Children's Books discussion
Banned Books: discussions, lists
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Discussion of censorship, equity, and other concerns.
Alabama - againSteve Marshall says library service can withhold funds if libraries don’t follow age-appropriate guides
https://www.al.com/news/2024/02/steve...
Alabama’s public library service isn’t required to be an American Library Association member, and the service can withhold funds from local libraries that don’t obey guidelines on age-inappropriate material, Attorney General Steve Marshall wrote in a recent opinion.
The library service doesn’t directly control local library policy, but can make state funding conditional on whether local libraries follow its guidelines about inappropriate content, Marshall said.
“APLS may condition receipt of funds on certain requirements so long as it deems it necessary for developing the library system,” Marshall said.
Gov. Ivey recommended new guidelines last year to prevent children from seeing “inappropriate” comment. Public comment to these rule changes began Feb. 1.
The group Read Freely Alabama said it approves of Marshall’s decision that the APLS can’t dictate how individual libraries shelve their collections.
However, Read Freely Alabama co-founder Angie Hayden said she is concerned the government is “forcing ideological mandates on what are supposed to be apolitical entities.”
“This is nothing more than an anti-library, ideological attack on state library funding,” Hayden said in a statement. “Underfunded libraries, especially those in the Black Belt counties, will be forced to implement discriminatory policies that segregate any content that any group in power deems inappropriate, or be forced to close. This will be disastrous for those communities that depend most on libraries as their only source of Wi-Fi, computers, and support services like career development and veteran’s assistance.”
VirginiaThis story has a conservative book banning bias
JUST the facts are reported below
“Absolutely Unconscionable” / Explicit Library Content Targeting Minors Roils Botetourt
https://theroanokestar.com/2024/02/06...
Many Valley residents first became aware of the conflict thanks to a number of provocatively-worded signs such as: “Botetourt Libraries do not protect Children’s Innocence.”
The dispute essentially has two camps. On one side is a growing, grassroots network of residents: Botetourt Residents Against Child Exploitation, or BRACE…opposed to obscene and age-inappropriate materials in the children’s sections in their taxpayer-funded public libraries. On the other side is County Library Director Julie Phillips and the governmental hierarchy as represented by County spokeswoman Tiffany Bradbury.
The five-member, all Republican Board of Supervisors (BOS) appears to have flip-flopped through the controversy, at times either being silent, or initially supporting BRACE, or later supporting the library policies.
In December 2022, a female Botetourt resident who wishes to remain anonymous was in the Fincastle library and saw near the children’s section an R-rated DVD cover with a close-up, behind view of two (clothed) men grasping each others’ buttocks. One review of that DVD claims it “contains (view spoiler)
Realizing the inappropriateness of both the DVD’s image and location, that resident shared her concerns with a librarian on duty. At that point, had the staff member simply showed sensitivity and used de-escalation techniques, the issue likely would have been quietly and quickly resolved.
However, instead of her concerns being taken seriously, she was given some talking points from the American Library Association (ALA) that Botetourt libraries “have to offer this [fiction] material for information and enlightenment.”
In a Feb. 5, 2024 email recounting that event, that resident wrote: “The Library Director’s comment was that it was far enough away from the children’s section, and when I said it was close enough for children to see it, she replied, ‘at least they weren’t naked.’ Too bad I didn’t record that arrogant remark.”
Undeterred, the library patron chose to take her concerns to her elected officials, the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors at their January 2023 meeting, and thus the public controversy and the group BRACE were born. To help educate the public, the group launched a website.
By March and April, she was joined by Charles and Lucy Ruhl who submitted requests to Library Director Phillips to review and remove 60-some books and DVDs they viewed as objectionable for a childhood audience. Using the same form letter, library leaders denied all requests. Showing growing alarm, four residents spoke at the Supervisors’ March meeting against obscenity aimed at children.
Library leaders have consistently claimed no materials need to be removed. However, in April the Ruhls submitted a letter to the Fincastle Herald including a quotation and description of images from books allegedly for ages 5-12. The Fincastle newspaper refused to print it, citing, “the nature of the letter is too graphic for our younger readers.”
By May, tensions had risen to where Lisa Varga, the Executive Director of the Virginia Library Association, was invited to speak at a Library Board meeting. Varga implied no books can be removed because that would be “viewpoint discrimination.”
On June 7 BRACE member Danny Goad was holding a sign claiming then-Supervisor Billy Martin (R-Blue Ridge) was allowing p--n in the libraries.
According to Goad, Martin drove up and approached him in a threatening manner. Martin put his hands on Goad and, according to Goad, pulled items from his pocket.
Goad reported this incident to the Botetourt County Sheriff’s Department, and Martin was later charged with assault. However, the Botetourt County Commonwealth’s Attorney recused himself and Roanoke City’s Don Caldwell took the case. At trial, Caldwell asked the judge to drop all charges and when Goad tried to speak up, the judge refused him.
Martin lost the Republican primary for re-election to Walter Michael and has since been replaced as Supervisor.
For those inhabitants who thought Botetourt residence meant they would have more conservative leadership, Ruhl claims: “The three “old” supervisors [Steve Clinton, Mac Scothorn, Amy White] have proven themselves to not be fiscally or socially conservative but to be elected in Botetourt County you have to be a Republican in name.”
In a series of email exchanges, Spokeswoman Bradbury and Director Phillips stated their positions and answered some questions.
In a Dec. 21 email, Bradbury explained: “Public libraries are constitutionally obligated to serve the interests and needs of all members of their communities and may not limit offerings to some content to the exclusion of other content. Every public library collection contains a broad range of materials, subjects, and viewpoints to serve the entire community. The materials in the library reflect the broad spectrum of human knowledge and Botetourt community needs and interests. Librarians are happy to assist any patron in finding materials that suit their individual or family needs, criteria, and values.”
Bradbury also pointed out a BOS resolution from July 17, 2023 supporting the library system and its current policies plus the current policy that any child under 13 must be accompanied by a parent or other adult over 18.
As for the R-rated DVD near the children’s area, on Dec. 16 Phillips emailed: “Our facilities are small, but we do the best we can with the space we have. At the Fincastle Library where the complaint originated, there is no separate children’s room, which means that some adult sections are located in adjacent areas.”
In a Dec. 26 email, Director Phillips claimed that demand for gender dysphoric content “(for all ages) increased over 400% between 2020 and 2022. Citizens who find certain materials objectionable have the freedom not to use them, but they do not have the right to prohibit or restrict access to other taxpayers who do want them.”
In a Jan. 12 email, Phillips asserted offensive materials cannot be found in Botetourt libraries because “That would be inconsistent with our policies and practices.” Plus, they do not display “Materials that are partisan, sectarian, prurient or that promote hatred and/or violence.”
Phillips added: As an aside, Botetourt County Library does not collect p__ography or obscenity in any form, for any demographic – so there is no such material available for display. “While some might use these terms subjectively to describe content that they find objectionable or inappropriate, County libraries have multiple checkpoints to ensure that no actual p___graphic, p___philic, or obscene material makes its way into our library collection, including the youth collection.”
On Jan. 17 Bradbury responded with “Our County attorney has researched all titles submitted for formal review through our Reconsideration Policy, as well as some other key titles (such as your example) that have come up in public comment. None of them have been ruled as obscene by any court in the U.S., nor would they qualify as obscene based on the Miller Test and interpretations by courts to date. (…) I think we have answered your questions fully."
Book bans are expanding from schools into public libraries in Sumner County, Tennessee. The group behind the shift is contributing to a culture of fear.https://wpln.org/post/book-bans-are-e...
Kirk Cameron
,swimmer Riley Gaines — who’s known for advocating against transgender athletes in women’s sports
the Sumner County Constitutional Republicans, a far-right group that has greatly influenced public life in the Middle Tennessee county.
A library director was fired because... staff were making noise in the background during Kirk Cameron's Brave Books event which was being filmed by Riley Mays. [um way to protect children!]
All of the library board members who voted to fire Alan Morales were appointed in an unusual process just a few months earlier by County Commissioner Jeremy Mansfield, a member of the Constitutional Republicans.
ALEXIS MARSHALL FEBRUARY 7, 2024
Alexis MarshallWPLN News
Within the last year, library board members appointed by Sumner County Constitutional Republicans have deeply influenced local libraries, including passing a policy that critics say would censor collections across the county.
LISTEN
05:51 Share:
You’re reading one story in WPLN’s series exploring the wide-ranging impacts of a hard-right political faction in Middle Tennessee. Find all parts here.
A large crowd gathered outside the Hendersonville Public Library on a drizzly Saturday morning to hear the actor and evangelist Kirk Cameron at a story time event in February 2023.
They circled around the flagpole, recited the pledge of allegiance and sang the national anthem, and Cameron led them in prayer.
More: Book ban advocates could soon take over Sumner County’s school board
Inside, before the library opened to the public, swimmer Riley Gaines — who’s known for advocating against transgender athletes in women’s sports — was filming a promotion. In a video that has since gone viral, she gets upset at library staff for making noise in the background.
It’s unclear whether the disruption was intentional, but the damage was done.
The story time and its aftermath ultimately led to the firing of Hendersonville’s library director, Allan Morales. It also laid bare the power of the Sumner County Constitutional Republicans, a far-right group that has greatly influenced public life in the Middle Tennessee county.
All of the library board members who voted to fire Morales were appointed in an unusual process just a few months earlier by County Commissioner Jeremy Mansfield, a member of the Constitutional Republicans.
Who gets to be on the library board?
Before Constitutional Republicans won a majority on the county commission, people who wanted to be on the board would submit an application, according to Megan Lange, a former Sumner County library system employee.
“You would send a resume and a letter of intent or interest, and there would be a subcommittee of the library board who would meet, go over these,” Lange said.
Then, the board would present their recommendations to the county commission for approval.
But in the fall of 2022, Mansfield disregarded the library board’s slate of candidates and presented a panel of his own appointees.
Since then, turnover on the library board has been high. The county website states the board should have 11 members, each serving three-year terms. But as of publication, nearly half the seats are empty. And only one member, Jackie Wilber, is left from the time before Constitutional Republicans won a majority of seats on the county commission.
Wilber still serves as chair, but vice-chair Joanna Daniels, one of Mansfield’s appointees, is a powerful force on the board.
Daniels, who did not respond to multiple interview requests for this story, has advocated for book bans in public schools. In October 2022, she asked the school board to remove “A Place Inside of Me,” a picture books about a young Black child navigating emotions after a police shooting, from shelves.
ALEXIS MARSHALL FEBRUARY 7, 2024
Alexis MarshallWPLN News
Within the last year, library board members appointed by Sumner County Constitutional Republicans have deeply influenced local libraries, including passing a policy that critics say would censor collections across the county.
LISTEN
05:51 Share:
You’re reading one story in WPLN’s series exploring the wide-ranging impacts of a hard-right political faction in Middle Tennessee. Find all parts here.
A large crowd gathered outside the Hendersonville Public Library on a drizzly Saturday morning to hear the actor and evangelist Kirk Cameron at a story time event in February 2023.
They circled around the flagpole, recited the pledge of allegiance and sang the national anthem, and Cameron led them in prayer.
More: Book ban advocates could soon take over Sumner County’s school board
Inside, before the library opened to the public, swimmer Riley Gaines — who’s known for advocating against transgender athletes in women’s sports — was filming a promotion. In a video that has since gone viral, she gets upset at library staff for making noise in the background.
It’s unclear whether the disruption was intentional, but the damage was done.
The story time and its aftermath ultimately led to the firing of Hendersonville’s library director, Allan Morales. It also laid bare the power of the Sumner County Constitutional Republicans, a far-right group that has greatly influenced public life in the Middle Tennessee county.
All of the library board members who voted to fire Morales were appointed in an unusual process just a few months earlier by County Commissioner Jeremy Mansfield, a member of the Constitutional Republicans.
Who gets to be on the library board?
Before Constitutional Republicans won a majority on the county commission, people who wanted to be on the board would submit an application, according to Megan Lange, a former Sumner County library system employee.
“You would send a resume and a letter of intent or interest, and there would be a subcommittee of the library board who would meet, go over these,” Lange said.
Then, the board would present their recommendations to the county commission for approval.
But in the fall of 2022, Mansfield disregarded the library board’s slate of candidates and presented a panel of his own appointees.
“So I appreciate the library board coming in and having your nominees. But the library board is an operation of the county commission. It’s funded by the county commission,” Mansfield said during a meeting of the committee on committees. “And I think it definitely needs a fresh set of outset eyes, in my opinion.”
Since then, turnover on the library board has been high. The county website states the board should have 11 members, each serving three-year terms. But as of publication, nearly half the seats are empty. And only one member, Jackie Wilber, is left from the time before Constitutional Republicans won a majority of seats on the county commission.
Wilber still serves as chair, but vice-chair Joanna Daniels, one of Mansfield’s appointees, is a powerful force on the board.
Daniels, who did not respond to multiple interview requests for this story, has advocated for book bans in public schools. In October 2022, she asked the school board to remove “A Place Inside of Me,” a picture books about a young Black child navigating emotions after a police shooting, from shelves.
In her public comment, Daniels said the school library is “not for helping kids deal with emotions.”
Daniels also organizes a group called Safeguard Our Schools, which advocates against social-emotional learning and critical race theory. She told the Tennessee Star that while she does not have school-age children, she feels a responsibility as a taxpayer to ensure her money isn’t being used to pay for “indoctrination.”
Since joining the Sumner County Library Board, Daniels has acted to restrict materials in public libraries too.
Late last year, she voted to pass a policy that bans minors from accessing materials that contain nudity and “s-x acts.”
The policy itself was written in graphic detail, prompting board member Beverly Hyde, wife of the county commission chair and another Mansfield appointee, to resign.
While some community members commended the effort to shield children from mature content, others, like Hilary Lounder, were vehemently opposed. Lounder said the policy was too broad and could impact things like romance novels, as well as “resource materials for art, biology, anatomy and other subjects that are most definitely not p__graphic.”
Rick Grimm of Portland took issue with a portion of the policy that says materials can’t be “in any section of the library that minors have access to.”
“What the heck does that mean? Does that mean the rest of the library?” Grimm asked. “That’s ridiculous.”
The policy that passed didn’t include specific instructions on how to restrict those materials, so it’s unclear how exactly libraries are expected to stay in line.
These rules and the people crafting them are contributing to a culture of fear in the county, according to Lange, the former library system employee.
A recent Facebook post from Sumner County Constitutional Republicans, eschewing Republicans who work across the aisle.
https://wpln.org/post/book-bans-are-e...
Florida as usual where they're supposed to be required to teach African American history!"[P]arents of students at IPrep Academy were asked to sign permission slips in order for their children to participate in Black History Month 'class and school wide presentations showcasing the achievements and recognizing the rich and diverse traditions, histories, and innumerable contributions of the Black communities.' If parents do not sign the forms, students do not learn about Black History Month."
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/south-flori...
Miami-Dade School Board member Steve Gallon told the outlet that the new rule is an addition to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, which was initially signed into law in March 2022. The law, infamously known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, bars “classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students.”
In 2022, the Miami-Dade School Board held a contentious meeting where members voted against recognizing October as LGBTQ+ History Month. At the time University of Miami professor Alberto Cairo said the vote was an effort to “distort” the truth, like the whitewashing of Black and Jewish American history. The board voted against the LGBTQ+ celebration again in 2023.
WPLG reports that an extension was added to the bill in November, which expanded parental rights in education whenever outside presenters come to instruct on school property.
In May, Miami-Dade Public Schools came under fire for having parents sign release forms for their children to participate in district-sponsored book fairs, the Miami Herald reported. Children could not attend book fairs if their parents didn’t sign the permission slips, which also stated that parents couldn’t hold the district accountable if their children were to choose books the parents didn’t like.
“My first thought was disappointment. Not for my child, but for this community,” parent Brooke Sussman told the Miami Herald.
California - Kern County Board of Education trustee pushes for book review after finding 'inappropriate' contenthttps://bakersfieldnow.com/news/local...
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — The Kern County Board of Education is expected to discuss a potential school book policy following the discovery of several books deemed inappropriate that were available to students.
Trustee Lori Cisneros is concerned about the books available to students in court and community schools. Last year, she asked the Kern County Superintendent of Schools to send her a list.
Students in the care of the Kern County Superintendent of Schools do not have access to a traditional school library and instead take books from individual classroom collections.
"It's shocking that it is accessible to students," Cisneros told Eyewitness News.
What she found was a young adult novel from Ellen Hopkins titled Smoke which features some passages depicting s--ual violence. That led to Smoke and several other books being pulled from school shelves.
Cisneros said it's not known how those books ended up being available to students. She now wants the board to adopt a policy to prevent something like this from happening again.
"Teachers can bring in their personal libraries and it doesn't seem like anything is in place at the moment to track what it is being brought in," Cisneros said. "And now because the political climate is changing, there's a push for information that students are not ready to process being available to them."
In southern California, the Chino Valley School Board voted to create a panel that could ban books it deems "sexually inappropriate material".
Cisneros said she wants the local board of education to adopt a policy just like Chinos.
"I do not believe those should be allowed in school libraries or classroom libraries," Cisneros said. "Let's not bring in political agendas."
The board is expected to meet again on Tuesday, Feb. 13
Andover is a college town. The censors are fighting a losing battle.Andover Public Schools (MA) had requests to ban four books in recent years and denied them.
Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Last March, a middle school parent challenged Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin for its use of profanity and sexual references. The committee ruled that the book is not objectionable and a majority said it was appropriate for middle schoolers.
The committee also opted to keep Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie in circulation when it met in March, saying both were appropriate for middle school students, despite the complaint noting profanity and s--ual references.
In 2018, a High Plains Elementary School parent wanted An Interview with Harry the Tarantula by Leigh Ann Tyson removed from the school library. It was the only complaint since the book was adopted at High Plains and other APS schools in 2024. The reason the request was submitted was not clear, but the committee tasked with reviewing the book voted to keep the title in circulation.
The school committee adopted a policy last March allowing anyone to file a formal complaint about books used in the district’s curriculum. Those complaints are reviewed by a committee that includes the principal of the building where the book is used, a librarian, a teacher, a currciulum specialist, a parent, and others. The committee members are expected to review the material. The recommendation committee’s “recommendation is to be an objective evaluation of the
https://andovermanews.com/parents-wan...
In Maine Public invited to speak Feb. 12 on Telstar Library book challengeThe MSAD 44 Board of Directors will meet at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 12 to discuss the book 'Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl.'
https://www.sunjournal.com/2024/02/07...
The book was challenged by former SAD-44 school board member Stephanie Erickson, who listed specific quotes from the book under the headings p---philia, s--ual abuse and vulgar language. She wrote in her complaint that the novel stereotypes churchgoers as child predators, athletes as homophobic and Israelis as promiscuous.
Scratch the previous news from Hernando County Schools (FL).The Kite Runner and The Black Friend will be banned. After the review committee voted to keep those books the board vetoed that decision.
America will be retained.
https://twitter.com/FLFreedomRead/sta...
St. Johns County Schools (FL) updated list of books with objectionshttps://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/media/l...
IowaOn Twitter, Johnston Schools board member Deb Davis started a fuss over Sold. Her "proof" the book is obscene comes from BookLooks, M4L's review site.
https://twitter.com/DebDavis515/statu...
Good and interesting news today from North Carolina...How anarchists in North Carolina rescued books banned in Florida
A bookshop in left-leaning Asheville is now sending children’s books back to the Sunshine State
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation...
When the managers of a small bookstore in this Appalachian mountain town received a call from a distributor wondering if they could take in 22,000 books rejected by a Florida school district, it felt like a colossal ask.
Firestorm Books usually stocks fewer than 8,000 books — titles that range from historical fiction to solarpunk. The self-described queer feminist collective wasn’t sure where they’d put them, and their customers typically weren’t looking for picture books.
“We were like, this feels like a bigger thing than we can manage,” said Libertie Valance, a managing member of the group that runs the store. “But I think even in that conversation, there was an acknowledgment that we were going to do it.”
And so began the journey to bring eight tons of books — most of them banned under Florida’s state laws restricting classroom discussion on race, gender identity and sexual orientation — from Duval County Public Schools in Jacksonville to left-leaning Asheville.
Firestorm Books not only took in the rejected children’s stories, but is now sending them to anyone who requests them. Many of the books are heading back to Florida.
“It’s up to the parents if they don’t want their child to read a book,” said Armand Rosamilia, an author and Duval County resident who requested a box of the books to put in a Little Free Library outside his home. “It shouldn’t be up to politicians.”
The books were part of Perfection Learning’s “Essential Voices” collection, a curated set of books for elementary school students that feature diverse authors and subjects.
Watching the events unfold from Iowa, Dave Jacks grew frustrated. As the vice president of operations for Perfection Learning, he understood his customer had a “big logistics problem.” But he also couldn’t resell them. They’d been sold in pre-assembled kits that would have been impractical to repackage. Still, he wanted to make sure these particular books ended up in the right hands. So he agreed to take them back and find a home for them.
“Those collections are specifically made for kids who might feel otherwise left out,” he said. “I mean, everybody should be able to, I think, feel special or wanted about something.”
He took a crew from Perfection Learning to Jacksonville, where they worked for nearly a week collecting the rejected titles and packing them into a semitrailer. Finding someone to take the books, however, proved a challenge. He called bookstores around the country and no one seemed to have the will or capacity to take them.
Then someone told him about Firestorm Books — a small store located in a remodeled 1956 service station that sells books mostly from independent and underground publishers, serves vegan pastries and fair-trade coffee and offers “a welcoming, sober, and anti-oppressive space” for community events.
Jacks paid for the truck delivery to Asheville, a popular tourist town filled with trendy restaurants and colorful murals.
In Asheville, the Firestorm collective decided they’d find a way to get the books back to Florida. When they first received the books they were in the process of moving, and it wasn’t until three months ago that they finally launched a project to get the books back on reader shelves.
The initiative, “Banned Books Back!,” offers to send the banned books free of charge to whoever fills out an online request form. More than one-third of the requests have come from Duval County, and many books are going to families with community libraries in their yards.
At the book packing event, volunteers dropped surprise gifts in each box — a sticker that says, “Trash Fascism Not Books,” and a small paper pamphlet that looks like a coloring book titled “I Am a Unicorn and I like to Fight: A Kid’s Guide to Standing up to Fascism and Bullies.”
At the end of 90 minutes, they had packed 200 boxes. In all, they’ve sent out nearly 1,700 books to date. The group organized an online fundraiser to help cover the shipping costs.
Three days later, one of the boxes arrived at Sarah McFarland’s Tampa home. The district her two sons attend has rejected far fewer books — but she is still concerned they aren’t learning about key moments and people in history under the new laws.
“I want them to be able to choose what they want to read,” McFarland said. “I want them to have open availability to the literature they want, like I did as a child.”
The first book they read from the box: A history of Harvey Milk, California’s first openly gay elected official. McFarland said she led her sons in a discussion after reading it.
Absolutely bonkers news of the day. I showed the video to my parents, a pediatrician and retired nursery school teacher. They said "So it's a baby in the bathtub. That's banned? But you can't see anything!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFlxs...
Librarians in Huntington Beach are shuffling through thousands of children’s books and moving them to the adult section. Officials say they are required to remove books that contain “sexual content.” The language provided in the city council ordinance is broad enough to include any books that talk about the human body or puberty. A book on boating, that includes a drawing of early sailors and a picture of a child in a bathtub with a toy boat, was removed from the shelf.
In Florida Volusia County community members protest banning books in schoolsCitizens for Truth and Justice in Education protests banned books in Volusia County
Community members weigh in on the power of books.
https://www.news-journalonline.com/st...
About 15 community members advocated for the right to read age-appropriate books in schools with a silent read-in protest at Volusia County Schools’ central office for 30 minutes prior to the board’s 4:30 p.m. meeting Jan. 23.
This event was initially scheduled for Jan. 16, prior to the board’s first meeting of the new year, but was postponed due to severe weather.
“The point of using a silent reading is two-fold,” said Laurel Robinson, co-founder and communications director of Citizens for Truth and Justice in Education. “One, to draw a sharp contrast between the shock and appall that board members registered when they were recited out of context salacious words and phrases. … Two, to draw attention to the experience of the palpable power of silence itself.”
CTJE — a local, grassroots organization striving for equal, free access to age-appropriate educational materials in public schools — and Kids’ Right to Read Network — a project that's part of the National Coalition Against Censorship’s Youth Free Expression Program — hosted the event. It is part of a larger movement, spanning both state and nationwide.
Prior to the board meeting, protest participants talked about their favorite banned books and discussed why reading is important to them. Once the meeting started, they went inside and began reading silently.
“This silent read-in is a play off the reading of excerpts taken completely out of context,” Robinson said. “The silence is to indicate that … reading is a private activity, you know. Not all of us stay in the ‘Goodnight Moon’ phase of our lives. You grow up, you read, and you learn things, and we think that’s what’s been taken away by this methodology of language.”
Elsewhere in FloridaFormer North Fort Myers High School teacher resigned over alleged removal of 600 books from classroom
https://www.nbc-2.com/article/former-...
On January 15, former North Fort Myers High School teacher Michael Andoscia said the school removed over 600 books from his room.
“The first morning, Tuesday morning, I walked to my classroom like I do every morning and open the door, turn on the lights, and found that all of my books, there were over 600 books, almost all of my books had been removed from the classroom. I had no idea that this was going to happen,” Andoscia said.
It comes as the Lee County School District implemented a new process in the spring of 2023 to approve books in response to new Florida Statutes. Teachers must upload the books into a new program called Beanstack.
A certified media specialist would review the books through Beanstack to eventually approve them in classroom libraries.
“Teachers would physically have to scan every book in their library and then that would have to be reviewed," Teacher's Association of Lee County President Kevin Daly said.
However, Andoscia said his bookcases were filled with hundreds of books that were still pending approval.
“When I walked in after that day I saw those books were gone, I realized that I had to do something,” Andoscia said. “They were all, they're all gone and I became just outraged by this. This was, this was just a step too far.”
Then, Andoscia says he decided to resign after a 30-year career.
Daly said he has seen more teachers come forward saying they do not find the process fair.
“Look at the thing and approve and not approve books. The system is, I think, cumbersome and you know, cumbersome and problematic,” Daly said.
The Lee County District told NBC2 that Andoscia’s classroom library was not certified through the formal book approval process.
Alabama is sickening. I hope the librarians ignore the order. Why does one hate group have so much power?Alabama library ordered to stop buying children’s, YA books with adult, LGBTQ themes
https://www.al.com/news/2024/02/alaba...
On Thursday, the Autauga-Prattville Library Board banned any books with sexual or LGBTQ content for children 17 and younger, prompting one board member to resign.
Prattville has been at the heart of book challenges in Alabama. Last year, patrons challenged 47 books, mainly with LGBTQ characters or themes. The library’s new obscene content policy attempts to stop children from accessing any books or materials that deal with sex or LGBTQ issues.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the library shall not purchase or otherwise acquire any material advertised for consumers ages 17 and under which contain content including, but not limited to, obscenity, sexual conduct, sexual intercourse, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender discordance,” the updated 53-page policy states. “Age-appropriate materials concerning biology, human anatomy, or religion are exempt from this rule.”
Library director Andrew Foster said he was unaware of the changes until they were announced in yesterday’s meeting, even though the policies state they were “prepared by the library director and board of trustees.” He’s still reviewing the policy and will determine the next steps with his staff. The library’s three branches have about 80,000 materials, Foster said.
Once board member Christie Sellers heard the changes were made in non-public meetings, she resigned Thursday. Four other board members resigned last year after the Autauga County Commission approved several library board appointments without consulting the current board.
Sellers told The Prattville Post the new content policies were created in “secret meetings” and “evoke blatant censorship of certain books within our current library collection.”
“Equally disheartening is the evident discrimination against a minority people group,” Sellers said. “As a board member, it is disconcerting to witness actions that contribute to the marginalization of any community within our constituency. We must serve the entire community without bias, and I find it unconscionable to be associated with a board that engages in such discriminatory practices. I cannot align myself, even with a dissenting vote, with the pervasive ideologies that are evidenced by the subcommittee’s recommendations.”
Librarians must also put a red “warning label” on any adult book with sexual or gender identity content. The policy isn’t clear if librarians must remove or move any books for children and young adults. However, the policy also states, the board “reserves the right to exercise discretion over weeding of materials.”
Another form change includes the patrons’ reconsideration form used to challenge material. In a previous version of the form, the patron must check yes or no if the material has been reviewed “in its entirety.” The form now asks if the patron reviewed the material “thoroughly.”
Prattville resident Angie Hayden, co-founder of Read Freely Alabama, became emotional when talking about the controversy and how it has affected her 25-year-old LGBTQ daughter.
“I can’t even tell you the amount of emotional trauma this has been for someone who has grown up in Prattville, been an avid reader, an avid user of the Prattville Library, to have a board say to her that books about people like her are dangerous and inappropriate and must be segregated away for the safety of the community,” Hayden said. “I find that an insult to not just LGBTQ people, but all people.”
LeVar Burton addresses book flagged by Alabama library because author’s last name is ‘Gay’Read Me a Story, Stella
Actor and reading advocate LeVar Burton poked fun at Alabama’s ongoing debate about which books should be in school and public libraries on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Tuesday evening.
Burton spoofed the popular children’s television show “Reading Rainbow” with a segment titled, “Why Did They Ban This Book?”
https://www.al.com/news/2024/02/levar...
He showed a group of children several books, including “Read Me a Story, Stella,” a picture book about two siblings building a doghouse.
AL.com reported in October that Huntsville-Madison County Public librarians had mistakenly added the title to a list of potentially “sexually explicit” books to be moved from the children section because the author’s name is Marie-Louise Gay.
“What!” one of the children exclaimed, placing her hands on her face when Burton explained the reasoning. “Are you dead serious?” another child asked. Multiple children replied at once, “Because of the last name?”
“Seriously!” Burton replied. “The author isn’t even gay. She’s married to a guy named David.”
“There’s no reason to ban it!” one of the children shouted.
This is ridiculous. The woke police as just as bad as the censors.These books were challenged at Ottawa's libraries last year (fortunately none were removed)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...
Ottawa Public Library kept all challenged materials in its collection following complaints
According to a report to the library's board, there were seven "requests for reconsideration" during 2023. Six sought to pull books or DVDs from library shelves, while one asked to reclassify a graphic novel from the teen to the adult collection.
Complaints covered everything from alleged racism or promotion of hatred to reports of inaccurate information or objectionable content.
Some of the impugned books have been in the crosshairs elsewhere, like Tintin in America, which has been criticized for stereotypical depictions of Indigenous people. On the cover, Tintin is depicted tied to a pole behind an axe-wielding man in a headdress.
Another challenge targeted the graphic novel Love on the Other Side, which portrays "fascinating relationships that refuse to be confined," according to the OPL description, including with a monster, a vampire and a "magnificent bird."
The only Russian-language book on the list was written by a pro-Kremlin political scientist and former television propagandist who has made threatening comments about nuclear warfare against the United States. The complainant said his book "promotes hatred."
Another challenge objected to a DVD of a "comedy horror" film starring Ralph Fiennes.
A French-language children's picture book about the stegosaurus, with a subtitle that translates as "the friendliest of dinosaurs," was challenged as racist. Though it is largely about a boy's friendship with the prehistoric creature, one illustration shows a carnival where one little girl is dressed in what appears to be traditional Indigenous clothing.
According to the report, the library retained all of the materials in their existing collection areas. That includes the graphic novel, which remained in the teen section.
Library sets 'very high bar' for removing material
Coun. Matt Luloff, who chairs the OPL board, said the library takes "a very strong stance on intellectual freedom." In his view, its policy is among the most permissive on the continent.
"We set a very high bar," he said. "Just because one person may find something offensive to their personal views doesn't mean the library should not be carrying it."
This is the second time the OPL has released a written report on library challenges. In 2022, the number of challenges stood at 17. That year, staff withdrew two of the challenged books including one entitled Hitler's Table Talk. It cited "low usage" as the reason.
The 2023 report says the seven challenges that year are more in line with recent trends.
Barbara Clubb, the OPL's former chief librarian, said there were far fewer before she retired in 2010.
"I had to sign off on them and I can't think I signed off on more than a couple," she said. "Most complaints were about what wasn't in the library."
Melanie Mills, past president of the Ontario Library Association and an academic librarian at Western University, has also watched censorship demands become more prominent in recent years than at any time in her career.
"What happens in the United States for sure influences what we're experiencing in Canada as well," she said.
Mills said people sometimes come to libraries with lists of hundreds of books they want to see removed.
In her view, unrestricted access to information from all points of view is "fundamental" and "core to our work" as librarians. She said education and discussion, not censorship, is the best way to handle objectionable material.
That also goes for works with outdated depictions that appear discriminatory by present standards.
"We retain materials from their time to understand context, to understand what was happening in a specific time and date," she said. "Because society's views have evolved ... that in and of itself wouldn't warrant removing something."
Clubb agreed that such works can have "historical value" and illustrate how standards change over time.
According to Clubb, librarians sometimes say they "have something to offend everybody," meaning they should carry works that respond to diverse communities with opposing world views.
But she said it's still essential to have a process that responds to public concerns, reviews them and reports back with an answer
In WisconsinNew bill could criminalize school librarians for loaning LGBTQ+ books
https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/...
The villain: an anti-LGBTQ+ organization called MassResistance. Its mission, "to confront assaults on the traditional family, school children, and the moral foundation of society," and also ousting librarians who stood in its way.
[A] new bill introduced in the Wisconsin Legislature would open school librarians to prosecution for purchasing library books considered "obscene." Wisconsin is one of 13 states with bills that could potentially criminalize librarians for distributing "harmful materials" to minors.
At a Dec. 5, 2023 Assembly Committee on Education public hearing, co-authors state Sen. Andre Jacque, R-De Pere, and state Rep. Scott Allen, R-Waukesha, explained the bill would allow educators to be prosecuted for giving obscene materials to minors. Allen said the intent is to "hold educators to the same level as other Wisconsinites." Prosecution can only take place if both the district attorney and the attorney general sign off on criminal proceedings.
Wisconsin's definition of "obscene" is consistent with the Miller Test, the legal test used to determine whether First Amendment expressions are "obscene," based on a 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision. That definition, which Allen shared at the December hearing, says that a writing, picture, film or other recording is considered obscene if the average person, applying community standards, would find that it "appeals to the prurient interest if taken as a whole," if the s--ual content is obviously offensive, and if the material lacks serious literary, artistic, political, education, or scientific value, if taken as a whole.
Allen, in his testimony, objected to the idea that the bill is about banning books or is part of some culture war. It's about providing accountability, he said. Jacque concurred, and said his mother, a retired educator, also expressed concern about today's reading materials. It's about ensuring that when parents send their children to school, they're sending them to a safe space, Jacque said.
Among educators applauding the bill were Waukesha school board president Kelly Piacsek and Mukwonago Area School District Superintendent Joe Koch. Koch, who described the thin line of what is acceptable literature in K-12 schools, wants to see a clearly understood definition of what constitutes obscene material in order for counties to be consistent.
Educators argue that everything the bill attempts to accomplish already exists. The U.S. Supreme Court has already weighed in on what is considered obscene — the Miller Test — a definition Wisconsin has adopted. Ben Miller, director of library services at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, described the policies and procedures at the local level already in place at most libraries to determine how a book is selected, how it's weeded, how it leaves the library and how it's challenged.
Finally, if a teacher or libarian actually disseminates something obscene, they already can be prosecuted for it.
“Libraries invite civil discourse into the books on the shelves and where they are in the library. That's already a right that people have," Miller said.
Even if it is decided that a challenged book abides by the collections' policies and remains on the shelf, a parent can still have a conversation with their school librarian to make sure a child isn't reading certain materials, said Monica Treptow, school library media consultant at Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
The bill, Treptow said, unnecessarily pits parents against librarians. After all, school librarians are educators, she said, and educators want to have relationships with parents. But it's also important to not limit choice in the larger school body.
“We want to encourage parents to be involved in what their kids are reading. It’s not about keeping secrets," Treptow said. "We can work together to make sure that that child is not reading certain materials. But every single parent has that same choice. And these people want to take that choice away from others, and that’s where the problems ensue.”
"One of the features of the school library that is sort of absent from the other areas of school is that we have the breadth of a collection that allows for (empathy), because none of the books are required reading," Treptow said. "It's all about voice. It's all about choice in the library."
When she taught eighth grade, Abigail Swetz, communications director for DPI, noticed a pattern as she took her students to the library on a regular basis. One of her students had recently transitioned socially — meaning, they changed their pronouns, clothing, hairstyles, names and more, in alignment to their gender identity. A friend asked the librarian about a book they could read featuring a trans character.
"They were just confused. They had asked for this book so they could know their friend a little bit better," Swetz said.
By the end of the week, multiple students asked to read the book, including the trans student, which got them communicating more. It happened because a librarian gave the student a book that generated discussion about LGBTQ+ understanding and empathy, Swetz said.
Now, Swetz wonders whether this "really beautiful thing" could happen if some of these bills are signed into law.
"The thing that worries me the most is when people argue against these identities and explorations of ideas, it makes it seem like empathy is seen as an agenda, and that is a very dangerous road to go down," Swetz said. "The language we use is heard by our children and the people we’re using it with, even if we’re not talking directly to, for example, an LGBTQ+ student. They’re hearing what we’re saying about them."
Just one in five LGBTQ+ students said they had access to LGBTQ+ inclusive sex education and fewer than one in seven have ever been taught about LGBTQ+ history. Instead, a majority of LGBTQ+ youth, more than eight in 10, are turning to the internet to fill these educational gaps.
That's a problem, said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the director of the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom, who believes young people should be able to go to the library to find accurate answers to their questions. And that's especially true for older teenagers on the verge of college, entering the military or starting careers.
"Adolescents don't automatically become adults on their 18th birthdays. They grow up, and part of that process is the ability to explore the world on their own," Caldwell-Stone said. "Librarians can be very important in guiding young people to curated content that is accurate."
"Given all that's out there, information (found on the internet) can be true or untrue, malign or not malign," Caldwell-Stone said, "but we discourage them from using a curated collection developed by a professional who's been trained especially to make sure that the collection serves the information needs of the audience they're serving."
...
The copycat nature of the books being questioned raises red flags for Iris Halpern, a Colorado-based civil rights attorney currently representing multiple librarians, including Lesley, across the United States.
"These censorship advocates have never really read the books all the way through. They've been trained by these template playbooks to turn to the one page where there might be something racially or s--ually controversial," Halpern said. "For example, they always flag Toni Morrison's 'The Bluest Eye' because there's (view spoiler) Yes, that's not a pretty picture of the world, but it’s a very real problem and experience, and it isn’t p____phy."
Halpern emphasized how crucial it is for society to "grapple with and learn from difficult and complex themes and subjects" through literature. And Morrison's work does a tremendous service to these conversations.
More on Idaho's library billhttps://www.idahoednews.org/top-news/...
Two library bills have been merged into one.
And with little discussion, the bill made its debut Wednesday morning.
The Senate State Affairs Committee introduced “The Children’s School and Library Protection Act” — a first step that could bring the library issue back before lawmakers for another high-profile public hearing.
The bill takes elements of House Bill 384, a proposal focused on restricting access to “harmful” library materials, and Senate Bill 1221, a proposal that focused on creating a process to review and perhaps remove objectionable materials from school libraries.
Sen. Geoff Schroeder, a Mountain Home Republican and a co-sponsor of SB 1221, said the new bill was not a compromise, but instead a “combination” of the two bills. He was joined at Wednesday’s hearing by Rep. Jaron Crane, the lead sponsor of HB 384. Crane did not speak, and Schroeder provided only a brief overview of the bill.
The bill would require school and public libraries to adopt “written policies and procedures” for handling complaints about harmful materials, and do so by Jan. 1. A library must also name a “materials review committee” to field these complaints.
The latest bill would allow parents... to be able to seek a fine of $250, and uncapped damages, if a library violates the law.
ALSO
New bill seeks to restrict ‘harmful’ online materials
"Lawmakers seeking to clamp down on access to “harmful” online materials came back Wednesday with a rewrite.
Like its predecessor, the new version of the Online Child Safety Act would require content creators to verify the age of users who access obscene materials. If children are still able to access harmful materials, the content creator could face fines of $10,000 or more.
Sponsors of the bill made only one substantive change: After age verification, a content creator cannot retain a user’s “identifying information.”
The House State Affairs Committee introduced the bill Wednesday morning, paving the way for a full hearing at a later date.
A competing bill is teed up in the Senate but awaiting a vote. That would direct device manufacturers to enable software that filters p____aphy on smartphones and tablets used by minors."
THIS is a much better bill. Ban TikTok not books. Ban ads on YouTube and anywhere kids are online. My mom is deeply concerned about what content her grandson is exposed to online. He's rarely picked up a BOOK in all his 11 1/2 years.
Follow-up to the Idaho library billSenate committee sends library bill to floor amid opposition, lukewarm support
https://www.idahopress.com/news/local...
The overwhelming majority of testifiers at a public hearing Monday opposed SB 1289, many of whom argued it was unnecessary and potentially burdensome for some libraries and school districts. Some of those who testified said they were neutral and appreciated an effort to make a compromise with the librarians and previous proposals.
Crane said he felt the bill addressed Gov. Brad Little’s concerns over last year’s bill, HB 314, which the governor vetoed. Crane said Little wanted to avoid frivolous lawsuits and ensure that no libraries would go bankrupt.
“With the process and the lowering of the damages, we believe we have addressed the governor’s concerns,” Crane said.
HB 314 would have allowed parents of minors to sue for $2,500 as well as other damages awarded by the court. No process with the library or school district would have been required before pursuing the lawsuit.
Under the new legislation, a review committee would need to be formed to review if materials violate a portion of Idaho’s obscenity code, which defines material “harmful to minors” as including [the usual dumb stuff plus the stuff that's already banned] (view spoiler) as judged by the average person, applying contemporary community standards” and when depictions are “patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community with respect to what is suitable material for minors.”
This wouldn’t apply to materials that, “when considered as a whole, and in context in which it is used, possess serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value for minors.”
These prongs for determining obscenity are known as the ”Miller Test” and are the legal standard established by the Supreme Court.
A public hearing on the challenge would need to be held with published notice a week ahead of time, after which the committee would submit a written decision on the challenged material that cited Idaho code as well as other relevant facts it relied on.
Nearly everyone who spoke Monday during the two-and-a-half-hour hearing opposed the bill. Some opposed it because they didn’t want any legislation on how libraries operate, and others thought it didn’t go far enough.
Many who spoke against the legislation noted that very few people submit formal requests for reconsideration in libraries currently, and argued that the problem isn’t as widespread as it seems.
“Libraries are not dangerous places, unless one fears diversity of thought, the multiplicity of experiences and values, and Idahoans’ ability to coexist and thrive together,” said Martha Williams, who works in a library. “... Librarians and their communities can have dialogue without legislation and we are doing this. This bill is not needed by Idahoans, our communities or our libraries.”
Sarah Bettwieser, representing the Idaho Library Association, said the group maintained that the legislation isn’t necessary, because most districts already have a process in place, but it did not oppose it. Other proposals brought forward to regulate “harmful materials” in libraries have been met with strong opposition by the association.
“After years of trying to address this issue, we think this is probably about as good as it’s going to get for all involved,” Bettwieser said.
Some library trustees and employees said they had concerns about the logistical challenges of implementing the law, such as paying for a public hearing notice each time a book is challenged or potentially fielding many challenges from one individual.
Jeff Kohler, a current library trustee for the Meridian Library District, speaking on behalf of himself, said after the past couple of years of “vitriol” in recent public library meetings, he wasn’t sure many people would sign up to be on the review committees required in the legislation.
He also had concerns that the process may complicate the legal oversight that already goes into the reconsideration process.
Brian Almon, an Eagle Library Board trustee and former communications manager for the Idaho Freedom Foundation, spoke in favor of the legislation. He likened harmful content to providing cigarettes and alcohol to children.
He said the legislation was a “good start” to ensure the “most heinous examples” are removed.
Idaho Freedom Foundation President Ron Nate spoke in opposition to the bill, arguing it did not do enough for those making the challenge.
He said it created a “complicated and arduous process” for parents who want materials moved. Nate, a former state lawmaker, argued that the group has “stacks” of explicit content found in libraries.
He opposed that there are no provisions or requirement for schools or libraries to preemptively remove materials. He also took issue with the bill only citing part of the law related to “harmful material for minors.”
“If libraries are truly a public good, let’s make sure they are, in fact, good,” Nate said.
Nate had lobbied for the passage of last year’s bill, HB 314, Idaho Secretary of State reports show.
Grace Howat of the Idaho Family Policy Center, which helped draft last year’s library bill, also spoke in opposition to the bill. She expressed concerns it would not function well in practice.
Schroeder said he appreciated the passion from those who opposed the bill in support of their libraries.
Senate Pro Tempore Chuck Winder, R-Boise, said that when the issue first came up a couple of years ago, he had dismissed it, not thinking it was an issue. He said he changed his mind because a parent showed him a book that their child found in a library.
“From that day on, I went, ‘hmm, I don’t know how big the problem is, but there is somewhat of a problem."
He said this new proposal was a “pretty reasonable approach.”
Sen. Treg Bert, R-Meridian, said he would support passing the bill out of committee but may change his vote on the floor over “heartburn” on some aspects of the legislation.
He mostly took issue with the civil lawsuit portion of the bill, which has been included in a growing number of bills in recent years.
“I just do not like this policy, period,” Bernt said of the legal enforcement mechanism. “I think it causes far more problems than it solves.”
Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, and Sen. James Ruchti, D-Pocatello, spoke against the legislation, arguing that it didn’t seem needed.
Ruchti pushed back on the idea that something needed to be legislated on the issue.
“Let’s move on,” Ruchti said, “let’s use the systems we have in place.”
Wintrow cited numbers she received from the library association that show last year, libraries in the state received 15 official complaints for 137 titles. The year before, there were 32 complaints, she said.
“I do think it is a problem that will subside, especially if we stand our ground and we support the libraries and processes that are in place,” Wintrow said.
The Senate State Affairs Committee voted 6-3 to send the bill to the full Senate for a vote.
And in Alabama they just won't quit until they close the libraries or drive people away.Shelby County delegation wants to control the North Shelby Library Board
https://www.alreporter.com/2024/02/12...
The North Shelby Library District is currently unique among Alabama library boards, with members directly accountable through elections.
The Shelby County Legislative Delegation has filed a bill to change that and implement a different unique proposition: take the appointment of the board in their own hands. The three members of the delegation are all Republicans: Rep. Arnold Mooney, Rep. Susan Dubose and Sen. Jim Cairns.
The delegation said in a statement Monday morning that House Bill 89 would make the election of the board “consistent with the election of public library boards statewide,” but then immediately notes how the new process would differ from most library boards.
“Public library boards statewide are elected by the county or city elected officials in which the libraries operate,” the delegation said in its statement. “The NSL does not operate under the authority of a county or a city government. HB 89 provides for the NSL board to be elected by the Shelby County legislators who represent the geographic area of the NSL District.”
DuBose has had a public spat with the board, at the same time Dubose has trumpeted her concerns about gay children’s books statewide.
At a meeting in which the board voted to keep a display of LGBTQ+ children’s books, Dubose characterized the board’s unique situation as a lack of accountability despite the board members being elected.
“This particular library board has complete authority over the library,” DuBose told a far-right outlet. “They do not report to anybody else … They make all the policies, the expenditures and the hiring decisions for that library … Unfortunately, the vote … simply to allow the board to vote whether they thought a display or a program was age-inappropriate … was voted down.”
Marsha Sturdevant, chair of the Shelby County Democratic Party, said she also remembered hearing DuBose say something akin to “she could take the board down.”
In their joint statement, the trio of Shelby County legislators say there has not actually been an election held to choose board members since 1998. Sturdevant explained to APR that, for years, no election has been hold because only enough people qualified to fill the board. Similar to an at-large town council, all candidates are competing for five spots instead of in individual districts.
Mooney told APR on the phone that the bill is being brought about in response to its constituents, despite the fact that the board is up for election once again in September and constituents would have the power to make their voices heard on the board directly.
The North Shelby Library District has combatted what it has called “misinformation” from DuBose. But sources tell APR the board and director can’t comment directly on the legislation due to the library district’s status as a 501(c)3. That leaves the board unable to combat a bill that directly affects them.
The way the legislation is written, the three-person delegation would be able to “elect” new board members beginning on June 1, and existing board members would serve “until the new members are elected pursuant to this act.” With new members to serve immediately upon election, the bill is designed in such a way that the delegation can boot all five current board members immediately on June 1 or any day after, kicking out the current members up to four months prior to the set election date.
The board's response to DeBose : “Of the more than 8,600 people who visited the library in June, only about 1 percent expressed an opinion about the display. The library received 76 supportive written comments and 39 negative written comments. Additionally, the number of visitors to the library in June 2023 increased by more than 3,000 from the previous year and the Summer Reading Program registration and attendance also increased over the previous year.”
“The Board DID consider the motion made to change library policy. This change would have included the requirement for the Board to review (program), display, or exhibit that takes place at the library. The board voted to keep the existing library policies.”
“The display was a set of bookshelves in the Children’s Department which were approximately 4’ x 6’ with an 8.5” x 11” sign that said ‘Take Pride in Reading.’ She also stated that every book on the shelves contained transgender subject matter, which is also false,” the board said.
The board also took issue with public statements that librarians are working to indoctrinate children, which have been said about numerous public libraries across the state in recent months.
A statement made by Representative Dubose on a recent radio interview referred to a library in her district where she said she would be “afraid to ask a librarian to help her child find a book” or let her child run loose. The NSL Board agrees with the last portion of her statement because it would be against the NSL Unattended Child policy to let a child ‘run loose.’ Parents and/or legal guardians are always fully responsible for their minor children/charges and are expected to always comply with library policies.”
"Government speech?" In what world is a library "government speech?" the books are chosen by professional library educators with years of experience from professional review sources, award lists and community input. They represent differing viewpoints and are for all in the community to use or not. https://www.alreporter.com/2024/02/12...
Just two stories on a snowy day today. SC Board of Ed approves order to give state final say over books in local libraries
Pending approval by the state legislature, the decision to ban books in public schools would rest on the state board.
https://www.wistv.com/2024/02/13/sout...
Right now, if someone believes the material in a school library is inappropriate, they can file a complaint with the school district and its board, and their challenge generally ends with the local board’s decision.
If this new regulation proposed by the South Carolina Department of Education is enacted as it’s currently written, the complainant would be able to appeal the local decision to the State Board of Education.
The state board would then have the final say over whether that book can be on shelves in the district where it was challenged -- and in every other school library across the state -- because their ruling would apply statewide.
The regulation outlines a 2-pronged test to determine if materials are okay: They must be “educationally suitable and aligned with the purpose of South Carolina’s instructional program.” That means the materials must be age and developmentally appropriate, the regulation says.
This would strip local school boards of their authority to decide what books can be in their schools based on that school’s community standards.
Those in favor suggest having state oversight would help facilitate appropriate content for children.
Those against said this regulation would hinder their ability to decide what educational material they feel their students should or should not be able to read.
“How many fatherless children will there be? How many abandoned children will there be? We are the gatekeepers, we are the parents, the school board can just allow any absurd material to be exposed,” one father said.
“I love when parents communicate with me, a mother one time asked for books for her twin boys to read at a book club with her twin boys and I had moms at back-to-school night excited about the rainbow of books and diverse characters on my shelves,” a teacher said.
Right before the vote, a motion was approved to limit the number of books brought before the board to five cents per calendar month per parent or guardian.
Gov. Henry McMaster has called the proposal a good idea, he said he supports giving the state board the oversight of this local authority.
DORCHESTER COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — One woman is challenging 155 books in Dorchester District 2 despite not having a child in the district.https://abcnews4.com/news/local/woman...
“It started out as curiosity on my part,” Nancy Warner said. Warner says she found a book in Dorchester District 2 libraries she believes is not age-appropriate. “I was shocked,” Warner said.
She says the information led her and other concerned citizens to spend the next few weeks researching Book Looks and Rated Books, two websites that review books for potential objectionable content. [M4L approved sites not legit sources for professional reviews]
She cross-referenced which books were in DD2 schools, and then put together a spread sheet.
“I sent it off to the school board asking them to review them,” Warner said. “Four of the members recognized its a bigger problem."
Warner says the books do not adhere to the obscenity laws of South Carolina and policy of the district.
"They can get them from the public library, they can get them from Amazon. No book should be banned and we are not book banners," Warner said. [When books are unavailable to the intended audience in the location in which they are challenged, that is called a ban.]
Dorchester District 2 follows board policy IJL.
It states book challenges may only come from a parent or guardian of a DD2 student. It also requires the people challenging books to fill out a form for each book, and to submit the completed form to the student’s principal.
When asked why Warner wanted to go through this work with no kids in the district, she said everyone in Dorchester County are impacted by the quality of our schools.
At Monday night's school board meeting, advocates on both sides of the issue asked the school board to decide on a request for the challenging of 155 books.
Those who oppose the district reviewing or removing these books say it would go against board policy, while others are asking the board to make changes.
"The ultimate responsibility that Almighty God has given to parents has been fought by people who refused to accept the biblical view and has continually infringed upon the God- given rights by parents by forcing teachers, administrators, principals, to indoctrinate our little angels," Parent Jay Mace said.
[Keep God out of public schools and brush up on the First Amendment]
Board Member Cynthia Powell at the meeting stated," The board is in agreement as to what is acceptable in our library. We have a policy and every member on this board is in agreement with that policy."
The board didn't officially address these comments stating that its board policy is to not address public comments.
Paul Bowers, Director of Communications for the American Civil Liberties Union South Carolina, which is an organization dedicated to fighting against bills that erode South Carolinians’ civil liberties, said district leaders anticipated these book challenges. ...
"They you know, they saw the wave coming and they passed a policy that is pretty strong. It forces people who seek to challenge books to actually engage with the text. It requires them to be a parent or guardian of a student in the district, and it sets a clear process by which expert subject matter, experts within the school will review a book. It will then be taken up to a committee at the district level. There's a clear process delineated here."
The ACLU speaks out
https://abcnews4.com/newsletter-daily...#
New wave of bills targeting libraries is ‘a threat to our democracy,’ American Library Association warnsThe association, founded in 1876, condemned legislation that would threaten librarians and other educators with criminal prosecution for possessing “obscene” material.
https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-p...
Less than two months into 2024, lawmakers in at least 13 states have introduced legislation that could disrupt libraries’ services and censor their materials. The new wave of bills follows a historic year of book challenges, mainly affecting titles centered on the topics of race, gender identity or sexual orientation.
“The American Library Association condemns in the strongest terms possible legislation in more than a dozen states that would threaten librarians and other educators with criminal prosecution for doing their jobs,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, in a statement. “This is not a culture war; it’s a threat to our democracy.”
*sigh* really? I thought they were supposed to be teaching African-American history. Perhaps the media is making too much of this the way they did with the story about the African-American history standards saying some slaves benefitted from slavery when the standards did not actually say that! Florida school’s permission slip for African American author’s book reading raises eyebrows
https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/flo...
arents of students at a Miami-Dade school had some questions when their children came home with permission slips asking consent to participate in a reading of an African American author’s book on Tuesday, according to NBC affiliate WTVJ.
The permission slip, shared on social media by one parent, read in part, “Students will participate and listen to a book written by an African American.”
“This is an unneeded process for our overworked teachers, and can create more division among parents,” Walter told WTVJ.
The permission slip did not specify who the author was or what book was being read.
WTVJ shared a statement from the school district, which reads: “We realize that the description of the event may have caused confusion, and we are working with our schools to reemphasize the importance of clarity for parents in describing activities/events that would require parental permission. However, in compliance with State Law, permission slips were sent home because guest speakers would participate during a school-authorized education-related activity.”
Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. responded to the story online, calling it a “hoax.”
Rights in Education Act, which was filed on Aug. 2, 2023.
The rule specifies an event or activity as “an event or activity the school of enrollment created for students to study or participate in while in the custody of the school district; or field trips, extracurricular activities, or other supplemental programs and activities as defined by Rule 6A-10.085, F.A.C.”
It requires parental permission for events or activities and supplemental programs, and the permission slips must include, at minimum, the following information:
The nature of the event or activity
The date(s) and time(s) of the event or activity
Specific location(s) and type(s) of sponsors/guests at the event or activity
Method of student supervision provided, such as anticipated number of chaperones
Oregon lawmaker's 'simple' attempt to push back against book bans becomes culture war flash point – Oregon Capital ChronicleSenate bill would prevent districts from banning textbooks or library books because they include stories about protected groups
https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/20...
Oregon law already bans discrimination in education and requires that textbooks address the contributions various groups of people have made to Oregon and American history. Frederick introduced Senate Bill 1583 to prevent school boards and district personnel from banning textbooks or library books just because they include stories about people of color, LGBTQ+ people, religious people, people with disabilities or any other group protected from discrimination.
The bill wouldn’t stop districts or school boards from deciding which books to include in a local curriculum or a school library. And parents or guardians would still be able to decide what books their own children are able to read or check out from school libraries.
“It’s not telling people that they have to read certain things,” Frederick, D-Portland, told the Capital Chronicle. “There’s none of that. It’s just saying that these books that are in your libraries are books that are part of the whole library. They’re going to be there. It’s not forcing anybody to do anything.”
...
By Monday afternoon, a full 24 hours before a scheduled hearing, more than 500 people had submitted written testimony about the measure.
Republican Rep. Ed Diehl of Stayton, a first-term lawmaker, called Frederick’s bill the “worst I’ve seen so far” in an email urging parents to show up for the hearing. He built a following last year by agitating against a new law that requires insurance companies to cover any gender-affirming treatments prescribed by a doctor.
More opposition came from a pseudonymous Twitter account with nearly 30,000 followers: It posted a glossy campaign-style ad against the proposal, replete with archival legislative video and stock footage of parents and children. The two-and-a-half-minute video doesn’t include any disclosure of who paid for it.
The bill’s supporters leapt into action, with the Oregon Education Association and the American Civil Liberties Union sending their own email blasts urging supporters to submit testimony and show up to the Capitol.
Frederick didn’t work with educators, librarians or other groups when he drafted the bill, and organized support only appeared in response to attacks from conservative activists. He drew instead on his experience as a former teacher and public information officer in Portland Public Schools and the values he learned growing up.
Frederick’s paternal grandparents were teachers and sharecroppers who left Mississippi because they weren’t allowed to teach Black children to read. His father went on to become a mycologist – a scientist who studies fungi – and Frederick grew up as a “faculty brat,” surrounded by books.
His parents were active in the Civil Rights Movement, and Frederick was one of the first Black students at his Atlanta high school in the 1960s. As a young man, he lived the history that he fears is now being censored – schools in Florida, for instance, have banned or refused to purchase children’s books about civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks.
...
In his office, flanked by bookshelves crammed with a random assortment of books, Frederick said it was important that people have the ability to read what they choose, even if the subject matter is disagreeable. He disagreed with parents’ efforts to ban Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and cancel a field trip to see a performance of William Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale” when he was a teacher, and he thinks teachers in a Seattle suburb who tried to ban “To Kill a Mockingbird” over concerns that it was a “white savior narrative” were making a mistake.
“I disagree with a number of books,” Frederick said. “Even some of those over there I disagree with vehemently, but I have read them so that I can understand what’s being said and why it’s being said and how it fits into a world view.”
...
State law now requires that instructional materials for American history and government classes include the role of Native Americans, people of European, African, Asian, Pacific Island, Chicano, Latino, Middle Eastern or Jewish descent along with immigrants, refugees and people with disabilities or who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.
...
Most of the written testimony submitted to the Legislature focuses on concerns about s--ually explicit materials.
“We do not want more racist and LGBTQ information shoved into the faces of our kids. It is everywhere, it doesn’t need to be in the textbooks. They need to learn reading, writing and math, not other agendas,” Monica Carroll of Medford wrote in one representative message.
Diehl, the Stayton Republican, rallied conservatives to the Capitol to protest the bill but didn’t respond to an interview request. In his email newsletter, he described the measure as an attack on schools, parents and students.
“The bill is thinly disguised as protecting against discrimination,” Diehl wrote. “But the intent is clear – to prevent local school boards from removing ideologically driven content that could harm our kids. They are doing this because all across Oregon, communities are pushing back against this agenda that goes against their values and common sense.”
A hearing on Senate Bill 1583 is scheduled for 3 p.m. Tuesday in the Senate Education Committee, with a possible vote on Thursday.
As book bans increase nationwide, Colorado lawmakers consider a bill to curb such challengeshttps://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/20...
Sen. Bill 24-49 would create a standard process through which books or other library materials could be challenged and outlines the makeup of school district committees that would have the authority to remove books from school libraries. The bill also spells out who can submit a book challenge. At a school library, challengers could be an enrolled student or the parent of a student. At a public library, a resident of the local library district could challenge a book.
During a press conference Monday in the State Capitol building, Sen. Lisa Cutter, a Jefferson County Democrat and co-sponsor of the bill, framed the measure as a way to ensure young people in Colorado have the freedom to read, including books that “might challenge preconceived notions or present uncomfortable truths.”
While Cutter and others spoke, supporters of the bill, including from the state teachers union, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the LGBTQ advocacy group One Colorado, held up books that have been banned in the past — titles like, “Where the Wild Things Are,” “Hunger Games,” “The Hate U Give,” and “Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl.”
Lily Williams, a Colorado teacher and illustrator, also spoke at the press conference, recounting how her graphic novel, “Go With the Flow” was banned in Keller, Texas, in 2022. The book is about “growing up, best friends and getting your first period,” she said.
Williams, who teaches art at Carlson Elementary in Idaho Springs, talked about meeting a middle school girl during the book tour who confessed that she didn’t have anyone to talk to about puberty.
“When adults censor and ban books, important conversations and questions don’t suddenly stop,” she said. “Those conversations and questions and simply move to a less safe space.”
Williams said after the press conference that she hopes the bill will provide checks and balances so that book challenges aren’t quite so “free-form.”
The bill specifies that a committee appointed by the school district superintendent would consider challenges to school library books. The committee would include a district administrator, three teachers, three principals, a parent on the District Accountability Committee, and a student or recent graduate. It also would include three parents whose children are students of color or part of the LGBTQ community. The bill says a book could be removed only if the committee unanimously approves.
Cutter’s bill is a response to the book bans debated recently in Douglas County and nationally.
The most sweeping challenges have come from a handful of conservative organizations, including Moms for Liberty, according to the Associated Press. Cutter said she doesn’t want that to happen in Colorado, and the bill outlines the criteria for a challenge.
“You can’t just come from out of state,” she said.
Some Colorado education groups want to see the bill amended.
“Obviously, as school administrators, we support access to materials in school. That’s terrific,” said Bret Miles, executive director of the Colorado Association of School Executives.
But he said the bill should be pared down to allow more flexibility because it’s too prescriptive about how school districts make decisions about library books.
“These are the kinds of decisions that are best left to a local community,” he said.
Michelle Murphy, executive director of the Colorado Rural Schools Alliance, said the bill essentially excludes local school boards from developing their own book challenge policies or deciding the makeup of committees in charge of book removal decisions.
She said the alliance is still hoping to work with the bill’s sponsors to come up with amendments that would make it more palatable.
After the press conference, Cutter said she and other lawmakers are working on amendments to the bill.
As book bans increase nationwide, Colorado lawmakers consider a bill to curb such challengeshttps://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/20...
Sen. Bill 24-49 would create a standard process through which books or other library materials could be challenged and outlines the makeup of school district committees that would have the authority to remove books from school libraries. The bill also spells out who can submit a book challenge. At a school library, challengers could be an enrolled student or the parent of a student. At a public library, a resident of the local library district could challenge a book.
During a press conference Monday in the State Capitol building, Sen. Lisa Cutter, a Jefferson County Democrat and co-sponsor of the bill, framed the measure as a way to ensure young people in Colorado have the freedom to read, including books that “might challenge preconceived notions or present uncomfortable truths.”
While Cutter and others spoke, supporters of the bill, including from the state teachers union, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the LGBTQ advocacy group One Colorado, held up books that have been banned in the past — titles like, “Where the Wild Things Are,” “Hunger Games,” “The Hate U Give,” and “Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl.”
Lily Williams, a Colorado teacher and illustrator, also spoke at the press conference, recounting how her graphic novel, “Go With the Flow” was banned in Keller, Texas, in 2022. The book is about “growing up, best friends and getting your first period,” she said.
Williams, who teaches art at Carlson Elementary in Idaho Springs, talked about meeting a middle school girl during the book tour who confessed that she didn’t have anyone to talk to about puberty.
“When adults censor and ban books, important conversations and questions don’t suddenly stop,” she said. “Those conversations and questions and simply move to a less safe space.”
Williams said after the press conference that she hopes the bill will provide checks and balances so that book challenges aren’t quite so “free-form.”
The bill specifies that a committee appointed by the school district superintendent would consider challenges to school library books. The committee would include a district administrator, three teachers, three principals, a parent on the District Accountability Committee, and a student or recent graduate. It also would include three parents whose children are students of color or part of the LGBTQ community. The bill says a book could be removed only if the committee unanimously approves.
Cutter’s bill is a response to the book bans debated recently in Douglas County and nationally.
The most sweeping challenges have come from a handful of conservative organizations, including Moms for Liberty, according to the Associated Press. Cutter said she doesn’t want that to happen in Colorado, and the bill outlines the criteria for a challenge.
“You can’t just come from out of state,” she said.
Some Colorado education groups want to see the bill amended.
“Obviously, as school administrators, we support access to materials in school. That’s terrific,” said Bret Miles, executive director of the Colorado Association of School Executives.
But he said the bill should be pared down to allow more flexibility because it’s too prescriptive about how school districts make decisions about library books.
“These are the kinds of decisions that are best left to a local community,” he said.
Michelle Murphy, executive director of the Colorado Rural Schools Alliance, said the bill essentially excludes local school boards from developing their own book challenge policies or deciding the makeup of committees in charge of book removal decisions.
She said the alliance is still hoping to work with the bill’s sponsors to come up with amendments that would make it more palatable.
After the press conference, Cutter said she and other lawmakers are working on amendments to the bill.
More than 50 Books Removed from Rockingham County, Virginia, Schoolshttps://www.dnronline.com/news/rockin...
With three new highly political members and board member Matt Crossas the newly elected chair, the Rockingham County School Board voted to “temporarily remove” a list of library books and adopt the example guidelines as is from the 2023 Model Policies.
The changes from the board started early on in the meeting, with an invocation replacing the normally held moment of silence. The moment of silence has been in place since at least 2018, according to agendas from previous years, although Cross said the board used to hold invocations to open meetings.
“As the chair of the board, I have decided we will follow suit with our local elected officials such as the Rockingham County Board of Supervisors,” Cross said before giving the invocation “I believe the majority of our community would agree with me — we need God’s help the days that we’re living in.”
In a 4-1 vote, the Rockingham County School Board voted to “temporarily remove” a list of 57 books, including books like "Beloved," "Looking for Alaska," and "All Boys Aren’t Blue" while the board adopts new processes to review books included in school libraries. The majority of books on the list are in high schools.
Lohr was the only vote against the motion.
Cross said the board will schedule work sessions open to the public, faculty and staff to discuss how the division handles controversial books. Cross said there have been concerns over books with s---ally explicit material, violence and profanity.
Cave, Horst and Cross commented at length that reading some books on the list deeply troubled them. Cave’s speech received some claps, while other audience members shook their heads in disagreement as she spoke.
Some books on the list provided by the board on Monday night, include notes that the books were included in parent complaints or inquiries, while others simply state “see image” or have noted that the books include difficult topics like violence and drug use. Some books also list schools that carry the books, while others have question marks, making it unclear if they are included in any Rockingham County school libraries
Board member Cave, who originated the list according to Cross, said she wouldn’t answer any questions following the board meeting. Cave has consistently not responded to or answered questions from the Daily News-Record throughout her campaign for the school board seat.
Cross said the board discussed these changes with librarians within the division and said the conversations weren’t “all bad, they were good, those who wanted to talk.” The removal of books wasn’t an attack on librarians, Cross said, and that the board wanted more community input on the books that were included in school libraries. The work sessions, Cross said, would gain perspectives from all community members.
Cross said Superintendent Larry Shifflett would coordinate with librarians to remove the books from libraries or classrooms, and the books would be taken to a secure location in the central office.
The board also introduced potential changes to its policy on public participation, including one clause prohibiting signs of any kind from attendees.
The potential change prohibiting signs states:
“Signs of any kind are prohibited. Members of the community who wish to attend, observe, or speak at a School Board meeting who possess a sign will be required to forfeit the sign before entering the School Board meeting chambers.”
Other changes also include preventing speakers from yielding time to others, only allowing Rockingham County community members to speak during public comments and asking speakers to refrain from speech including obscenity, vulgarity or other comments that violate board policy.
Many community members spoke out against banning books, opening meetings with prayer, prohibiting signs at meetings and adopting the model policies. Many speakers said they felt that their First Amendment rights were being violated by establishing a religious invocation at the beginning of the meeting.
Follow-upRCPS Librarians Make Voices Heard At Work Session
https://www.dnronline.com/news/rcps-l...
In the Spotswood High School auditorium, every once in a while, you could hear a librarian’s voice shake as they addressed the Rockingham County School Board.
For the first time as a whole, librarians in Rockingham County Public Schools offered their expertise and feelings on the school board’s “temporary removal” of over 50 books from RCPS libraries and policy moving forward at Tuesday morning’s work session.
At times tension-filled, the meeting explained how librarians choose what books end up in libraries and gave a unique insight into how librarians have been navigating the book ban and subsequent decisions.
The board met with the librarians in two sections — middle and high school librarians and elementary school librarians. For both groups, the librarians shared their commitment to transparency and parent involvement in student reading.
Each school has a collection development policy explaining how librarians curate their book selections. They make recommendations or suggestions for students and read several reviews, paying close attention to grade levels for books when deciding to add a book to a library. The librarians also constantly “weed” the library for books with damage, those that don’t fit within their collection policy and books out of circulation. The librarians shared that they curate the libraries to fit the needs and desires of the students in the community.
Kim Tate, English and library supervisor, said school libraries receive $7 to $8 per student to purchase books. Some of the librarians shared that they’ve purchased books with their own money due to a lack of funds or have had to fundraise money out of the desire to put books into the hands of students.
Parents can also check which books students check out, opt-in to a notification process and ask librarians to make notes on what books they would or wouldn’t like their children to check out.
Vice-chair Sara Horst, who’s also leading the library review committee, asked the librarians how they’ve navigated book challenges if they’ve received any. Many of the librarians said they haven’t, but those who have agreed that the first step would be to talk with the parent.
Amy Johnson, the Spotswood High School librarian, said she’s only ever seen complaints on social media and hasn’t had a parent come to her with concerns. After Johnson reached out to the community member, she said they agreed.
The librarians shared that not every book is appropriate for all students — elementary school libraries sometimes have sections meant only for fourth and fifth graders, and librarians have used parent requests to allow students to check out or not check out certain books or genres.
But oftentimes, they shared, students are experiencing topics included in books or being exposed to content that is more mature than content in some books. Ann Hill, the Broadway High School librarian, said her daughter has come to her with concerns over social media posts but has never come to her with a book.
“She knows she can close it and walk away, and that is a safe place where she can learn … where her morals bring her,” Hill said. “I am loath to remove a safe place for students to learn how they're going to react because they will encounter these situations.”
In one tension-filled interaction, one librarian asked why the board pulled books off of shelves before realizing some didn’t include sexu---ally explicit content, violence or profanity, referring to books like “The Invisible Boy” by Trudy Ludwig and “Drama” by Raina Telgemeier.
Cave said it wasn’t the school board’s job to determine what was “worthy” of complaints, and some books not having s---ally explicit material didn’t take away from the entire list.
When the librarian continued to ask questions like if Cave had read the entire book and referred to statements Cave had previously made, Cross cut her off.
Cross also asked the librarians where the “line” was when it came to s---ally explicit material.
Tate said if there is sexually explicit material in books, then it depends on the book’s audience and the circumstances and context of the material.
Mumbauer said drawing a hard line is difficult because one policy could be interpreted differently and not every book is appropriate for all students and families.
“That's the reality of a library collection,” Mumbauer said, “There's breadth to meet the needs of everybody.”
One librarian, who spoke anonymously for fear of negative repercussions, said the work session made her feel like the board members weren’t interested in the librarian’s perspective and “reinforced the level of distrust they have for librarians.”
While Cross has said multiple times that these changes aren’t an attack on librarians, this librarian said based on what she’s experienced — including attacks on social media — that claim rings hollow.
Now, after decades of working in RCPS, the librarian said she’s looking for other jobs.
Moving forward with creating policy, the librarians shared that they would like to review policies with tiers — first, a complaint goes to a school, then the division, and so on — and told the board some policies that only allowed librarians to buy books twice a year would prevent them from meeting their students needs.
more follow-upRockingham County School Board meets with librarians to discuss book review policy
https://www.whsv.com/2024/02/14/rocki...
“We wanted to have conversations with them about the policies that we’re looking at, things that they liked, that they didn’t like,” said Rockingham County School Board Vice Chair Sara Horst. “We were giving them opportunities to speak to parts of policies or things that they want to see happen. We had one librarian said, ‘If this were written into the policy I would be devastated’ Those are the kinds of things we want to hear from our librarians, they’ve got good perspectives they want to share with us, and we want to hear them.”
During the meeting on Tuesday morning, the board heard from librarians who shared some concerns about the temporary book removals and provided input on what they felt the book review system should look like.
“What we all desire, is an opportunity to have a personal conversation with a parent when there is a concern. Most of us have never had a book challenged, it’s my understanding that there have been four formal challenges in the last ten years,” said Tim Mumbauer, the librarian at Turner Ashby High School.
Mumbauer noted that the majority of librarians at the meeting have worked in RCPS for many years. He stated that those who have been opposed to the book removals have no ill intent.
“We would never seek to harm a kid, that is never our goal. We would never presume to parent that is not our goal, our job is to educate, and we do that well,” he said.
Another issue raised by a few of the librarians was that they felt they had been targeted by parents on social media since the book removals took effect.
“As a librarian not once has anyone called to have a conversation with me but I have been a victim of complaints on social media that my son brought my attention to,” said Amy Johnson, the librarian at Spotswood High School.
Johnson also shared her biggest concern as a librarian which was unrelated to the book removals, that students are rarely checking out books.
“I don’t see students checking out books, I just don’t. I do see them on their cell phones all day every day and that is where my concern is,” she said. “Students are not checking out these books, they’re not reading these books. They’re attached to their phones and they can see a lot of stuff on their phones.”
“People try to make an issue of things that I feel are not really an issue. If it is a sincere issue then we want conversations that establish relationships with all of our stakeholders,” said Tate.
She and other librarians also brought up the point that it is important to consider the context of some of the explicit content within some of the removed books. Another librarian noted that these books often deal with difficult themes like drug abuse or sexual assault that some RCPS students have unfortunately experienced in their home environments.
District 5 School Board member Hollie Cave defended the board’s decision to remove the books during a discussion with some of the librarians. She shared a passage from one of the books that included an explicit s-x scene.
“We didn’t get a chance to personally read 57 parent complaints but because we saw them in bulk we thought ‘We better deal with this’. So we’re not going to validate 55 other books that have this kind of content in them because it’s dangerous to the minds of children and I’ll never back down from that,” said Cave.
During the meeting, School Board Chair Matt Cross noted that there has been a narrative that the board is removing books because they contain LGBTQ characters or content which he said is completely false. He said the board is only concerned with removing s--ually explicit material. Cross also emphasized that the book was not an attack on librarians.
One point of discussion between the school board and librarians was determining where the line is when it comes to what is considered s--ually explicit.
“The only thing we can do is continue to have conversations about that, continue conversations about acceptability for our community. Again, everybody’s standards vary a little bit but there is a line, there is a line of acceptability, especially when we’re talking about public schools and minor children,” said Sara Horst. “It doesn’t matter the context for some books. Some of it is so graphic and so detailed that we just go we don’t probably need to have that in front of children but then there are some that we can have further conversations about.”
Horst said that the next step in the book review process is to meet with the school division’s lawyers to draft a new book review policy. She said there will be another work session held with RCPS librarians once that draft policy is complete.
“Right now, it’s just kind of lots of ideas in the air so we want to get that policy and then I’d like to hear from librarians, feedback on what they think about that new policy. So, I hope that we will have something for action at the latest by the end of March,” said Horst.
Authors Join PEN America in Protest Over Banned Books in Rockingham VA Schoolshttps://pen.org/press-release/authors...
In the fall of 2023, a parent challenged a volume of Heartstopper. The committee that formed to review it voted unanimously to retain the book. Now, Heartstopper has been included as part of the Board’s “temporary removal” initiated on January 8.
“We are concerned not only about the recent ban, but also the limitations on public discourse,” said Kasey Meehan, Freedom to Read program director at PEN America. “It is alarming that the school board would move to ban these books at the same time they would narrow the lanes of open dialogue. We are joined by authors in demanding that Rockingham County return these books to shelves and uphold the freedom to read for Virginia students.”
In the open letter, 38 authors requested that the books be returned to the shelves, noting that many of the titles on the list featured LGBTQ+ characters or themes. The letter reads, in part: “Diverse books are critical in engaging students, encouraging empathy, and creating the kind of just and pluralist society that an environment of open exchange promises. Students deserve to see themselves in books, and they deserve to learn how to see others, too.”
On Tuesday night, the Rockingham County School Board met to hear from district librarians about revisions to the library policy. While the status of the 50 plus banned titles was not specifically on the school board agenda, community members and students spoke out against the bans.
Meehan said: “We urge the school board to listen to their community and immediately return all books removed from the libraries. Students have the right to access books and information and school libraries are essential in advancing that freedom.”
Today's news...ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. — Parents in the St. Louis Park Public School District will be allowed to opt their children out of books that include LGBTQ+ characters and stories.
Families can ask for alternative reading material instead.
In a statement earlier this week, school district officials said they are proud of their literacy program and the diverse stories that are taught.
The school went on to say they have always obeyed the state law regarding parents' right to opt out of instructional materials.
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/new...
Hmm interesting news of the day. https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-s...
It's biased so if you only want to read the relevant bits, read on.
With his 2024 effort over, DeSantis rethinks Florida’s ‘book ban’
Now that Gov. Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign is over, the Florida Republican is apparently rethinking “the whole ‘book ban’ thing.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday supported a House proposal that he said is designed to limit “bad-faith objections” to school-library books and instructional materials, and called claims that Florida bans books a “false narrative.” During a news conference Thursday in Orlando, DeSantis said Florida doesn’t ban books but has allowed parents and others to object to certain material. But DeSantis said some have abused the process to “score cheap political points."
As a TPM report added, the governor now believes the state law can be improved to prevent people from trying to “hijack the process.” He specifically pointed to a hypothetical Floridian objecting to 100 books despite not having a child in a local school. “No, I don’t think that’s appropriate,” DeSantis said.
The governor also reportedly directed the Department of Education “to take appropriate action to deal with some of the bad actors who are intentionally depriving students of rightful education by politicizing this process.”
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-s...
From Literary Activismhttps://literaryactivism.substack.com...
First, the demographics of today's youth from PEW Research, as of 2021,
one-quarter of today's teens openly identify somewhere beneath the LGBTQ+ umbrella.
52% of teenagers are white and non-Hispanic, (compared to 61% of Millennials when they were teenagers, 70% of Generation X when they were teenagers; and 82% of Boomers when they were teenagers.)
One-quarter of today’s teens are Hispanic, while 14% are Black, 6% are Asian, and 5% have two or more racial identities.
As of 2020, roughly 6% of today’s teens are immigrants
22% are the children of immigrants.
This kind of data is not only useful for understanding young people's everyday experiences in the classroom, but it's essential for ensuring that today's culture reflects and shares that diversity. A 1990s curriculum or library collection does not appropriately serve 2024 students.
"Book banners don't want to know the truths their kids live because it strips them, the parents, of their power. So, to hold onto that power, they aid in erasing the truths of an entire generation out of fear that their own kid might fill in a bubble that mom or dad believes should be eradicated altogether."
Tax-funded libraries within Kenosha County [WI] could have adult-only sections inside their buildings this year under a proposal that seeks to protect children from materials deemed p____raphic.https://kenoshanews.com/news/local/go...
OK like video stores? Remember that? Like kids didn't know what was behind that curtain and longed to go there! And if mental health is really worse, why don't these censors advocate for banning social media?
"The plan, proposed by Supervisor Tim Stocker “respectfully requests that all taxpayer funded libraries in Kenosha County create a safe environment for our children by creating a secure adult only section for materials containing adult content within the next six months.”
According to the resolution, libraries in the county currently do not provide a secure section for adult materials, including those with obscene language, descriptions of s-x acts and photos that show them. Library policy does not require parents’ permission for youths to check out adult materials; covers and titles make it difficult for parents to tell what is inside, according to Stocker, who is on the county library system board. His resolution is critical of county library administration not doing enough to protect children.
“I found that there is a lot of adult material available for any child that walks through. And, we all know that parents cannot keep 100% eye on their children,” he said introducing his resolution at the Feb. 8 Finance Committee where it was narrowly approved 3-2 after deliberations and public comments. “They can open this book up and see graphic pictures of what they should not be seeing. That’s despicable. I don’t know why anybody would support that.”
Stocker, supervisors Erin Decker and John Poole, both co-sponsors to the resolution, voted in favor of it. Supervisors John Franco and Terry Rose, the committee chair cast dissenting votes. Supervisors David Geertsen and William Grady were absent.
“The second thing that bothers me is they keep calling it a ban. That’s a three-letter word. That’s third grade stuff. A ban means banishment — you’re not allowed to have it in the library,” he said. “You are allowed to have it in the library. All we’re asking is that if you put (it) in a section, that children don’t have access to it. To me, that just make sense.”
Stocker said that children’s mental health was “getting worse” and wondered whether, “is this part of the problem?” He said state statutes already define p___raphy and adult materials. The laws spell out penalties for exposing children to p____hy but exempt libraries, he said. [Because there is no p-word in libraries!]
“So that’s why we’re having this conversation,” he said. “I think that’s something that needs to be changed, but that’s a state-level issue.”
A bill introduced in the state Senate and Assembly last year seeks to repeal a provision that protects from prosecution employees of libraries and educational institutions possessing obscene materials. A public hearing was held in committee in December but has yet to come before the Legislature.
Franco said he had many questions about how the secured spaces would be implemented and whether there would be increased staffing costs. The resolution did not specifically address either.
“I mean, would they have to wall off the entire adult section and build a door that only adults could enter? How would that be monitored? Would you have to hire extra librarians to sit there and play security guard, for lack of a better word?” he said. “Would they be required to check IDs?”
Even if adult areas could be created, he said, children would still find a way to circumvent them.
Franco said parents should be responsible for restricting access to adult materials with children who are not yet adults. He said Stocker’s resolution would open a “Pandora’s Box” to further restrictions on what could be considered “offensive.”
“What about Karl Marx’s Das Capital? Is the library promoting communism because it supplies or provides the book there? What about, you know, Mein Kampf? Is the library promoting fascism because a student can get it?” he said. He said history war books and their portrayals of violence, torture and death could also be viewed as offensive. “Where do we draw the line?”
While the committee’s vote advances the resolution to the County Board, which could vote later this month, a majority of residents who spoke opposed the proposed restriction.
Steve Mudroch of Trevor asked whether anyone in the meeting room had ever seen an X-rated movie in the library. No one responded.
“I take that, that they don’t exist, so please don’t scare us with that,” he said.
Nicole Cygnor, who brought her children, ages 5 and 7, to the meeting spoke in support of it. She was concerned about the materials they could be exposed to as they learn words and how to read.
“Puh-ORN. P__n. And, then she hears someone say the word and she makes those connections,” said Cygnor, an educator who home-schools her children, describing a possible scenario with her daughter. “Think about what is that doing psychologically to her brain at such a young age. She, then, is not able to focus on things that she needs to because it’s overshadowed by all these dangerous ideologies.”
The saga of My Shadow is Pink continues on in Cobb County, GeorgiaGeorgia educators have filed a sex discrimination lawsuit against the Cobb County School District (GA) following the firing of an educator who read a book about gender in her classroom.
https://www.11alive.com/article/news/...
According to a release by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), this is the first federal lawsuit challenging classroom censorship policies in the state and was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, on behalf of Rinderle, current Cobb County educator Tonya Grimmke and the Georgia Association of Educators. The complaint alleges the district's policies have been used to unlawfully discipline those for mentioning LGBTQ+ and gender-nonconforming people and their experiences in the classroom -- causing a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Consitution.
The complaint argues that district educators received inadequate training about censorship policies as training never specified terms like "controversial," "sensitive," or "divisive." According to the complaint, the teachers were not told that topics like gender identity or sexual orientation were considered to be sensitive subjects. In addition, it recounts how the policies were read from a PowerPoint presentation without clarifying terms or giving examples of what may constitute a violation.
Additionally, the lawsuit is alleging the district has a history of hostility to the LGBTQ+ community.
In general, the lawsuit is seeking an injunction to block the district from enforcing the policies that restricted Rinderle from reading the book and caused her termination. It is also seeking damages and additional relief, including Rinderle's reinstatement.
Rinderle said the school board's decision to terminate her undermines students' freedom to learn and teachers' ability to do their jobs.
SPLC Senior Supervising Attorney Mike Tafelski said the organization will continue to hold the district accountable for anything they believe to be unlawful conduct that would harm the community.
"The district's vague and discriminatory censorship policies are rooted in bigotry and have no place in our schools," Tafelski said.
Rinderle's lawyer, Craig Goodmark, previously told 11Alive in August that she is still eligible to teach in the state and has fielded inquiries from interested school districts. Also, he said she is able to appeal to the state board of education and explore other legal options, which now looks to be a federal lawsuit. According to Goodmark, Rinderle is willing to do what is necessary to secure her civil liberties and rights.
The Mat-Su Schools (AK) library review committee has made some recommendations on the 60 books being challenged in the district. More discussions and final decisions to come.https://alaskawatchman.com/2024/02/08...
It Ends with Us
To date, the committee has unanimously agreed that at least one book – “It Ends With Us” – meets the local standards of “criminal indecency” and “should not appear in public school libraries in the future.” This book contains (view spoiler)
In reviewing the books, the committee is focusing on whether the titles are obscene, the report stated. It noted that under Alaska Law, it is “a crime to distribute materials to minors if: (1) the average individual, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the material, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest in sex for persons under 16 years of age; (2) a reasonable person would find that the material, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, educational, political, or scientific value for persons under 16 years of age; and (3) the material depicts actual or simulated conduct in a way that is patently offensive to the prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable for persons under 16 years of age.”
https://www.matsuk12.us/Page/49141
This week, Catawba County Schools (NC) will reconsider whether or not to ban l8r g8r and The Carnival at Bray. Mrs. Michelle Teague (the complainant) has withdrawn her appeal to the Catawba County Board of Education for a hearing on two challenged books (l8r, g8r by Lauren Myracle and The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley). Books will be retained.
https://www.catawbaschools.net/detail...
Iredell-Statesville Schools (NC) are still dealing with harassment from Moms For Liberty. They were grilled over a partnership with the local public library that increases access to materials for students. https://www.iredellfreenews.com/news-...
Iredell-Statesville Schools leaders set the record straight this week by detailing efforts to prevent students from accessing books that are inappropriate for their age at the public libraries.
The presentation at Monday’s board meeting came a few weeks after a Moms for Liberty member spread misinformation about the Student Access accounts during the board’s public comment period. The same individual outraged many in the community by reading aloud s--ally explicit material that she claimed was easily accessible to I-SS students via the local public libraries.
In 2017, Iredell County Public Library staff decided to work to increase the resources available to students with Student Access accounts. Through a partnership with the school system, she said, the library provided increased access to print materials, which helped increase student interests in reading.
The partnership also allowed the district to save money by having to order multiple copies of the same books and gave the schools a way provide additional research materials to students.
Parker said students were able to gain access to a curation of digital materials through NC Digital Kids and the Iredell public collection.
This partnership, she said, created equitable access to books and other materials. Students who don’t have transportation to the library — or money to purchase books — could request books be brought to their school through a courier system.
In 2021, the partnership expanded to the Mooresville Public Library. Students have access to some of the same resources, but if students wanted to check out a book, they had to pick it up in person at the library.
Other benefits of the partnerships with the libraries include:
• No library fines: Students are not charged late penalties at either library system for overdue materials. The only fees are for materials not returned.
• Materials can be sent to the school: Iredell Public Library sends the materials to the individual school. Therefore transportation does not become a barrier for families.
• Additional Materials: The county library allows students to check out up to 25 print materials. Mooresville allows up to five.
• Online Account: Parents can easily access their child’s account history.
Parker emphasized that the Student Access accounts are optional. Parents can opt their child out of the program at any time.
Parker said it was not possible [for students to download "explicit" content because the district restricts access to those eBooks.
School board member Doug Knight asked if certain books could be blocked by software for students trying to check out print materials that aren’t age appropriate from the public library.
“That doesn’t happen very often. If a 10-year-old is requesting an adult fiction novel that’s inappropriate, we aren’t going to send that over,” Moore explained.
The courier system was created, Moore said, as a result of feedback from the media coordinators that there was a barrier for students who didn’t live close to a library.
“We wrote a grant and partnered with the school system to provide a courier system. We courier their items in a bag and drop off at ADR center and then it’s brought over to their school library,” Moore said.
Roberts also explained that if a librarian sees a book is not age appropriate, they contact the media coordinator at the student’s school before filling the request and sending the book.
As an additional safeguard, the media coordinator at the schools check for appropriateness before delivering materials to students.
As an additional safeguard, the media coordinator at the schools check for appropriateness before delivering materials to students.
Parker said that the district has tightened the restrictions so that students in middle school and elementary school can only get juvenile books.
“There’s some middle schoolers who are probably going to get upset because some of the titles that they have read, that you wouldn’t think, for instance ‘The Hunger Games,’ it has some violence in it and killing because they do that to survive,” Parker said. “That’s considered a YA book, and now they can’t check that out digitally.”
OWENSBORO, Ky. (WEHT) — In August 2023, Daviess County Citizens for Decency says they discovered over 200 books they felt contained age-inappropriate and p___graphic materials. The Daviess County Library says conducting an audit to address those concerns cost them around $35,000. In October 2023, the county library decided they would offer a library card that restricts minors access to the juvenile section. The library also decided they would rename the Teen section to Young Adult.Erin Waller, the Executive Director of the Daviess County Public Library, says it required a lot of time and money.
https://www.tristatehomepage.com/news...
Las Cruces School Board (NM) is allowing those who challenged Jack Of Hearts (and Other Parts) to challenge the book again. It was retained the last time.https://www.lascrucesbulletin.com/sto...
Sarah Smith and Juan Garcia challenged the book’s inclusion in the library’s collection last August, calling its frank discussions of the gay protagonist’s sexuality and the book’s use of profanity inappropriate for students.
A review committee formed in response to their complaint voted in October to keep the book on the shelf. However, Smith and Garcia were back on Jan. 5 with a fresh complaint accusing school board members of “stacking” the committee to achieve a preferred outcome.
At the special meeting, the two asked that the review committee be vacated and replaced with a new committee comprising members “randomly chosen to represent the overall community, not just one specific viewpoint,” in Garcia’s words.
They presented the board with examples of emails and text messages, obtained through public records requests, purporting to reveal bias in the selection of committee members. Among these was an exchange of text messages between school board member Patrick Nolan and Lucas Herndon, a member of the review committee, in which Nolan comments, “Committee should be pretty stacked with anti book banners.”
Garcia and Smith argued that the integrity of the process had been undercut by what Garcia called “disdain towards ordinary citizens who don’t share his views.”
Smith also took issue with Nolan’s email request to a Mayfield High School librarian seeking suggestions for review committee candidates, presuming that the librarian would be sympathetic to the book. Giving her a say in who was on the committee, Smith said, “was the equivalent of allowing the defendant in a trial to choose the jury members.”
Alabama- Banning books now easier at Dothan Houston Co. Library https://www.wdhn.com/news/local-news/...
The library’s Board of Trustees Wednesday approved new restrictions that will make it easier to completely ban some books and move other books behind the circulation desk where access will have to be mediated by a staff member.
The way the new changes read, even if a book has great value overall, if it contains graphic illustrations or depicts sex acts that the library thinks are unnecessary, then the book can be banned.
The board’s new policy adds more restrictive language, emphasizing that books “that contain graphic and gratuitous illustrations or depictions of s---al acts, unnecessary to the work taken as a whole, will not become part of the collection.”
The library is also going to start putting some books in a “limited access” category, moving them behind the circulation desk, and only allowing people 19 and older to access them.
They say this will apply to books that include what they categorize as “visually explicit depictions of people engaged in sexual activity.”
“Some books do deal with those things in more explicit ways than others, which is why we’ve created this special collection category,” said Warren.
The library is also going to start giving people a chance to appeal if they complain about a library book, but it remains on the shelf or they aren’t happy about the decision.
The revised policy now states that after someone complains about the content of a book or requests a book be removed, three library employees will review the book in question, then make a recommendation to the library director. The director will then decide whether to leave the book where it is, reclassify it and move it to a different part of the library, or remove it from the library altogether.
Under the new changes, a patron who is unhappy with the decision can now appeal it directly to the Executive Committee of the Dothan Houston County Library System of Board of Trustees.
All appeals must be sent in written form within ten days of the director’s decision and must give specific details as to why they believe the decision was wrong.
Although the new restrictions create new ways for books to be restricted , the library says it will consider all viewpoints before deciding whether a book should remain or be reclassified or be removed.
Ending with good news from FloridaAlachua County School Board votes 4-1 to keep “Melissa” in elementary school library
https://alachuachronicle.com/alachua-...
Dr. Crystal Marull objected to the book’s availability in the school library at Terwilliger Elementary School in November 2023, and the School Library Advisory Council decided to keep the book on the shelf. Marull asked to escalate the decision to the district level, and the District Library Advisory Committee also made the decision to keep the book on the shelf. Marull again requested escalation, and Dr. Bessie Jackson, the Hearing Officer selected by the school district, recommended keeping the book after a January 23 hearing. The next step was for the School Board to enter a Final Order on the book.
Marull’s objections, according to a presentation posted in the meeting backup, included references to “dirty magazines” and “p--n,” indoctrination into gender ideology, and references at the back of the book that provide contact information for organizations that support “young people who are in crisis” instead of encouraging children to talk to their parents. Marull’s presentation included passages that introduce ideas like learning to hide browser search history and sharing underwear and reinforce ideas about stereotypical behaviors of boys and girls.
Marull’s presentation points out that library books are supposed to align with state educational standards, and this book does not align with Florida Statutes 1000.071(1), which says, “It shall be the policy of every public K-12 educational institution that is provided or authorized by the Constitution and laws of Florida that a person’s sex is an immutable biological trait and that it is false to ascribe to a person a pronoun that does not correspond to such person’s sex.”
Marull began her presentation by stating that she has three children in Alachua County Public Schools and is a professor at the University of Florida who holds a master’s degree in education; a master’s degree and PhD in bilingualism and second language acquisition; K-12 Spanish teaching certificates in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Florida; and a Florida certificate as an educational media specialist. “As a media specialist, I’m professionally trained to understand the legal standards that govern both selection and the use of library books and educational materials in my children’s school,” Marull said.
Marull also said she is not “affiliated with any group or organization that is challenging age-inappropriate and sexually-explicit books forbidden by Florida law. Rather, I stand here as a concerned parent to challenge a book in my son’s school library.” She said she was “appalled by the school media specialists’ and the district media specialist’s open refusal to follow the state criteria for library book selection.”
Marull said the recommended order from Hearing Officer Bessie Jackson “does not reflect my evidence and argument which I presented at that hearing. And more specifically, it contains outright misrepresentations of my primary objections to this children’s book.”
She said she did not object to the book because it contains p-----ic material, but “rather the passages in the book where a 14-year-old comments to his 10-year-old brother about his p------ic interests; those passages could open a door in a child’s mind to inquire or seek out more information about, quote, ‘dirty magazines’ and ‘p-----hy,’ keywords that a 10-year-old should not be contemplating or be instructed about from a book in their school library.”
Marull said, “It has become apparent that the personal opinions of the district and school media specialists are motivating them to openly disregard the state selection criteria for library materials… This is not about personal opinions. This is a professional opinion about the criteria set forth in the statutes, which must be applied objectively by a trained media specialist such as myself.”
Marull concluded, “Once you become familiar with the contents of this book, I believe you will conclude this book should not be reviewed by any children before the 9th grade, and his or her parents or guardians should definitely be involved. Under state guidelines, gender identity may not even be discussed in the classroom until 9th grade, and one of the considerations for selecting library books is the degree to which a text supports state academic standards and aligns with curriculum, as well as the academic needs of students and faculty. It’s clear that the criteria for instructional material are more restrictive than for library material, yet the purpose of the school library is to, quote, ‘supplement the basic reading assigned through the standard curriculum,’ end quote.”
McGraw cut her off, saying her 10 minutes was up, and Marull asked for an additional three minutes since nobody had told her before the meeting that she would be limited to 10 minutes. Board Attorney David Delaney responded, “I think this process has provided a reasonable opportunity under the statute for this presentation to challenge the prior due process afforded during the hearing.”
Marull argued that she had not been given a “fair and adequate” opportunity to address the board, which is required by statute, but McGraw told Seigle that she now had 10 minutes to present the district’s case.
District Attorney Susan Seigle’s comments
Seigle said she first wanted to “correct a misunderstanding perhaps Dr. Marull has: The hearing officer, Dr. Bessie Jackson, was appointed by the board, not appointed by the Superintendent.” She went on to say that although Dr. Marull has a media specialist certificate, “she’s never curated a media library or so forth.” She said, “All that’s required for a library book… is it to be free from p-----phy and material prohibited by one of the criminal statutes on deviant sexuality and that it’s suited to student needs and their ability to comprehend the material presented and that it’s appropriate for the grade level and age group for which the materials are used.”
Seigle said Marull was using language from a slide used to train media specialists (shown below), “and the problem is, the training slide was just enacted last year, and a number of slides have been, and they are, undergoing change this year because they don’t follow the statute.”
Member Kay Abbitt said, “I would not want my child to go into a library and pick up that book and start reading that. And it has nothing to do with a child that’s unsure about her sexuality, that may be trans. I would not like it if it were about a kid who was very sure of her sexuality. That has no place in a library.”
Abbitt continued, “I believe in parental rights. I am going to tell you that I’m very offended by the way that Dr. Marull has been treated… Everybody needs to be treated with respect. I’m going to vote not to keep it in the library because I’m old-fashioned.”
She pointed out that she had voted to keep A is for Activist “because I read it… You don’t have to worry because I’ll be outnumbered, but… I would not want my child who’s a second-grader, third-grader, or even a fourth-grader to be reading sexual passages in a library book at school.”
Rockwell objected that Abbitt had read “two separate passages that were connected together… The way it was read, it made it sound like there was someone else in the bathroom when Melissa was taking a bath, and there was not. The comment about ‘someone finally grew some balls’ was because Melissa stood up to the class bully, and that comment was made as a colloquialism, not in reference to actual genitals.”
Paywalled but there's better news in Iowa todayBondurant school board reverses book removal; district restores books
The Bondurant-Farrar School Board has reversed its decision to permanently remove 17 book titles from the district's classrooms and libraries, and also is returning dozens of other books to circulation. The vote at a Feb. 12 board meeting reversed a Jan. 22 decision.
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/res...
Good news OregonBill to ban discriminatory book bans in Oregon moves forward
https://katu.com/news/local/bill-to-b...
SALEM, Ore. (KATU) — The practice of banning books in schools because of parental complaints has been a controversial topic in Oregon and nationwide.
A bill aimed at regulating when schools can ban books and curriculum moved from committee on Thursday and is headed for a vote in the Senate.
It will have one more public hearing in the House if it clears the Senate.
Sen. Lew Frederick, D-Portland, introduced SB 1583, which would stop schools from banning a book or curriculum solely because it is written by or about a protected class of people.
"Between July 2022 and July 2023 there were a record number of attempts to ban books in Oregon, with 93 individual materials challenged, and the materials targeted are disproportionately by or about LGBTQ people and people of color," he said while testifying on the bill. "It (the bill) says that a school official cannot prohibit materials because those materials concern a class of people identified in our education antidiscrimination laws. In other words, you cannot ban a book because the book involves folks from marginalized communities."
A public hearing on the measure saw lengthy testimony on both sides with some saying it limits local control.
"As a school board member, I am concerned that maybe it will begin to erode transparency and maybe erode our input and authority in our local schools," said Nicole De Graff, Springfield school board director.
Others say Oregon already has antidiscrimination laws that apply to schools.
"We already have very clear direction on antidiscrimination on federal and state levels, so we feel like this is in a way kind of a slap in our face that we are not doing our job," said Andrea Minor, Roseburg school board member.
The bill is supported by the Oregon Library Association.
Librarians statewide testified that books are being banned in record numbers right now in Oregon schools, and they claim it's for the wrong reasons.
"All of the current challenges are for materials that have themes dealing with race, racism or sexual identities. To anyone who believes this bill isn't necessary, just ask one of the 11 members on our committee about the hours of time and energy they dedicate every single week to these efforts," said Emily O'Neil, chair of the Intellectual Freedom Committee of the Oregon Library Association.
The bill has an emergency clause, which would make it effective upon passage.
Scary stuff from M4L in MarylandMoms for Liberty takes aim at Howard County school library books
https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/ed...
The Howard County chapter of Moms for Liberty wants sexually explicit books off school library shelves, and they’re enlisting the “mastermind” behind Carroll County’s successful book-ban campaign to help it do that.
Howard’s chapter of the conservative parents group announced its campaign to challenge school books on its website in an advertisement for a Feb. 26 event featuring Jessica Garland, the vice chair of Carroll’s Moms for Liberty chapter, as the guest speaker.
“We want to get s--ually explicit content out of HCPSS!” its website states. “Come out and learn how you can help us in this fight! Jessica is the mastermind behind the successful BOOK CAMPAIGN in Carroll County.”
Garland led a monthslong effort to flood the Carroll school system with requests to remove books her group deemed inappropriate from school libraries. That prompted the superintendent last fall to take more than 50 books off the shelves until they could be reviewed by a committee, and the school board voted unanimously in January to tighten its library and textbook selection policy.
Like Carroll, Howard County has a procedure in place if the public disagrees with what’s on school library shelves. The school system has an appointed resource reevaluation committee with at least one student, parents and educators who decide whether approved library and curriculum instruction materials should stay on the shelf after a student or parent requests its removal.
READ MORE
No more ‘sexually explicit’ books in Carroll County schools, new policy says
Jan 11, 2024
What makes a book ‘sexually explicit’? Carroll County schools are about to decide
Jan 8, 2024
Moms for Liberty is winning its fight to remove books from one Maryland school district
Sep 13, 2023
The requestor can appeal the committee’s decision to the school board.
Jennifer Mallo, Howard’s board chair, said the board wouldn’t entertain a campaign like the one in Carroll County.
“I don’t believe this board is interested in restricting access to materials with adult themes because we know they have been vetted ... by our subject matter experts,” she told The Banner. She noted there are reliable standards in place for selecting instruction materials and library books.
Mallo said Moms for Liberty requested board members remove certain books from school libraries two years ago, but the books remained. She also noted that when a Moms for Liberty member spoke at a recent school board meeting, they received a negative reaction from the audience.
“You never know what can happen, but I believe this is a board that is committed to diverse and inclusive materials,” Mallo said.
Garland told The Banner that she plans on showing the Howard chapter the process she and fellow members used to challenge certain books found in school libraries. Moms for Liberty used booklooks.org, a parent-run book review website that flags excerpts the group says children shouldn’t read, and searched the school system’s database to see if that book was in a Carroll school library.
Garland said their book fight isn’t over. Not all the books they challenged were removed, so now they have to “backtrack.”
Let freedom win in Southern CaliforniaSouthern California: Judge rules in favor of parents suing Temecula school district over controversial policies
the relevant part: The first of the two policies was implemented in December 2022 and prohibits the teaching of any critical race theory elements, including racial discrimination, systemic racism and gendered racism.
"What the judge really underscored today is there are laws that apply here, and while school boards have the discretion, they don’t have the right to censor on an ideological basis, they don’t have the discretion to discriminate students based on race or sexual orientation and I think that is a powerful outcome today," said Savage.
"This resolution, it's short-changing my son's education, banning viewpoints, banning ideas and books," said one parent during a school board meeting. "It just erodes, the public school foundation and it robs my son of educational opportunities that he has every right to."
There will be a preliminary injunction hearing next week to stop the enforcement of these two policies while the case moves forward.
https://www.nbclosangeles.com/local-2...
Children's Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Out of the Blue (other topics)The Princess in Black and the Prince in Pink (other topics)
My Rainbow (other topics)
Butt or Face? Volume 3: Super Gross Butts (other topics)
The Day the Books Disappeared (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Jodi Picoult (other topics)Sarah J. Maas (other topics)
Ellen Hopkins (other topics)
Jodi Picoult (other topics)
Scott Stuart (other topics)
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https://www.theadvocate.com/acadiana/...
Ban lifted on Lafayette library Black History, Pride Month book displays
"I believe it is important that our community be represented in our library," Interim Library Director Sarah Monroe said Tuesday about her decision to allow the displays. "No matter who you are, you should be able to walk in and see yourself represented in the programs, services and collections, including the displays."
A Black History Month display of nonfiction books including "Brothers in Valor: Battlefield Stories of the 89 African Americans Awarded the Medal of Honor," "Black Legislators in Louisiana" and "Black TV," can be seen on the third floor of the main library in downtown Lafayette. Another display has been erected at the East Regional Library in the Youngsville area.
There is no restriction against Pride Month displays, either, Monroe said.
City Councilman Kenneth Boudreaux called the policy change good news.
Lynette Mejia, co-founder of Lafayette Citizens Against Censorship, applauded the action.
State Sen. Gerald Boudreaux, D-Lafayette, commended Monroe for "displaying leadership" in reversing the book display prohibitions.
"The topic of banning books and burying history has been flamed by many inside and outside the library walls around the country" Gerald Boudreaux added. "With parental supervision we can and we should monitor and regulate safe spaces in our libraries without violating any freedoms guaranteed by our constitution."