Charles County have stalled, opponents say they’re gearing up for the next round in this epicenter of the culture wars.
In St. Charles County, county officials and school board members have backpedaled this week after hearing backlash from constituents.
• In Wentzville, a proposal to remove a requirement for diverse materials in school and classroom libraries was indefinitely tabled by the school board.
Meanwhile, a growing group of parents and educators in St. Charles County aren’t letting up on opposition to issues including book bans and policies affecting LGBTQ students.
Mernie Maestas, lead librarian at Wentzville School District, will speak at the school board meeting Thursday against a proposal to change a 20-year-old library policy. The revised policy, introduced in September, would remove the line stating, “the Board believes that it is the responsibility of the District’s library/media centers to provide materials that reflect the ideals and beliefs of religious, social, political, historical and ethnic groups, and their contributions to American and world cultures.”
The revised policy would only allow library materials that “relate to and support the District’s curriculum and that comply with Missouri law.”
Wentzville Superintendent Danielle Tormala on Thursday will recommend the creation of a policy committee “in order to effectively review, communicate, and seek feedback” for 12 proposed policies that are under review or tabled, including the library policy.
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/e...
LeVar Burton Calls Out M4L at National Book AwardsIt's a joke... Fox News can't understand a joke when they read it. Be prepared for more fuel for the fire.
https://themessenger.com/entertainmen...
"LeVar Burton hosted the 74th annual National Book Awards on Wednesday night, during which he poked fun at the conservative group Moms for Liberty.
"Before we get going, are there any Moms for Liberty in the house?" he asked an audience at the Cipriani & Wall Street Broadcast in New York.
"Moms for Liberty? No? Good. Then hands will not need to be thrown tonight."
Database of Book Sanctuaries U.S. and Canada so farhttps://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
This isn't complete. There are others and one can declare an individual a book sanctuary as well.
I missed this bad news from Utah last week.Utah lawmakers consider proposal to make removing books from school libraries easier
https://ksltv.com/600828/utah-lawmake...
The bill is being run by Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan who initially declined an interview. After publication, Ivory sent a statement.
“Some members of a USBE-led working group on [the bill] indicated a need for greater clarity in [the] Bright Line Rule and its application…we are working to do just that. I am confident you will see a refined draft presented at the November meeting,” Ivory said.
The chair of the Education Committee, Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Herriman, said Ivory’s bill was “trying to create some additional clarity” because districts were thinking that books reviewed as p_____phy still had to be reviewed for additional artistic value.
“And that’s not the case,” Pierucci said.
House Minority Leader Angela Romero, who’s also on the committee, said she has a “problem, a fundamental problem with the bill as it currently stands.”
According to the draft proposal, if “more than two school districts or more than five charter schools” review and deem a book as “objective sensitive material,” then all school districts statewide must also remove that book.
In the October interim meeting, lawmakers were looking at the threshold being more than four districts and nine charter schools to trigger a statewide ban.
There are 41 school districts across the state.
Similar to what’s in Utah’s sensitive materials law currently, only those connected to the school or district can challenge a book. The newest proposed draft adds one key difference.
Those who can challenge a book include students, parents of students in the district, employees of the district and, “an elected official who represents an area that includes all or part of the relevant LEA.”
“A lot of us receive constituent feedback,” Pierucci said, “And so as much as we try and drive people to the local school board, we still have people reaching out to us as elected officials, and we represent that area.”
The proposed draft also creates a “bright line” between sensitive materials being objective or subjective.
According to the proposal, a challenged book must first go through an initial review process where it is evaluated for whether it meets a bright line definition of p___aphy or indecency.
The bill defines objective sensitive material as the “Description or depiction of (view spoiler) as defined in state code.
Exceptions would include instructional material for medical, family, and consumer science or other courses exempted by the state board.
“If there is an excerpt [in a book] that is completely criminal p__n, it needs to be pulled off the shelf,” Pierucci said. [There is no you know what in the library, let alone schools! Stop wasting tax payer money on this nonsense.]
While a book is being reviewed for whether it meets this objective standard, “the LEA must remove the challenged material from student access and conduct a full review,” the draft summary states. That’s a change from the current law where a book can be left on the shelves while it’s under review.
If any part of a book is deemed to violate that “bright line,” no further review is required, and the materials would be removed.
“Each public school and [Local Education Agency] shall prioritize protecting children from the harmful effects of illicit pornography over other considerations in evaluating instructional material,” the latest draft states.
If the book doesn’t fall under the objective standard, then it gets reviewed for subjective sensitive content: “These materials do not violate the ‘bright line’ but, when taken as a whole, are deemed to have no serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value,” the draft summary states.
According to the summary, parents are included in a subjective review and students may access the material with parental permission during the review process.
The proposal provides a cap on the number of challenges that can come from one person during a school year, if their challenges don’t result in a book being pulled.
“An individual who initiates three reviews that do not result in the removal of material are barred from additional challenges for the remainder of the school year,” the summary states.
All challenges will need to be reported to the Utah State Board of Education, the draft bill summary states.
“Individuals may appeal an LEA’s decision on a sensitive material review to the LEA governing board. LEA governing boards must vote in a public meeting on the decision to retain or remove materials under an appeal,” the summary said.
Further, no policies from the state board or school district can prevent schools from revisiting a prior decision, reviewing a recommendation, or reconsidering materials after receiving additional information, it said.
The USBE is also in charge, according to the proposal, of notifying all districts if a book meets the threshold to be banned statewide.
If the draft passes unanimously in that meeting, the bill becomes what’s known as a “committee bill” and would head straight for a floor vote during the 2024 general session.
Pierucci said she did not see this bill passing unanimously but said that it was likely to have majority support.
“I think this is a great place,” Pierucci said when asked whether she supports it.
Romero does not support it.
“No, a big red No,” she said.
The hypocrites in Florida are NOT OK with kids accessing LGBTQ+ books anywhere even though they said "This is not a ban if the books are in the library or somewhere else." They went to far as to go after a Little Free Library in Hillsborough County.https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2023...
Paywalled right now
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Hillsborough County removed a rainbow book box. What happened?
A saga involving a Little Free Library at Westwood Lakes Park reveals Florida’s deep political unrest.
Good news Wisconsin.Democrats propose state law to help limit book bans
https://wisconsinexaminer.com/brief/d...
The good guys: Reps. Jimmy Anderson (D-Fitchburg) and Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire) and and Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee)
The cosponsorship memo proposes a bill to limit sweeping book bans. Under the draft bill, anyone complaining to a school district or public library about books must reside in the school district or community served by the library, submit written statements showing they’ve read the book entirely and detailing the reasons for their complaint, and include signatures of at least 5% of the residents in the school district or the community served by the library. The memo has a deadline of Nov. 21 for legislators to sign on.
Democrats this week also introduced legislation to bar book bans by state or local government agencies and denying state or local funds to libraries, schools and colleges or universities that “prohibit, ban or unreasonably restrict access” to books or other media because of “partisan or doctrinal disapproval” or because of the origin or background of the creators.
AB-657 was introduced by Emerson and its companion, SB-615, by Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison). The bills include language stating the provisions don’t apply to “any age-based restriction on obscene or pornographic material” and don’t apply to libraries in state prisons, jails, juvenile correction and detention facilities, secure residential care centers for children or youth, or libraries in institutions operated by the state Department of Health Services.
Cobb County Georgia school district to ask for legislation on book ratings. This is where the teacher was fired for reading My Shadow is Purple.Ratings: It's called children (Picture book, juvenile), young adult, general
https://eastcobbnews.com/cobb-school-...
Superintendent Chris Ragsdale is asking that the Georgia General Assembly consider developing a book rating system, similar to movies, that he said would clear up confusion about what’s appropriate to have on school library shelves.
He said public school districts are required by federal law, for example, to follow the Children’s Internet Protection Act for discounted rates on internet and telecommunications services.
“We have nothing for books whatsover,” Ragsdale said during a board work session Thursday afternoon.” It just makes common sense to put a rating system in place.”
He said such a rating system—which he didn’t think would get legislative approval right away—would also provide guidance for publishers of school books and other materials.
There wasn’t any opposition from board members, but at a voting session Thursday night, Post 2 member Becky Sayler made a motion to remove language substituting a ban on “inappropriate” materials for “sexually explicit” and “p___graphic.”
Sayler, one of three Democrats on the board, said “inappropriate” is a vague word that could create more confusion. Her motion failed 3-4 along partisan lines.
So did three other motions relating to the book rating priority, and she ultimately asked for a delay in a vote for another month for more public feedback.
“I truly cannot believe that we’re having a conversation again about what books should contain,” Ragsdale said during the work session. “It’s common sense. It speaks for itself.”
At the October board meeting, Sayler proposed a change in the book policy that would have created local media committees to provide feedback for library operations, with the district media committee having the final say.
She said that content should be allowed that has won awards and is used in book fairs and other related competitions.
But Ragsdale, who issued a lengthy statement in September defending the decision to remove the books, was adamant that materials deemed to be “vulgar, s----ally explicit, lewd, obscene, or pornographic” will continue to be removed.
Ragsdale denied accusations by Jeff Hubbard, head of the Cobb County Association of Educators, that what was happening in Cobb is part of a broader effort nationwide to restrict materials in school libraries, especially in Republican-friendly locals..
Ragsdale said that anyone looking at the 62-page list can, “if they try hard enough . . . find something to give offense.”
He said the district will not permit “taxpayer supported unrestricted access” to s---ually explicit books “for children.”
https://eastcobbnews.com/cobb-school-...
Here's a headline from Waterloo, OntarioAccess to books with LGBTQ themes restricted by Ontario’s Waterloo Catholic District School Board
https://www.thestar.com/entertainment...
Salma Writes a Book
The Mystery of the Painted Fan
Princess Pru and the Ogre on the Hill
Jude Saves the World
The Waterloo Catholic District School Board is restricting access to four books with LGBTQ themes selected as part of a provincial program intended to engage elementary and secondary school students in reading a diverse range of books.
Danny Ramadan’s middle-grade novel “Salma Writes a Book” is one of four titles with LGBTQ themes or characters nominated for the annual Forest of Reading awards that have been restricted for use by students at the WCDSB.
Ramadan, who is the chair of The Writers’ Union of Canada, and whose book focuses on a Muslim girl who can’t understand why her queer uncle is not immediately welcomed into her nuclear family, says the decision to restrict a title dealing with the confluence of LGBTQ issues and religion is ironic. “The book is about a religious family, albeit Muslim, that is coming to terms with their queer uncle, then learning by the end of the book that they can be religious and queer friendly,” he says.
The other books are, aside from Ramadan’s, “The Mystery of the Painted Fan” by Linda Trinh, “Princess Pru and the Ogre on the Hill” by Maureen Fergus,, and “Jude Saves the World” by Ronnie Riley.
The four books, which have been ordered by participating schools in the WCDSB, will be restricted based on their content. The board has a family life curriculum that begins in grades 7 and 8, says Lema Salaymeh, senior manager of communications for the WCDSB. The four titles are directed at students between JK and grade 6.
“To avoid any students reading subject matter that maybe is not intended for them — basically anybody in grade 6 and under — those books are in the PRO section,” Salaymeh says.
Professional (PRO) shelves at board schools are used primarily by teachers, though students will have access to the titles provided they first consult a teacher who will provide them with the “Catholic context” for the titles.
A joint statement from Annick Press, Owlkids Books and Scholastic, which published the books, calls this a shadow ban, which refers to a move to restrict access to titles or make it more difficult to access them while stopping short of outright banning them from libraries or schools. Rick Wilks, Annick co-founder and director, is especially concerned that requiring students to have a discussion with an authority figure in the school before being allowed access to these books will discourage children from coming forward.
Journalists Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa, authors of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book His Name Is George Floyd, are still unclear why they were told they couldn’t read from their book or talk about systemic racism to a room full of high school students in Memphis.https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/a...
Authors of George Floyd book were told not to talk about systemic racism at Tenn. school event
Memphis-Shelby County Schools denied placing restrictions on what the authors could say, calling it a “miscommunication.”
Samuels and Olorunnipa said they worked with Justin Brooks, director of the university’s Center for Community Engagement, to plan the event. The authors said Brooks told them of the restrictions and they did not communicate directly with the school district. Brooks told Chalkbeat that Memphis Reads officials were “under the instruction of MSCS leadership when completing the formatting and regulations concerning the Age-Appropriate Materials Act.”
Cathryn Stout, a spokeswoman for Memphis-Shelby County Schools, told NBC News the situation stemmed from miscommunication. Stout said school officials never placed any restrictions on what Samuels and Olorunnipa could say or read at the event. The only issue was providing the book to students at the event which, due to state and district regulations, would require a lengthy review before the school could distribute the title.
“Memphis-Shelby County Schools did not send any messaging that said the authors could not read an excerpt from the book. Memphis-Shelby County Schools also did not send any messaging that said the authors could not discuss systematic racism or topics related to the death of George Floyd,” Stout said. She added that the district was “saddened and disappointed” when they learned the authors “were given misinformation that was said to have come from us.”
Stout said the school did not have enough time to properly review the book for distribution in accordance with district protocol and Tennessee state law. She added that the district offered alternative options to Memphis Reads for distributing the books to students, including working with a community group to provide the books outside of school.
However, the authors made the books, donated by The Washington Post and Viking/Penguin Random House, available to students themselves through a local nonprofit, Respect the Haven, at a location outside of the campus.
"The Memphis school system did not help to facilitate the donation of books in any way, aside from the conditions in which students had to leave school grounds to access a critically-acclaimed book about systemic racism and George Floyd,” Samuels said in an email.
Stout said that, after the event, “Memphis Reads apologized for the miscommunication.” Neither Brooks nor Memphis Reads responded to requests for comment from NBC News.
Hernando County, FloridaCommittees that considered the books recommended removing three of the books and keeping three of the books.
The six books that have been challenged are:
• “Thirteen Reasons Why,” by Jay Asher. The committee’s recommendation was 5-0 in favor of removing the book.
• “And Tango Makes Three,” by Justin Richardson. The committee’s recommendation was 8-1 in favor of keeping the book.
• “The Handmaid’s Tale,” by Margaret Atwood. The committee’s recommendation was 4-3 in favor of removing the book.
• “Julian is a Mermaid,” by Jessica Love. The committee’s recommendation was 8-1 in favor of keeping the book.
• “The Family Book,” by Todd Parr. The committee’s recommendation was 9-0 in favor of keeping the book.
• “This Day in June,” by Gayle E. Pitman. The committee’s recommendation was 5-4 in favor of removing the book.
The final decisions will be made at the Nov. 14 meeting.
https://www.suncoastnews.com/news/rem...
Flor Fights Back: A Stonewall Riots Survival StoryBanned in Freehold, NJ, K-8. Removed from Myon digital platform by Superintendent (without formation of recon committee) after parent complaints about LGBTQ+ content and mentions of drag queens.
https://twitter.com/SaysAudience/stat...
VirginiaSpotsylvania County school board pauses plan for parent approval over library books
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/lo...
Under the proposed policy, parents would have to be warned of any books containing sexually explicit content and could bar their kids from access by signing an opt-out form
SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY
Spotsylvania County school board pauses plan for parent approval over library books
Under the proposed policy, parents would have to be warned of any books containing sexually explicit content and could bar their kids from access by signing an opt-out form
By Julie Carey, News4 Northern Virginia Bureau Chief • Published November 14, 2023 • Updated on November 14, 2023 at 8:26 pm
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The decision to defer a vote came after parents and school board members raised their concerns. News4’s Julie Carey reports.
In Spotsylvania County, Virginia, a controversial new policy is on hold as critics say it would lead to censorship of school library books.
The proposed policy would have classified all school library books as instructional materials. Then parents would have to be warned of any books that contain s___lly explicit content and could bar their kids from access by signing an opt-out form.
"It just seemed like another way for our board to remove anything they deemed inappropriate," parent Maria Garcia said.
Books like these and others believed to have s___lly explicit content have been pulled off school library shelves in Spotsylvania County public schools for the past two years now..
But on Monday night, the school board put the brakes on the latest proposal, which could have made even more library books off-limits to some kids. The decision to defer a vote came after parents and school board members raised concerns. Now it may be up to the next school board to decide to act on the plan.
"Parents would like to be informed if there may be s___ally explicit literature in libraries," said Dante Braden with the policy committee. "The current law only states that instructional materials are the ones that parents need to be notified of."
But the proposal brought an angry response from school board member Dawn Shelley.
"So what you're doing is you're censoring the books in our school libraries, which goes directly, directly against Virginia code," Shelley said.
Shelley pointed to the Virginia law that took effect this school year, which requires districts to notify parents when instructional materials — those used for class assignments — contain s----ally explicit material.
Library books, though, are not considered instructional materials unless part of a specific lesson.
"Banning books, all of that, is breaking the code of Virginia — all of it," she said.
Superintendent Mark Taylor defended the policy in a message to parents, writing in part: "It is disappointing that our community conversation about instructional materials shifted from promoting solid academics to debating the most degrading, vile material we will put in front of our children. Don't we all want the best for them?"
But even one conservative board member had concerns about the policy. The board then voted to postpone a decision indefinitely.
Garcia is hopeful the constant debate over books will end when a newly elected school board takes over in January.
Blankets will not be banned from the library in Plant High School (FL).The District Reconsideration Committee Meeting, which is made up of district staff, a PTA member, a student, and a representative from the teacher’s union, that voted to uphold the Plant High School committee decision.
https://baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/20...
Carmel Indiana school board members clash over proposed updates to policy to review, remove library bookshttps://youarecurrent.com/2023/11/14/...
Proposed updates to policies about selection and review of instructional and library materials to comply with a new state law led to a contentious discussion among Carmel Clay Schools board members at their Nov. 13 workshop meeting.
CCS administrators have proposed splitting a policy that covers the challenge and removal of instructional materials and library books into two separate policies. The proposed updates are in response to a law that takes effect in 2024 requiring school districts to have a process in place for parents or community members to ask for a review and possible removal of books they deem obscene or harmful to minors.
CCS already has procedures to initiate a review of a specific item, but the proposed changes aim to ensure the policy fully aligns with the new state law.
School board member Greg Brown said he believes the new law shows that state legislators want school boards and educators to more seriously vet and consider the content available to students in school libraries. He brought the book “Jesus Land,” which he said is available to CCS students, to the meeting and planned to read an excerpt he found inappropriate, but other school board members said state law doesn’t require removal of books based on a single passage, and Brown did not end up reading it aloud.
When questioned by board member Jennifer Nelson-Williams, Brown said he had not read the book in its entirety. Nelson-Williams and board member Kristin Kouka said they had read all of “Jesus Land” and challenged Brown to do the same before asking for it – or other books – to be removed.
“Cherry-picking a passage does not rise to the level of what the law states, that the entire book must lack serious literary or artistic value,” Nelson-Williams said. “So precisely what you’ve done, by looking on a website and then cherry-picking (passages), does not rise to that level, as was also informed to us by Hamilton County Prosecutor Greg Garrison.”
Brown indicated he doesn’t believe books with certain s--ual content should be available to students, even if most of the book isn’t objectionable.
“I’m just disappointed that you folks are fine if we have p____graphic content in books in our library, and they are in there,” Brown said. “I’ve got five that I quickly picked, and they’re quite astonishing.”
Amy Dudley, CCS assistant superintendent of curriculum, instruction and assessment, disagreed with Brown’s assessment.
“We do not believe we have obscene materials in our media centers. Our media specialists do not choose obscene material,” Dudley said. “However, we may have patrons who disagree with that.”
The board is expected to vote on the proposed policy changes at its Dec. 18 meeting.
Garfield County, Colorado ‘not in the business of ‘censorship,’ commissioners sayGarfield County commissioners released a statement on Monday, saying it legally must leave the decision of proposed graphic novel restrictions to the Garfield County Libraries Board of Trustees.
“The BOCC recognizes the importance of the services provided by the Garfield County Library Board of Trustees to the community and acknowledges the freedom that it is afforded to have books and other materials available to the public that express and support diverse points of view,” commissioners said in the prepared statement. “The BOCC is not in the business of censorship, and they desire to protect the Constitutional civil rights of individuals in Garfield County. The BOCC recognizes that parents play a critical role in determining what material is appropriate for their child. The BOCC recognizes its legal authority over the independent Garfield County Library is limited.”
The BOCC states that its final resolution in Japanese manga book matters is the culmination of a myriad of hearings that have taken place since the beginning of September. The hearings stem from a local effort to restrict access to the graphic novels at Garfield County Public Libraries.
In addition to the commissioners’ statement, however, the commission on Monday denied Hanna Aruaza’s appointment to the library’s board of trustees.
She was originally appointed by the board of trustees, and traditionally, as far as board appointments go, the BOCC approves those recommended to the board.
Commissioners stated concerns that Aruaza did not represent the people of Rifle — the district she would represent
Mod
Access to books with LGBTQ themes restricted by Ontario’s Waterloo Catholic District School Board
https://www.thestar.com/entertainment......"
Not surprising! Catholic school boards in Ontario are very often quite keen on book banning (not as bad as the dictators in Florida and Texas, but still majorly annoying).
Yes, for more on Catholic schools, hang on for my review of Kiss Number 8, a graphic novel certainly not allowed in Catholic schools but it should be.
More on textbooks rejected in Texas and I hear Target has so-called "woke" Christmas decorations (i.e. inclusive Santas and Nutcrackers with Pride flags)A Republican-controlled Texas State Board of Education on Friday rejected seven of 12 proposed science textbooks for eighth graders that for the first time will require them to include information on climate change.
https://abc13.com/texas-state-board-o...
The video above is ABC13's 24/7 livestream.
The 15-member board largely rejected the books either because they included policy solutions for climate change or because they were produced by a company that has an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) policy. Some textbooks were also rejected because SBOE reviewers gave the books lower scores on how well they adhered to the state's curriculum standards.
The board voted Friday to allow five textbooks for eighth grade science to be included on the list, published by Savvas Learning Company, McGraw-Hill School Division, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Depository, Accelerate Learning and Summit K-12.
San Antonio Democrat board member Marisa Perez-Diaz said she was disappointed by Friday's decision to reject so many textbooks, some that included Spanish texts.
"My fear is that we will render ourselves irrelevant moving forward when it comes to what publishers want to work with us and will help us get proper materials in front of our young people, and for me that's heartbreaking," Perez-Diaz said during Friday's meeting. "I'm very disappointed that so many things were voted down based on assertions or thoughts about how things are written or thematics."
While school districts are not required to choose only from the SBOE-curated list, many school districts choose to do so because those textbooks are guaranteed to be in compliance with the state's curriculum standards.
A science curriculum overhaul approved two years ago threw eighth grade science textbooks, in particular, into the political fray. The new standards will require, for the first time next year, that Texas eighth graders learn about climate change - meaning that textbook manufacturers had to update their teaching materials.
Texas is one of only six states that does not use the Next Generation Science Standards to guide its K-12 science curriculum. The standards - developed by states and a committee convened by the National Research Council in 2013 - emphasize that climate change is real, severe, caused by humans and can be mitigated with actions that reduce greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.
The updated Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, or TEKS, require eighth graders to learn about climate change and describe how human activities "can" influence the climate. Critics have said that the standards don't go far enough, arguing that the requirements don't ensure students will learn how reducing greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels could mitigate climate change.
Republicans have also in recent years sought to punish companies that adopt ESG policies, which typically attempt to align companies with international climate goals, set internal emissions reductions targets, or employ investment strategies that emphasize renewable energy over fossil fuels. In 2021, Texas lawmakers prohibited state funds, such as the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, from contracting with or investing in companies that divest from oil, natural gas and coal companies.
The SBOE's discussions this week have reflected those trends, with board members voting against books that they said were written by companies with environmentally-friendly corporate policies or that went too far in teaching students how to advocate for climate solutions. Others wanted more emphasis on religion, or argued that scientific theories should not be taught as fact.
Evelyn Brooks, a Republican board member from Frisco who represents District 14, for example, on Tuesday questioned the scientific consensus on climate change and suggested that "creation" - a religious concept - should be taught alongside scientific theories of the origins of the universe. Brooks was first elected to the board in 2022 and said that she wanted to see more perspectives of people of faith included in the books.
"The origins of the universe is my issue - big bang, climate change - again, what evidence is being used to support the theories, and if this is a theory that is going to be taught as a fact, that's my issue," Brooks said while discussing one of the textbooks. "What about creation?" [What evidence do you have for creation? There's more evidence for evolution and climate change!]
Board Chair Keven Ellis, a Lufkin Republican with six years on the board, responded that he believed the board had previously pushed the textbook standards "as far as we can go on that" without the books being determined unconstitutional.
In another Tuesday discussion, board member Julie Pickrena Pearland Republican who has represented District 7 since January, complained that some of the textbooks presented a "theme" that humans are causing climate change.
Throughout the Tuesday meeting, Pickren motioned to remove several textbooks from the SBOE's list.
She successfully motioned to remove the textbooks created by Discovery Education on Tuesday, arguing that the company has an initiative that's aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and that the initiative was a "theme replicated throughout the curriculum." Pickren was concerned that the book might violate anti-ESG state laws.
The board also chose to remove a textbook created by publisher Green Ninja after Republican board member and secretary Patricia Hardy argued on Tuesday that it too explicitly took a position that students should warn their friends and family about extreme weather made worse by climate change.
"It's taking a position that all of that is settled science, and that our extreme weather is caused by climate change," Hardy, a Fort Worth Republican who has served on the board since 2003, said.
A handful of Texans spoke to the board in favor of adopting the textbooks during the meeting this week, including one scientist.
Tolstoy, Sendak picture book among hundreds banned from Florida schoolshttps://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/...
Hundreds of books, including a classic by Leo Tolstoy and a storybook by beloved children’s author Maurice Sendak, have been pulled from Florida school libraries this fall as administrators continue to scrutinize collections for works they fear violate new state laws.
Seminole County Public Schools has removed more than 80 books, including the National Book Award winner “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” this school year, and restricted access to 50 others by requiring parental permission or making them available only to high school students, according to Katherine Crnkovich, a district spokeswoman.
In Hernando County north of Tampa, six picture books were removed recently from school libraries, including Sendak’s “In the Night Kitchen” and David Shannon’s “No, David!” They all have illustrations that show kids’ naked bottoms, or, in one case, a goblin’s bare derriere.
A district spokesperson said in an email the storybooks violate a Florida law that bans books with “s---ual conduct” from public school libraries. But Karen Jordan did not respond to follow-up questions asking how the funny illustrations of buttocks, or in the case of Sendak’s book, the small, cartoonish drawing of a little boy’s p-nis, amounted to “s--ual conduct.”
In Collier County in southwest Florida, more than 300 novels have been taken from shelves, packed up and put in storage. They include works by Ernest Hemingway, Stephen King, Toni Morrison, Flannery O’Connor, Ayn Rand, Leo Tolstoy and Alice Walker.
The novels “Moll Flanders” (published in 1772), “Their Eyes Were Watching God” (published in 1937), “Slaughter-House Five” (published in 1969) and “The Kite Runner” (published in 2003) all met the same fate as did Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina” (published in 1878).
“They’re losing access to books — classic books, award-winning books and books written specifically for young adults,” said Amy Perwien, a Naples mother who said she was shocked to learn about Collier’s book removals and has urged her district to reconsider.
“We’re not protecting our students by denying them access to good literature, ” Perwien said. “The sheer number of books removed is really embarrassing for a district that prides itself on having excellent schools.”
Perwien, who has a son in a Collier high school, said her school district and others have overreacted to a new Florida law (HB 1069) that puts heightened scrutiny on library books, particularly those that “depict or describe s--ual conduct.”
Neither of the law’s sponsors, Rep. Stan McClain, R-Ocala, or Sen. Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville, responded to emails or phone messages seeking comment on whether they intended the legislation to be so broadly interpreted that children’s picture books and classics often taught in high school English classes, such as Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World,” are removed from schools.
Collier’s superintendent, Leslie Ricciardelli, said at her county’s school board meeting Tuesday that she knew Collier schools had taken a public “hit” for taking so many books from library shelves.
Books by popular authors including Judy Blume, Mary Higgins Clark, John Grisham and Jodi Picoult got packed away by Collier schools, too.
The state’s new laws and its training for school media specialists released in January gave her staff little choice, Ricciardelli said.
The state training told schools to “err on the side of caution” when selecting books and to be mindful that providing books with sexual content that is considered “harmful to minors” is a third-degree felony.
“I can’t apologize for the fact that we’re following the law,” Ricciardelli said.
It required the Florida Department of Education to publish the list of all books objected to and removed in any Florida school district. The department encouraged districts to consult it.
The list of more than 380 titles removed last school year was published in August, and now some districts, including those in Seminole, Flagler, Sarasota and Volusia counties, are using it to review their own collections.
Seminole, which reported 31 books removed in early October, said it is now 85% through its examination of the state list, so more books could be pulled as educators complete the review.
“This is top-down censorship,” said Stephana Ferrell, a founder of the Florida Freedom to Read Project, formed to fight school book bans.
Orange County Public Schools hasn’t removed large numbers of books from the list, but it recently pulled nine, including “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, according to an email sent to Ferrell on Oct. 31 and shared with the Orlando Sentinel.
“Y’all just quietly removed one of the most celebrated Black female authors of our time under a law that labels her work ‘p---graphic,'” Ferrell wrote back to district leaders. “That should feel very heavy.”
Ferrell, who has two children in Orange public schools, said the state list is now trumping the expertise of school media specialists — certified teachers with additional library training — and the desires of local residents.
The state’s list is dominated by books pulled in Clay County south of Jacksonville, where one father — who leads the Florida chapter of No Left Turn in Education — has filed hundreds of book objections and told the state he has plans to object to about 3,600.
On Tuesday, Gene Trent, a Brevard County School Board member backed by Moms for Liberty in his election last year, proposed removing all the books on that state’s list from Brevard’s school libraries, shocking some of his colleagues on the dais, who voted down his suggestion 3-2.
Alabama does an about face regadring withdrawing from ALA- at least for nowhttps://www.cbs42.com/alabama-news/al...
Alabama Public Library Service Board tables vote to cut ties with American Library Association
The Alabama Public Library Service Board tabled a motion Thursday to disaffiliate with the American Library Association until a later meeting.
Board members said they want more time to investigate the impact of separating and whether the state may need to fill any gaps. It comes after some, including Gov. Kay Ivey, have expressed concern over the national group’s influence on Alabama libraries.
The APLS’s membership with the ALA expires March 31, according to APLS Chair Ron Snider. The board voted to bring that vote back up at a meeting before then.
The board is also waiting on an opinion from the Alabama Attorney General’s Office about its authority that it expects may be ready by that next meeting. The APLS also gave an update on the form it plans to create for parents to submit book titles they are concerned about.
APLS Director Nancy Pack said it should be on its website by mid-December at the latest. That list will then be provided to local libraries.
I found some older stories of interest from other countries.In 2015, More than 250 Italian authors wrote to the mayor of Venice asking him to remove their books from the city, in an act of solidarity with the writers who had their picture books about same-sex families pulled from Venice’s schools.
This was BEFORE the neo-fascist Premiere was elected and same sex parents were stripped of their rights and denied access to fertility treatments.
In a preview of coming attractions if the right-wing extremists have their way, take a look at the East African nation of Tanzania. Diary of a Wimpy Kid? Seriously?
" [In February 2023] The Tanzanian government has banned a popular series of children’s books from schools in the conservative East African country, claiming they violate local cultural norms.
Education Minister Adolf Mkenda announced Monday an immediate ban on “The Diary of a Wimpy Kid” books, and said the government was monitoring libraries in both public and private schools to make sure they were not on their shelves.
It was not immediately clear what content in the series of illustrated books by US author Jeff Kinney that follow the life of a schoolboy had offended the authorities.
The minister also listed other banned books, including “Sex Education: A Guide to Life”. However, the names he gave for two books actually appeared to be pages from “An ABC of Equality” which included the terms transgender and LGBTQIA.
“We are banning these books from schools and other education institutions because they contradict Tanzanian cultural norms and morals,” Mkenda told reporters in the political capital Dodoma.
“The books also violate the good practices of bringing up our children,” he said, calling on parents to inspect their children’s bags to make sure they did not have the books.
Mkenda said they were on a first list of “unacceptable books” and urged the public to report other similar books as part of an ongoing investigation."
https://www.macaubusiness.com/tanzani...
And in today's newsin Wisconsin
A Menomonee Falls School Board member wants books removed from the high school library to be returned, saying policy wasn't followed.
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/e...
A Menomonee Falls School Board member is alleging the Menomonee Falls School District did not follow policy when it removed 33 books from the high school library and wants the books returned.
In a Nov. 14 Facebook post, Keri Duce said just one community member requested all 33 books to be banned and that they "are part of a larger list of informal challenges."
Duce's post contradicts what district Superintendent David Muñoz said in an Oct. 25 statement.
Muñoz said the books were compiled in a list over two years by school board president Nina Christensen and other board members, whom he did not name.
Muñoz said that during a regular weekly meeting this summer with Christensen, Christensen shared the list of books, and Muñoz was tasked with reviewing them to see whether they complied with board policy.
Muñoz also said he met with two "trusted administration leaders," whom he did not name, and then decided that the 33 books violated district policy related to explicit content and profanity and ordered their removal.
Duce also said in her Facebook post that neither the school board nor any school board committee discussed the books. She maintains the directive to remove the books was made without a formal review as required under the board's policy.
"The book review process has several steps including reading the book, assessing a variety of educational resources and literature reviews, evaluating circulation records, and considering if other school libraries in the area carry the book," Duce wrote. "It is an objective, fact-based process completed by library professionals. If the level one review is not reasonable the procedure in (policy) 872 lists additional options for review including a reconsideration committee which includes community input."
The district in April approved a new policy and procedure for handling challenges to library books. The first step of the process is for the library media specialist and school administrator to consider the request. If rejected, the request can then be made to a "reconsideration committee" of school staff and parents, followed by the superintendent and, last, the school board, if the requester is still unsatisfied.
Duce also noted that library books are not purchased with taxpayer dollars, but rather by the Wisconsin Common School Fund. The fund was established after donated land was sold for to create a permanent school fund to support and maintain public schools' libraries. In 2022-23, the Menomonee Falls School District received $230,915 from the fund.
"Banning American classics without transparency can’t become commonplace in our community. And let’s face it, if kids can endure lockdown drills, they can certainly read a book about a school shooting," Duce said in her Facebook post.
"Our prior statements are factual, provided information on past practices and outlined the administration's authority to make guided decisions. Our School District is moving forward and focusing on our strategic planning and student achievement," Christensen said.
In her Oct. 23 statement, Christensen said she was not involved in the decision, but that she supported the decision made by the superintendent, director of curriculum and learning and director of human resources.
Christensen also said that some of the removed books contained "graphic scenes of (view spoiler) and said that children are reading that content without parental knowledge.
"So how are we, as a District, in compliance with state statute to protect children when we have books in our school libraries that contain almost 670 expletives, 400 of which are f-bombs and many others, or books that contain (view spoiler) How is it age appropriate for our students?" Christensen said in her statement.
In Virginia,Hanover County schools bans 75 more books, including "Wicked" and "The Handmaid's Tale"
A review panel of teachers, principals and librarians ruled the books "meet the School Board's criteria for being s---ually explicit," said school district spokesman Chris Whitley.
Removal should be complete by Dec. 22, he added.
Catch up quick: The Hanover County School Board voted in June to give itself full authority to remove books from school libraries without input from parents or teachers — and immediately removed 19 books from shelves.
https://www.axios.com/local/richmond/...
Today's news the good edition:Meet the woman picked to head the campaign to combat Florida book bans
Katie Blankenship will be the first-ever director of PEN America’s Florida effort.
https://www.tallahassee.com/story/new...
Seeking to thwart book removals and perceived censorship measures, a prominent international free expression advocacy group has picked a leader for its Florida-focused, multimillion-dollar campaign.
“What we’re doing is building an advocacy office in Florida to address this wave of extremist legislation and the culture wars being mounted in Florida by a very small minority, “ said Katie Blankenship, the first-ever director of PEN America’s Florida effort, in an interview.
Formerly the deputy legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, Blankenship says soon to come is an actual physical office in Miami. Her team, she added, will be fleshed out with more staff in the coming months. And what’s the team eyeing?
“How can we support what’s happening in the courts?” Blankenship said. “How can we be active in preventing additional harmful legislation and fighting back against what’s there? How can we support organizing efforts across the state?”
“The state has become an incubator for censorship," said PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel in a statement. “Our goal is to stop this censorship in its tracks by mobilizing resistance on the ground.”
More goodBlount County, Tennessee
A case study in how to do the thing properly and civilly.
Maryville school board rejects appeal to remove library book, 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower'
https://www.thedailytimes.com/news/ma...
The school board’s voice vote upheld the decisions of a school-level review committee and Director Mike Winstead on a challenge to “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.”
“I feel it is appropriate to the age and maturity levels of students at the high school,” Winstead wrote in his reply last month to Lark McGee, who requested the reconsideration of that book and others. Noting online reviews consider the book appropriate for ages 15-16, Winstead said he did remove it from the junior high, which has grades eight and nine. After the meeting he told The Daily Times that the junior high librarian agreed with that decision.
In her complaint to Maryville City Schools, McGee listed among her objections to the book “Adults contributing to the delinquency of a minor,” and cited passages dealing with topics including (view spoiler) she told those attending the school board meeting at the high school, giving people the opportunity to leave the room before she read excerpts.
“I don’t want to see this book banned from the community,” McGee said, adding that it is available from Amazon and the public library. “I would just like to see it removed from the public schools.”
McGhee also has challenged this book and others in the Blount County Public Library and asked Blount County Schools to remove books from its libraries. MCS policy allows only students, employees and parents or guardians to file requests for consideration. Winstead said her complaint was allowed to continue because it started while she still had a child in the school.
McGhee was the only person to speak in favor of removing the book at Monday’s meeting.
Three Maryville High seniors, an English teacher, the former school librarian, parents and a minister all spoke in favor of retaining the book.
During the meeting school board members noted that the book is not required reading. In the past two years, 11 students and two teachers have checked the book out of the high school library, according to Winstead.
Student Council President Coston Autry, one of two students who served on the high school review committee for the book, urged the board to “take a stand against censorship.”
Coston said the high school review committee decided the book should remain in the library primarily for two reasons. Removing the book would “shut down a crucial pathway for understanding,” he said, and it would set “a dangerous precedent,” stigmatizing those with the experiences in the book.
Rachel Rushworth-Hollander, an MHS English teacher for 16 years, acknowledged that the coming-of-age novel by Stephen Chbosky includes “situations that could feel uncomfortable to some readers.”
However, she said, literature allows readers to gain different perspectives “and more importantly, a better understanding of the world around us and all people.”
“If we do not read and learn about others’ experiences, then we will never understand one another or ourselves,” Rushworth-Hollander said.
[More excellent comments in the article]
Marion Vose served as MHS librarian for 16 years before retiring in 2018, and seven years as a middle school librarian in Oak Ridge before coming to Maryville. “While it’s very important to support student academics, it is vitally important for students to feel welcome in the library,” she said, and the MHS library provides a welcoming space for all students.
Vose noted that “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” is an award-winning book, and she said it is not a how-to manual, “nor does it glorify anything.”
What it does do, she said, “is shine a bright light on the realities of many, many teenagers.”
The main character, “tells it like it is — the good, the bad and the ugly,” Vose said, and when teens read the book they realize they are not alone.
https://www.thedailytimes.com/news/ma...
I don't have Paramount + which is censorship in and of itself, making people pay for an app just to see the doc. I hope they put it on TVhttps://www.cbsnews.com/video/new-mtv...
New MTV documentary, “The ABCs of Book Banning,” sheds light on impact of book bans
“The ABCs of Book Banning,” a new MTV documentary streaming on Paramount+, sheds light on the thousands of books that have been removed from schools and libraries across the country.
8H AGO
Now the bad newsIt's not hard to explain LGBTQ+ to young kids. "Some boys love other boys. Some girls love other girls. Some boys and girls don't love other boys or girls. Some boys feel like girls, some girls feel like boys and others feel like both or neither." Better yet read them the kids books on display. Kid goes Oh okay and that's that!
North Carolina
Yancey County Pride display sparks wider debate over book bans and LGBTQ representation in libraries
https://carolinapublicpress.org/62305...
Just after 8 p.m. on May 31, Yancey County Public Library branch manager Wayne Edwards updated the cover photo of the Burnsville library’s Facebook page with a photograph of the branch’s new Pride display.
The Facebook post sparked a flurry of comments; of the more than 400 remarks, most were supportive of the Pride Month display.
But several people were concerned the display targeted children and promoted an “LGBTQ agenda,” a common refrain in the push for book bans throughout the country, and one that was reflected in the public scrutiny the Macon County Library faced for past pride displays and books with sexual and LGBTQ content.
Edwards, who has worked at the library for more than five years, said he wanted “everyone to feel included” by the display. He didn’t expect this reaction.
“I like to think that what we’re doing is trying to make sure that every child sees themselves here, in a storybook, or a coloring sheet or a display,” Edwards told CPP in a phone interview in October. “We’re trying to bring kids the world and bring them diversity and inclusion and acceptance.”
The Pride display became the center of controversy in the small Yancey County town in the mountains of WNC. Some people took their concerns to county commissioners. The display “indoctrinates” children into the LGBTQ agenda, one commenter wrote. But librarians and patrons such as Edwards argued the displays are there so LGBTQ people in the community “would feel seen and recognized.”
Yancey County commissioners considered such moves as seizing control of the library from the regional system to packing the library board with members opposed to the display.
The Macon County Public Library has also faced scrutiny over past pride displays and books with LGBTQ and s--ual content. The community conflicts reflect a larger trend statewide of community members trying to remove or restrict access to certain books in public schools and libraries.
After posting the photo of the Yancey County library’s pride display on Facebook, Edwards began receiving calls from a Facebook user named Sheila Poehler, a Yancey County resident, complaining about the display. Poehler commented more than 75 times on the library’s post. Poehler did not respond to CPP requests for comment.
In an email sent to library staff in early June and obtained by CPP, Poehler, echoing her comments on social media, wrote, “I have no issue with the Pride flag and banner on display, but I do have an issue with the adult LGBTQ books on the table … Parents of young children should not be put in the position of having to explain LGBTQ, etc to their kids.”
Later in the email, she wrote, “I have contacted the County Commissioner and hopefully this will be resolved.”
At the Yancey County Board of Commissioners monthly meeting a little more than a week later, board chair Jeff Whitson made a motion to explore leaving the Avery-Mitchell-Yancey Regional Library System and having the county run the library instead. Whitson did not respond to CPP’s requests for comment.
This would make it “an operation showing no bias to any religious, political or ethnic platform,” according to board meeting minutes.
Yancey County commissioners decided to keep the library in the system. But at their next meeting in August, commissioners appointed seven new members to the library board, including Poehler, and ignored appointment requests from the library’s board and regional director Amber Westall Briggs, according to the Asheville Citizen-Times.
Yancey County commissioners also appointed three new members directly to the regional board. According to Edwards, regional board members are normally chosen from sitting local board members with the regional board’s approval. They also appointed a county commissioner to the regional board, which is against library by-laws, according to a statement from Westall-Briggs.
Abby Hardison became a librarian at Macon County Public Library in December 2022, but said before she got there, “there had been a fair amount of controversy” over the pride displays. She said community members went to library meetings to protest books with sexual themes, arguing children should not be able to access some of them. In response, Macon County commissioners considered pulling out of the Fontana Regional Library System. This system includes libraries in Macon, Swain and Jackson counties in WNC. That would allow the county commissioners to manage the library instead of the FRL board.
Hardison said library staff still feel the weight of uncertainty over how to address calls for restricting access to books.
“It’s been incredibly stressful and demoralizing for library staff. I’ve commonly said that I long for the days in which people thought my job was very boring,” she said.
In April, commissioners relented after the library system agreed to revisit its regional agreement between the three counties. Changes to the agreement could include parents having greater control over what books children can check out, according to board meeting minutes. That review of the agreement also happened because it’s supposed to be revisited every decade, commissioners said.
A formal committee to change the agreement hasn’t been set up yet, according to Fitzmaurice. So, the regional agreement is still the same. However, Macon County commissioners passed proposed changes to the agreement on Nov. 14. Those proposed changes will be considered by the other two counties in the system and the regional system before they pass.
Fitzmaurice said the library’s displays and books on its shelves are there to represent all of its patrons.
“We have LGBT folks come into our library,” Fitzmaurice said. “And they have as much right to see themselves represented in books as anyone else. Representation is key. If you see that as a political thing, then that’s how you see it.”
The controversy has brought higher numbers of visitors than usual to the Yancey County library, according to Edwards. Some came to look at the controversial pride display for themselves, but it was gone once Pride Month ended.
Despite the controversy, the library has received only one formal challenge to any of its books in the past nine years, according to a statement from Westall Briggs. Edwards said there’s a form on the library website to request reconsideration of material that’s open to anybody. Once someone fills the form out, it goes to the regional board to review the material and make a decision.
Those in support of book bans don’t respect or want to go through the democratic process, Edwards said.
“They want a government by mandate. They want people who think like them or believe like them to mandate what happens,” he said. “Why should I have to fill out a form and go through this whole process when I could just go to the top and say, ‘Hey, this needs to stop,’ and get it stopped?”
Also in NCCharlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is overruling a committee vote to remove “Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts)” from its libraries over concerns about its ‘explicit, graphic s---ual nature.’ CMS policy allows people to challenge books to appeal media panel decisions to Superintendent Crystal
Hill.https://www.charlotteobserver.com/new...
QNPoohBear wrote: "Also in NCCharlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is overruling a committee vote to remove “Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts)” from its libraries over concerns about its ‘explicit, graphic s---ual nature.’ ..."
Scratch that. Moms for Liberty win again. There's something all kinds of wrong about that woman voting on her own appeals. That's unethical and probably shouldn't be allowed!
CMS superintendent reverses course, removes controversial book from school libraries!!!!
https://www.wfae.org/education/2023-1...
Superintendent Crystal Hill has reversed a CMS media review panel’s decision and ordered the young adult novel “Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts)” removed from all Charlotte-Mecklenburg school libraries. Her decision was based on a new policy created in response to North Carolina’s Parents Bill of Rights.
"Jack of Hearts" is among several books that Mecklenburg Moms for Liberty President Brooke Weiss has challenged at Ardrey Kell High School. The school’s review panel voted to keep the book and the district panel upheld that decision last month. But the group was divided, with members saying they were uncomfortable with the detailed s-x scenes even though the book has value for students.
Weiss appealed to the superintendent, and in a statement released Monday evening, CMS said Hill chose to remove the book because of “the explicit, graphic s---ual nature of the novel.”
Also Monday night, the Catawba County school board voted to restrict two books, “Lolita” and “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” to checkout with parent permission only. The board has been hearing appeals from Michelle Teague, who sought the removal of 25 books before she was elected to the school board last year. Now Teague is one of seven members voting on her own appeals. She had hoped to get both books removed.
*sigh* Florida... People....the ALA is not a political or religious affiliated institution. It is not socialist, Marxist or whatever ist you don't understand just because they promote READING. Try it. You might learn something and gain some empathy besides. Diversity, equity and inclusion is not an agenda unless you don't believe in human rights, civil rights and kindness. By all means, move to China, Afghanistan or the middle east then! "Pasco parents, religious leaders urge school district to drop library group
They said the American Library Association goes against Christian beliefs and supports a socialist agenda.
https://www.tampabay.com/news/educati...
Browning said he would investigate the issue further after Thanksgiving break. He took issue with accusations that the district allowed drag queen reading hours to occur in schools, calling that suggestion “ludicrous.”
He added that if anyone wants to challenge materials in the schools, whether recommended by the American Library Association or not, they can do so.
“There is a process that people can follow,” Browning said. “If they don’t like something, it starts at the school level and works its way up.”
Won't copy the hate speeches but the censors names are:
Christian Family Coalition of Florida director
Pastor Troy Pederson of Church of Brotherly Love Outreach
parent Kirsten Krauer
John Labriola of the Christian Family Coalition is helping guide the statewide effort to defund the association.
Mod
It's Thanksgiving but I picked up some stories last night. Unlike Blount County, Tennessee where they behaved civilly, in Santa Rosa County, Florida, things got heated at a recent school board meeting. (Unsurprisingly) free speech vs. personal attacks,Meanwhile, there are 50+ books for reconsideration forms. Out of those, the bible remains the only book the district has decided to keep.
https://weartv.com/news/local/santa-r...
Conflict of interest in Prattville, Alabama but not surprising. These people will stop at NOTHING to push through their own agenda. Prattville library board appointment sparks controversy
https://www.alreporter.com/2023/11/22...
The Autauga County Commission and Prattville City Council both made appointments to the public library board Tuesday night, with the county pick courting controversy.
While the Prattville City Council followed the standard procedure of appointing a nominee presented by the Autauga-Prattville Public Library board, the Autauga County Commission instead chose to make an appointment without input from current board members.
The commission had proposed to place former Prattville City Councilman Tony Moore on the board according to its agenda.
Moore has spoken out against the library board for refusing to move some of the books challenged by Clean Up Alabama, with which he is openly affiliated.
Moore’s presumed selection, and the commission’s pivot from the precedence of allowing the library board to nominate appointees, drew the ire of several citizens aligned with Read Freely Alabama.
Sam Olson told the commission she did not know Tony Moore, but identified him as a man who had “flipped off” her husband at a library board meeting, with both hands.
Other citizens, aligned with Clean Up Alabama, noted that governing bodies can select whatever appointees they like and are not bound to the precedent of choosing the existing library board’s nominee.
With Moore withdrawing his name from consideration, the Commissioner Rusty Jacksland amended the motion to nominate Doug Darr instead. The commission unanimously approved Darr without discussion.
Although Moore withdrew his name publicly during the meeting, Jacksland said the commission was already pivoting away from Moore after backlash Monday afternoon.
“A lot of the community members got a hold of us this afternoon and we took their recommendation and advisement on Mr. Moore and decided that we maybe do need to go a different route,” Jacksland said. “(Moore) is a very passionate, and very nice, person; but we want to make the community as whole fee safe and comfortable.”
Darr told The Prattville Post that his wife and daughter both work in libraries, so he decided to put his name in contention for the seat when it became available.
Dar said he is “concerned about some of the stuff in the kids section” and is interested to discuss more with the library board about its handling of the situation.
About half an hour later and a just around the corner, the Prattville City Council made its own selection for its library board seat, this time honoring the tradition of selecting the library board’s nominee, Christine Sellers.
Library board vice chair Wayne Lambert told the council it chose Sellers out of 40 candidates largely because of her experience handling social media.
“We have a subcommittee, and they’re looking for someone who can be unbiased, and who understands how public library supposed to operate,” Lambert said. “We’re also looking for people with a niche, or a gift.”
“We need to move forward, we don’t need to have this—I know we have two parties, Clean Up Alabama and Read Freely—we’ve got to somehow find a way to get together. We don’t need to be the Hatfields and McCoys.”
Mod
Honestly, DOWN DOWN DOWN with Fox News, their supporters and the moronic and brainless Republican politicians that (not who but that) tried to blame the Niagara Falls New York border crossing car explosion on terrorism coming from Canada when it turns out that it was a middle aged American couple driving through Niagara Falls New York towards Canada.
And that Vivek Ramaswamy piece of human trash should be forced to very publicly apologise (but I bet he will not). And honestly, I hope that the federal government considers him and his as being not welcome in Canada.
When is a book ban not a book ban? by Kelly Jensen(rant about the lies M4L, etc. tell themselves and everyone, explanation of what a ban IS)
https://open.substack.com/pub/stacked...
from Literary Activism.• "The Alachua County school district [FL] removed another LGBTQ title from its libraries this week, despite issues about the complaint’s validity due to questions whether the woman who challenged the book was legally a resident of the county." The book is Gender Queer.
They previously removed Beyond Magenta due to one parent complaint.
EHS Library Advisory Council votes to remove “Gender Queer” from school library after parent challenge, Terwilliger Council votes to keep book about gender identity.
https://alachuachronicle.com/ehs-libr...
EHS Library Advisory Council votes to remove “Gender Queer” from school library after parent challenge, Terwilliger Council votes to keep book about gender identity
EHS Library Advisory Council votes to remove “Gender Queer” from school library after parent challenge, Terwilliger Council votes to keep book about gender identityNovember 20, 2023
BY AMBER THIBODAUX
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The book Gender Queer has been removed from Alachua County school libraries following a challenge by a parent on the grounds that it contains drawings and descriptions of sexual conduct. An elementary school Library Advisory Council also recently voted to retain the book It Feels Good to be Yourself: A Book About Gender Identity after a parent challenged it on the grounds that it tells young children they can select their gender.
Gender Queer
The Eastside High School Library Advisory Council, consisting of the members shown below, met on November 15 to consider a challenge submitted by Lauren DePaola, an Alachua County parent.
Leroy Williams, Eastside High School Principal
Dr. Jeffrey Rant, Guidance Counselor
Ms. Marianne McKey and Tammy Meyers, Media Specialists
Lamonica Davis, Teacher
John Alexander, Parent
Patty Duval, ACPS Library Media Service Specialist (Facilitator)
Duval led off with a presentation outlining the process of challenging a book; she stated that there had been a question about DePaola’s standing to bring the challenge because she does not have a child in the district, but she said DePaola “is a resident of the county, and their residence is verified and documented.”
Duval went on to lay out the definitions in the statutes: (view spoiler)
She continued, “That being said, based on the fact that all three of those criteria for harmful to minors must be met in order for a book to be considered p____graphic, our library materials are in compliance with the selection criteria established by the State of Florida and are not considered p_____raphy. Because we are protected under the harmful to minors clause, because at the very least, all of the materials in our school libraries have literary value.”
However, she said that under a new statute, a parent can challenge a book “if they proffer evidence that the material depicts or describes s---ual conduct as defined in statute 847.001,” and she read a list of what can be considered “s---ual conduct.”
McKey said during the review that she would have voted to keep the book if the law hadn’t been revised to include “these specific definitions” of s--ual conduct. “From the perspective of the media specialists here, we acknowledge that, given the revisions to the law… this text does include s--ual conduct. We also believe that given the reviews and the data that is used to select this criteria, it does meet all of the selection criteria for Alachua County at our grade level, with our specific student population. If the law was not revised to include these specific definitions of s---ual conduct, we would not move to remove this book,” McKey said.
McKey emphasized that she believed every book and resource in the school library, including Gender Queer, has “literary value” and therefore should remain on the shelves based on that criteria.
In response to the removal of Gender Queer, DePaola said “I’m thankful the process laid out by the state of Florida has been successful in removing this p----graphic book from the school library.”
A majority of the committee voted to remove the book, but Duval said the copy at Eastside was the only copy in district libraries, so no other libraries were affected by the removal.
During the November 7 school board meeting, Alachua County Education Association (ACEA) President Carmen Ward took a moment to praise the Library Advisory Council at Terwilliger Elementary for unanimously voting to retain a book in the library that was recently challenged for review.
During the agenda item set aside for teachers’ union representatives at the November 7 meeting, Ward said, “It was my privilege and honor to see a committee that was dealing with the challenged book situation at Terwilliger Elementary School today – and the book banning that was attempted by one parent … to challenge a book and have it banned for the entire district was thwarted today.”
“So this was a very positive thing in my perspective that all the educators at the table put student needs first. And student needs should always be guiding everything. We want our students to be successful, we have that mission together, and to have successful students, we must have successful teachers, we must have successful bus drivers, we must have the whole system working together for that success. So it was really, really positive to see a unanimous vote to keep a book available and uncensored for students in our district. So that was a really shining light,” she continued.
Alachua Chronicle reached out to the parent who challenged the book in question, and the parent asked for anonymity but offered the following statement in response to Ward’s comments: “While Ms. Ward frames the situation as a thwarted attempt to ban a book, it’s important to clarify that concerned parents were simply engaging in their right to petition a review of books for adherence to selection criteria. Labeling this process as ‘book banning’ is intentionally disingenuous. It recklessly conflates genuine public censorship attempts and the legitimate review of educational materials provided to minors. Ms. Ward is intentionally attacking parents by discrediting their legitimate input in the educational process in an attempt to disenfranchise them from their right to voice concerns about the content provided to their children.”
In reference to the book in question, the parent added: “Telling children that they can select their gender as young as 3 years old at best is a lie; at worst it is psychological abuse. There are no long-term studies showing the effects of destabilizing one of the most fundamental biological categories among young children. This is a social experiment, and as the legal representative of my minor child, I do not consent.”
Each school’s Library Advisory Council consists of the following:
Principal
Media Specialist
Guidance Counselor
Faculty Member
Parent Representative
The principal appoints the faculty member and the parent, and the parents serve on an as-needed basis for this role.
Any parent can volunteer to serve on a review challenge committee via the form found on the district website under Media and Instructional Materials, linked here.
“Once a challenge has been made, the principal can choose from the pool of parents [who] have completed the form. If none of the parents are available at the time of the challenge meeting, I can provide the principal with a list of parents from other schools whose library has the same title,” Duval told us.
Parents can also limit their child’s access to certain books or subject matter
Additionally, parents may manage their child’s media access levels at school via a process recently implemented by the school district. If a parent wishes to limit their child’s access to certain books or subject matter, they can fill out this form on the district website. A “Limited Access” level is described as “My student may check out books from the library media center, but there is content that I would like my student not to have access to in the library media center, including the classroom library.”
According to Duval, once a parent submits a Limited Access request, the school’s media specialist is notified. A note is placed on the student’s account that shows up when they check out a book. It is the responsibility of the media specialist to determine if the student’s selection is in line with the parent’s request. The media specialist is encouraged to reach out to the parent if further clarification is needed.
A parent may also choose “No Access,” which means the student is not permitted to check out any book from the library media center or use classroom library books.
School Library Journal Florida Media Specialist Codes System to Check Books Against State Legislative Standards
Alachua County (FL) Public Schools media specialist Patty Duval embarked on a six-month process, programming a system to determine which of the county’s books follow standards set in legislation like the Parental Rights in Education Act.
https://www.wuft.org/news/2023/10/20/...
Since July 2022, every school district in the state has been evaluating all of its classroom materials and posting them online to follow the K-12 Education law. In Alachua County, that means cataloging over 100,000 books in elementary schools alone. To comply, some districts like Clay County and Martin County first resorted to removing books from classroom library shelves.
But that’s not Duval’s style.
Instead, she embarked on a six-month-long process, programming a system to determine which of the county’s reads follow standards set in legislation like the Parental Rights in Education Act, often dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law. Duval has no previous coding experience.
All school media professionals in the state received training in January in accordance with the K-12 Education law, which Duval said kick-started her course of action with the county’s elementary schools. She chose to start in the younger grades because elementary teachers had more titles to sort through.
“Who would imagine that a kindergarten teacher would have 1,200 books on their shelf?” she asked.
Classroom materials had to be published within a reasonable time. It was March. Duval exported the book titles, authors and ISBNs of one classroom library into a spreadsheet — a reasonable enough start, she said.
One spreadsheet became a series. But despite all the data being right there, Duval said she still wasn’t happy. She feared tricky formulas would grow confusing once other school librarians became involved. Enter code-writing software Google Apps Scripts.
After diving through dozens of YouTube tutorials and months of fine-tuning her code, Duval found a unified way to categorize every book in the county’s elementary schools.
But more work remained.
Besides finding a way to approach the law, Duval said she also had to teach county media specialists not to fear it.
“The training that the state provided for us in January did place a lot of emphasis on p____graphy, and that is a felony,” she said. “It really had media specialists feeling a little anxious.”
Under state law, it’s illegal for classroom materials to depict (view spoiler) Under the Parental Rights in Education Act, it’s also illegal for classroom instruction to include discussions on sexual or gender identity.
Consequently, Duval said librarians worried they’d face legal trouble if they misinterpreted the law while sorting through books. With practice, she said they felt much more at ease.
“Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out” by Susan Kuklin was removed from the school district after a parent challenged it because of sexually explicit content.
The parent also challenged “Thirteen Reasons Why,” “Being Transgender (Living Proud! Growing Up LGBTQ),” “Understanding Sexual Identity: A Book for Gay and Lesbian Teens and Their Friends” and “A For Activist,” found at Terwilliger Elementary School.
Following the law, each school district develops its own plan to address book challenges. In Alachua County, each school has a library advisory committee of parents, teachers and sometimes students who conclude whether a challenged book is removed. If the committee determines the book can remain in schools, the parent who challenged the title can address it with a district committee if they wish.
Duval said “Being Transgender” and “Understanding Sexual Identity” don’t violate state standards. The Gainesville High committee decided to keep the books, and the parent who challenged the titles is taking their complaint to the district level.
The Gainesville High committee plans to address the complaint brought against the book “Thirteen Reasons Why.” The title violates state standards because of s---ally explicit content, Duval said.
Duval said her code doesn’t highlight whether books have been challenged.
Even with Duval’s system in place, some media specialists are still feeling the burden of meticulous title sorting.
Tia Mosby, the Hidden Oak Elementary librarian, said completing one classroom list can take three hours.
Ellen Meeker, the Carolyn Beatrice Parker Elementary librarian, said another challenge for elementary school media specialists is balancing book sorting while teaching and forming lesson plans.
“We want to put books in kids’ hands, and this is just kind of a roadblock,” she said. “But it’s not deterred any of us.”
Meeker, 56, assisted Duval in tweaking the code this summer. A media specialist for the past 15 years, she said this process of categorizing books won’t ever be finished as teachers continue to build out their classroom libraries.
Duval taught school librarians how to use her system in two three-day trainings — a workshop that cost the school district $11,000 to pay for substitutes, she said.
Because librarians at middle and high schools don’t have teaching responsibilities in addition to their media work, it’s likely substitutes won’t be necessary this time.
Though it’s not a product for market, Duval said she would use her system to guide other state media specialists as they grapple with the new challenges to their jobs. She said she frequents library groups on Facebook, often wondering if page posters have nowhere better to seek help.
“I want to be that person so that they don’t feel like they’re on an island,” she said.
ACLU of Alaska, Northern Justice Project, and Parents Sue Alaska District for Removing Books https://alaskapublic.org/2023/11/21/m...
A lawsuit filed Friday in federal court accuses the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District of violating six students’ constitutional rights by removing books from school library shelves last spring.
The district removed the 56 books in April at the direction of the Mat-Su School Board, which had received some complaints. Then, this fall, the board appointed a Library Citizens Advisory Committee to review the books. The committee has reviewed 12 books so far, eight of which they recommended should only be kept in high school libraries but removed from middle and elementary schools.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed Friday are represented by the ACLU of Alaska and the Northern Justice Project.
Scott Adams and his wife Dawn joined the lawsuit on behalf of their daughter, who is in middle school.
The Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial School District in Minnesota-Books were taken off LCWM school library shelves after some parents complained about the collection. School Supt. Mark Westerburg examined the school library’s materials by compiling a list of 150 books most criticized in public schools that he collated from websites. He pulled 10 books off the shelves — and wouldn’t specify to The Free Press which ones.
Westerburg said the action was taken as the district is adopting a policy to review books.
The school does not have a librarian or media specialist, who are trained to deal with material selection and review processes as part of their profession.
https://www.mankatofreepress.com/opin...
Fluvanna County High School (VA) received two dozen complaints over books by a failed school board candidate, and they'll finally begin to be reviewed. The books were removed from shelves before the process.https://fluvannareview.com/2023/11/sc...
October’s controversy over nearly two dozen books in the Fluvanna County High School library collection has spawned a new body: the Learning Resource Review Committee.
School Board members unanimously approved the formation of the committee at their meeting Wednesday night (Nov. 8).
During the October meeting, a group of residents led by then School Board candidate Brittany Gray challenged a variety of titles, primarily due to s___ally explicit content. A later analysis revealed most of the books had not circulated in recent years and others were missing from the collection. All titles were pulled from the shelves pending evaluation.
The schools have long had an internal committee structure of educators and librarians to evaluate challenged materials. Now, each School Board member will be able to appoint a representative from their district who will join the school’s principal, librarian, divisional instructional specialist, and PTO representative.
In the past, the person who made the complaint was also able to join the committee, but it is not clear they would need to be involved in the new process.
Committee members would be required to read the challenged book, investigate reviews and other selection criteria, discuss the material, and make a decision on whether to retain or remove it from the collection. Their decision would be open to appeal to the superintendent, and ultimately, to the School Board itself.
“Whoever serves on this committee is going to make a decision and potentially be the subject of a lot of public discussion and maybe criticism,” cautioned Superintendent Peter Gretz.
The committee would have to publish notices of their meetings, which would be open to the public. All correspondence and documentation would be subject to a public records request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
While all members agreed to the committee in principle, there were some points of tension, particularly over whether challenged books should be pulled from the collection pending review. While Dr. Gretz had removed the books challenged in October, he noted that it wasn’t a set policy to do so in all cases.
Andrew Pullen (Columbia District) favored removing books the moment they were challenged, arguing this is something they had done in the recent past.
Over the last couple of years, “there were books that we privately pulled…I mean, we literally called and said, hey, I just got notification that this book is on the shelves and it was pulled immediately.”
“These books were a given,” he added, “like, they can’t be there.”
Pullen did not detail how many or which books were pulled from the schools or whether they later went through the formal review process.
Later in the discussion, he reiterated that challenged books were something he would like to see be handled “quietly.”
“Then it doesn’t bring up all the community outrage, because the appearance from some people is that we’re banning books, and I won’t think anyone here is suggesting that,” he said. “But this book thing has just become so political.”
Chair James Kelley (Palmyra District) argued that books that deal with challenging topics like sexual orientation, gender identity, and abuse should not unilaterally be pulled because a member of the community objected.
“If we just went to a library and plucked a book from the shelves every time that we think it’s inappropriate, we are censoring and banning books,” he said. “It’s the same thing.”
The discussion ended with the understanding that details on how members would be selected and appointed and how often the committee would need to meet would have to be sorted out at a later date, but the motion to create the Learning Resource Review Committee passed on a vote of 5-0.
Bad news in the Los Angeles areaChino Valley school board enacts controversial book ‘ban’ policy
The Chino Valley Unified School Board has voted to create a process that could lead to books and other teaching materials getting pulled over “s---ally obscene” content, or even political material.
The controversial policy, which some critics equate to a book ban, was enacted Thursday night and lays out steps for how schools deal with complaints lodged by parents and students.
When someone comes forward, the student is first excused from using the material in question, the new policy states. Ultimately, a district panel comprised of administrators, teachers, librarians and community members could decide to remove it permanently.
Among the reasons teaching material could get banned include not being deemed “age-appropriate,” being “contrary to the moral and ethical standards generally held by the community,” or presenting “one-sided” political views.
https://ktla.com/news/local-news/chin...
Pulaski, ArkansasCentral Arkansas school district drops library’s digital learning tools, citing lack of ‘filter’
Officials want “more clarity as to what’s acceptable and what’s not,” district spokeswoman says
https://arkansasadvocate.com/2023/11/...
More than 11,000 Pulaski County students are unable to access online educational materials through their local public library as a legal precaution, according to school district administrators, in light of the statewide debate over what content children should be able to access in libraries.
The Pulaski County Special School District, which covers the rest of the county outside Little Rock and North Little Rock, had been participating in the Central Arkansas Library System’s “tech card” program since 2018.
The tech card program provides students with “recommended resources divided by grade level for research, homework help, and more, according to the CALS website, regardless of whether students have public library cards. Both public and private schools in Pulaski County have been enrolled in the program.
CALS Executive Director Nate Coulter said he found out Wednesday, during a conversation with administrators at the Sherwood library branch, that parents of PCSSD students told library staff their children’s tech cards no longer worked.
The school district’s legal counsel initially advised the district to keep using tech cards in accordance with the Arkansas LEARNS Act, PCSSD executive director of communications Jessica Duff said in an email. The wide-ranging education legislation requires public school districts to expand “digital learning opportunities” for students “in partnership with” businesses, education leaders and other local entities.
However, the attorney later advised PCSSD to withdraw from the tech card program because CALS’ online student portal does not have “a way to filter search results and access to particular material,” Duff said.
“At this point in time, we’re not participating in this CALS tech card program until we have more clarity as to what’s acceptable and what’s not,” she said.
What is considered “acceptable” content for minors in schools and in public libraries has been a subject of heated debate this year in Republican-led states, including Arkansas. Act 372 of 2023 would alter Arkansas libraries’ processes for reconsidering material and create criminal liability for librarians who distribute content that some consider “obscene” or “harmful to minors.”
Supporters of Act 372, both in public and in the Arkansas Legislature, have said the policy is necessary to keep “p----graphic” content out of children’s reach. Opponents of the law have said its purpose is to reduce access to content that reflects the general public, such as the LGBTQ+ community.
Coulter, CALS and 16 other plaintiffs sued the state in federal court over Act 372 in June. U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks temporarily blocked the two challenged portions of the law on July 29, three days before its effective date.
One blocked section of Act 372 would have put librarians at risk of being charged with a Class D felony for “knowingly” distributing obscene material or informing others of how to obtain it. In his ruling, Brooks agreed with the plaintiffs that the law was too vague and could lead to overly broad interpretations of the “appropriateness” of materials and whether they are “made available” simply by being on library shelves.
The other blocked section would have given city and county elected officials the final say over whether a book challenged on the basis of appropriateness can remain on library shelves or should be relocated to a place minors cannot access. Brooks noted in his ruling that this section “provides no criteria to guide the governmental body’s evaluation.”
Elected officials would only handle book challenges if a committee of library staff decides not to relocate a book and the complainant appealed the decision.
Act 372 would create a similar process for book challenges in school libraries, with school board members in charge of appeals. The lawsuit against Act 372 did not challenge this portion, and it went into effect Aug. 1.
The blocked portion of Act 372 regarding “furnishing a harmful item to a minor” contains an exemption for “the transmission or sending of items over the internet.” This includes “posting material on an internet website, bulletin board, or newsgroup” and “sending material via a mailing list, listserv, or other method of internet communication.”
Coulter, who worked as an attorney for several years, said he reads this exemption to be “very, very narrow” and not applicable to CALS’ online learning materials or e-book distribution system.
He added that the tech card system has “undeniable benefits to kids” and is not worth sacrificing to appease those who believe children should not have access to certain parts of CALS’ collection.
“It makes it so profoundly clear that they’re willing to trade educational benefits for their ideological end,” Coulter said.
The federal Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) of 2000 requires school and public libraries to use internet filters that block p-----aphic content in order to receive subsidies that make internet connectivity more affordable.
Coulter said CALS has this filter in place. The sale or use of any internet software that filters for the content facing conservative backlash — primarily any materials by and about LGBTQ+ people — would face a First Amendment lawsuit, he said.
“No serious vendor is going to venture there if they get legal counsel, because that’s clearly viewpoint discrimination that the Constitution prohibits,” Coulter said.
The plaintiffs challenging Act 372 have argued that the vagueness of the law will lead to viewpoint discrimination if it is implemented as written.
Crawford County is a defendant in the lawsuit in addition to the state. The county library system moved children’s books with LGBTQ+ topics to a segregated “social section,” accessible only to adults, at all five branches in December 2022. The library director at the time called the move a “compromise” after county residents objected to their availability at multiple quorum court meetings.
Three Crawford County parents sued the county and the local library board in May, calling the “social sections” a First Amendment violation. County officials cited Act 372 as a reason to keep the books segregated. U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes denied the parents’ request for an injunction in September.
Heartstopper Series Volume 1-4 Books Collection Set By Alice OsemanParents lambasted the inclusion of a graphic novel about a high school-aged couple in a recent book fair at Ocean City Intermediate School, describing the book to members of the Board of Education as wildly inappropriate for young children.
https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/...
Parents also complained about some classroom topics, which included students accessing a website that included information about puberty and sexuality.
Parent Christina Ardelean said the series was suggested for high school students, and argued that it should not have been available at the Intermediate School.
“I don’t want to overly sexualize my child,” she said. “It’s right there for her to look at and buy at school.”
Kevin Schaffer, an unsuccessful candidate for school board this year, raised his voice at several points during his presentation. Even if the book was aimed at older children, he said, much younger children also had access.
“Can we recognize the fact that there are fourth graders in the same fricking building, sharing the same library? Come on, people. Put a curtain up,” he said.
It appeared that the school administration was listening. Scott McCartney, the interim superintendent of schools while the district continues its search for a permanent superintendent, identified the book as part of a series of young adult novels called Heartstopper, written by Alice Oseman.
McCartney said he did not know who requested the book for the school book fair.
“But what I do know is that we’ve told Scholastic that it’s not appropriate and they’ve removed that series not only for our book fair, but for book fairs for the age that we’re talking (about),” he said at the meeting.
He also said the district has addressed a lesson plan that included accessing a website that included information about human sexuality, which was also the subject of complaints at the meeting. McCartney said that the site was prepared as an educational tool by doctors, but said there should have been more careful supervision of students.
The Scholastic company describes the Heartstopper series as being marketed for grades nine through 12. Spokesperson Anne Sparkman described the series as beloved.
Sparkman said the company has not changed how the title is offered at book fairs in response to Ocean City’s complaints, but said it would not typically be offered to fourth graders. It is a young adult series, she said, and would be recommended for teenagers.
“Heartstopper is an award-winning series offered in middle school book fairs, as it has a recommended reading level of ages 12 and up. It is not available in elementary school fairs,” she said.
McCartney stated that the material would not be appropriate for high school students or younger children.
Speakers at the school board meeting insist their objection to the Heartstopper series has nothing to do with the presence of gay characters. Schaffer, who copied images he found objectionable to share with board members and the public, described one of the books as p___graphic. He also suggested the storyline amounted to (view spoiler), with a man kissing a boy, although both characters are students in the book, with a one character a year older.
“It’s just unbelievable. It’s straight (view spoiler)
“What happened to books about sports, nature, animals?” said parent Laura Wheeler at the meeting. She had also raised objections to a classroom lesson. She said she believes that the state health curriculum, which covers sex education, goes too far for children too young, starting in fifth grade, and has sought to opt her child out of those lessons.
But in this case, she told the board, it was with a younger class and without advance notice.
Wheeler suggested a company called Skytree Book Fairs, which has been founded as competition to Scholastic, which SkyTree accuses of (view spoiler) reads a recent fundraising plea for the company signed by actor Kirk Cameron.
Presented by the PTA, the intermediate school book fair took place the week of Oct. 24 during school hours, according to Timothy Kelley, the school business administrator. From comments at the meeting, it appeared that the PTA came under intense criticism on social media after the book fair.
“It has recently come to our attention that a book sold through the Scholastic Book Fair was not suitable for the intended audience. PTA does not select or review the books that are sold at Scholastic Book Fair. As stated in the OCIS email, it has always been Book Fair policy that students are free to return a book if parents are not satisfied. PTA has records of student purchases so we can easily provide a return without a receipt,” the organization posted to its Facebook page. Comments were disabled for the post.
“Please note: we are a non-partisan, parent-driven, volunteer organization. PTA members are expected to behave civilly towards one another,” the post continued. “Bullying and harassment of PTA and its officers on social media will not be tolerated by members.”
“To blame parents for overreacting and accuse them of bullying is not fair,” Wheeler said at the school board meeting.
In 2022, three candidates who ran with the endorsement of the national organization Moms for Liberty won seats on the school board, in a campaign focused on the state health education standards. Some students and community members saw the vote as an attack on LGBTQ students, holding rallies and speaking at board meetings.
One of those candidates, Robin Shaffer, was back on the ballot for a full term, running with Schaffer and Steve Flogaus. With results still unofficial as of Friday, and just four votes separating Shaffer and candidate Corey Niemiec, it remains uncertain whether Shaffer will return to the board in January. But the other two candidates who ran with a “Conservative family values” slogan fell short.
At the same Thursday meeting, Upper Township resident Jenna Smith was ready to celebrate that. She said she and others have been attending the board meetings to support “acceptance compassion and truth” and said she was not sure if she could continue the fight into a new election.
“The fact of the matter, this isn’t a battle. The ultra-conservative movement has already lost,” she said. “They’re fighting for a world that no longer exists.”
When he rose to speak next, Schaffer said he represented “pretty much everything she’s talking about. I’m here to talk about a book.”
Texas- Conroe ISD streamlines controversial book policy modeled after Katy ISD, defines ‘sexually explicit’
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/neig...
The Conroe ISD Board of Trustees streamlined its book policy to remove material reviews with a hearing officer and allow board members to appeal decisions made by the district’s book reconsideration committee.
The controversial issue was brought back to the board by Trustee Tiffany Nelson during the board’s Oct. 17 meeting for discussion. Nelson suggested the amendments that align with Katy ISD book policy.
According to the previous policy adopted in September 2022, a person could make a complaint to the district and the committee would review the book or material and issue a decision.
If the complainant was unsatisfied, they could appeal that decision to a hearing officer for a Level II hearing.
If the complainant disagreed with that decision by the hearing officer, they could take it to the board of trustees to make a final decision on the book or material.
The new policy removes the hearing officer, who was an outside counsel retained by the district, to review the committee's decision.
Superintendent Curtis Null said removing the Level II hearings will save the district time and money.
The board approved the policy changes in a 5-2 vote Tuesday, with Trustees Datren Williams and Stacy Chase voting against the changes.
The updated policy allows for a person to request a review of the book by the reconsideration committee.
If that person is not satisfied with the committee’s ruling, they could then appeal to the board. The policy also allows for a trustee to appeal the decision by the committee.
Williams said the changes don’t add “any value” to the policy.
“It’s a vote of non-confidence in our librarian and administration to safeguard our kids from inappropriate or any materials. I struggle with us adopting any other policy or changes that deviate from that. (It) essentially equates to us continuing to censor books.”
Williams said the changes to the policy allow the board to take the role of a subject matter expert.
“I think we should leave that to the professionals and have some sense of confidence and trust our administration and our librarians,” Williams said. “I think it leads us down a dangerous path.”
The amendments also include adding the definition of “s----ally explicit material” to the district policy.
Nelson said the changes would put the district in compliance with House Bill 900, which removes s---ally explicit books from school libraries and sets out a rating system for books by booksellers.
HB 900 requires school library booksellers to identify books, including those written for teens, that are “s----ally explicit” or “sexually relevant,” and those books rated “s---ally explicit” would be banned from schools. The law also requires booksellers to identify such books sold to school districts in the past.
Several Texas booksellers have filed a lawsuit challenging the law, putting it on hold. The lawsuit argues that booksellers will suffer financial damage if they lose school-related business.
Conroe ISD Board President Skeeter Hubert said adding the definition of s---ually explicit wouldn’t change how the district addresses that issue since it is addressed by the Texas Education Code that the district already adheres to.
“It doesn’t strengthen or weaken (the policy),” Hubert said.
Trustee Misty Odenweller said the changes make sense and allow the board to follow state guidelines.
“We are elected to be the ultimate authority (for our district),” Odenweller said.
Following the discussion on the policy, the board unanimously agreed to remove the graphic novel "Drama" by Raina Telgemeier from intermediate and junior high libraries, making it only available for high school students.
According to the district’s website, the district has reviewed 15 books with "Black Boy Joy" by Kwame Mbalia the only one pending review. The book includes stories about the joys of Black boyhood, with stories from 17 bestselling Black authors.
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