Children's Books discussion
Banned Books: discussions, lists
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Discussion of censorship, equity, and other concerns.
Floyd County, Virginia, schools have killed their annual One Division, One Book program this year because the book selected — Wishtree by Katherine Applegate — has a short passage about pronouns. Note that this article uses a derogatory word for trans people.https://12ft.io/proxy
A panel of educators selected “Wishtree” for Floyd County schools’ March “One Division, One Book” program, in which students are issued a copy of the same volume and are encouraged to read it at home with their families following a prescribed schedule.
The book, said Floyd County parent Justin Buehler, promotes acceptance and unity. But in Floyd County, it’s elicited an opposite reaction.
Scheduled reading of the 51-chapter novel commenced March 4, and by Monday students were expected to have finished chapter 17. Instead, on Monday the school system sent an unsigned email to Floyd County parents canceling school activities related to the book — and suspending the reading program. (Nowhere does the email cite the book’s title.)
The complaints started with a March 8 social media post by Jodi Farmer, a mom who lives in Carroll County and sends her boys to a private Christian school in Dugspur, also in Carroll County.
An identical version of Farmer’s post also appears on a Facebook page for Hebrews 11 Ministries, which has 199 followers and describes its mission thusly: “Helping children and their families realize Biblical truths through scientific principles.”
“Parents be careful if your child comes home with this book,” both posts read. “Floyd County has just sent this book home. Below is a picture from the Floyd Elementary School Facebook page, an excerpt from the book itself, and reviews that praise the book for its non-binary character.” (Jodi Farmer answered emails sent to that the email address listed for that page, too.)
The attachment with the excerpt (above) features this comment apparently added by the poster: “This is the book this year ALL the floyd county elementary schools read for one division, one book month. It’s called Wishtree. A tree with pronouns, and can be any sex it wants. Indoctrination at its finest.”
As of Wednesday, Jodi Farmer’s post had been shared eight times and had attracted eight comments. Some were just one word — “Sickening!” “Insane!” and “Eeeek.”
“Oh, there is a big discussion within the Floyd group right now with some very upset parents,” commented Teresa Martin.
“There is nothing wrong with the book,” Terry Boothe wrote on the same post. “Just read it completely. Maybe we need some more education about trees, plants and discrimination.”
Floyd County School Board Chair James Ingram responded to neither an email nor voicemail seeking comment. Reached by phone, school board member Gene Bishop replied “No comment”.
Buehler said he attended a meet-and-greet with school board members Tuesday evening at Check Elementary. He said Bishop appeared to be the most anti-“Wishtree” of the four school board members present.
Farmer said she created the post because, “I wanted to make sure parents in the area, who have children in public schools were aware so that they could make an informed decision on whether their child should read this book or not.”
Farmer added: “Yes, it is a scientific fact that trees can have both ‘male and female’ parts, but the way the book words it seems to be using an agenda to show that it is ok to use different pronouns to describe oneself,” Farmer added.
“It is important that children know what is going on in the world today, but it is not the schools job to tell children what they should believe or to normalize this lifestyle. It is the job of the family. I have taught my children to love everyone. I want them to love the drug addict, love the alcoholic, love those that live "alternate lifestyles". Jesus loved the sinner, therefore we should too.
“Just because I love them and teach my children to love them, doesn’t mean I have to agree with what they do and it doesn’t mean that I have to normalize that lifestyle.”
“’Wishtree’ is a book about tolerance, community, and kindness: nothing more, nothing less,” Author Katherine Applegate said in the email. “That trees can be monoecious, meaning a single plant can have both male and female parts, is a scientific fact. “If you believe that God made trees, then it seems to me that’s where you should be directing your complaints."
Knox County Schools (TN) will decide in April whether or not to ban Gender Queer and Fun Home [adult graphic memoir]. Interesting to note these are both graphic memoirs of members of the LGBTQ+ community.
https://www.wbir.com/article/news/loc...
WBIR received an email from someone who did not have students in the district. That email did not mention Gender Queer but did also say they were also concerned high school students had access to The Handmaid's Tale. It said the books were available at high schools in the district.
Betsy Henderson, a KCS board member, said during a KCS meeting that Gender Queer and Fun Home had images she believed they were inappropriate for minors.
"I independently verified that the books that were brought to our attention are indeed in our libraries for students to check out, and these books are paid for by taxpayer dollars," she said. "The books that have been brought to our attention this week are not challenging texts."
Knox County Superintendent Jon Rysewyk said parents with concerns about the materials in school libraries can already request schools to limit access to those materials for their child.
"It's always difficult to define, when you get the materials and media, to define obscene and profane," he said.
KCS also has a policy to review the materials going into any school library. Every year, educators assess, select, evaluate and decide on which materials will be available in libraries. Rysewyk said board members will discuss how materials are selected and review during KCS' April meeting,
Mingus Union Schools (AZ) are not only looking for ways to ban books but also ban students from sharing books.Paywalled
Google excerpt:
The Mingus Union High School District has changed its library policy to create a pathway for people to challenge materials with "sexually explicit" content, months after one of its governing board members asked for the removal of several books about LGBTQ+ people.
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/...
Of course now the censors are exempting religious texts from their obscenity laws. The Quran and The Book of Mormon remain on shelves in Davis School District, Utah after a long review process.
https://www.sltrib.com/news/education...
In Nebraska, proposed legislation to ban books failed at a packed state education meeting.https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/ne...
The State Board of Education voted against starting the rule change process for board member Kirk Penner’s proposal to prohibit s--ually explicit materials in school libraries and remove the requirement to buy a minimum number of new books every year.
Three members voted for the proposal, including Board President Elizabeth Tegtmeier and members Sherry Jones and Penner. The remaining five voting against it included Board Vice President Deborah Neary and members Patsy Koch Jones, Lisa Fricke, Patti Gubbels, Jacquelyn Morrison.
All of the board members said they don’t support s--ually explicit content in schools. Penner said it’s the board’s job to make sure s--ually explicit content doesn’t end up in school libraries.
“The State Board of Education has direct influence and specifies what should be taught in local school districts,” he said. “Offering s--ually explicit content to our minor children, in my opinion, is not a local control decision.”
Those who voted against the rule change disagreed with Penner, saying it should be up to local districts and school boards.
Koch Johns said this proposal could give too much power to any Nebraskan that has an issue with a book. The rule change stated that any Nebraska taxpayer would be able to complain about a book to a school superintendent, and if it wasn’t resolved to the taxpayer's satisfaction, they could go to the Nebraska Department of Education.
“If we say that one parent can go to the school board and say ‘I don’t want this book in this school,’ then we are giving more than local control,” Koch Jones said. “It can’t be that. If it happens to that, one parent gets to decide what all the kids learn and do? No, we have to respect the fact that educators together have experience and knowledge and education.”
Morrison said part of her decision to vote against the revisions was informed by her work as a public defender.
“I will tell you that nine out of the ten cases that we saw at the public defender’s office were parents or relatives r--ing their children,” Morrison said. “It was not a kid that saw a book and read a book and then went out and committed a crime. That’s not how it happens.”
Morrison also shared concerns about the process with this rule change. She said the board doesn’t typically vote on whether or not to start discussions on a rule change and that there’s a process for board members to review certain rules in committee discussions.
Currently, rule changes go through a process where the revisions have a public hearing before being brought to the board for a vote. Next, it goes to the Attorney General for approval. Then the governor approves or doesn’t approve the changes.
Right now, there are changes to Rule 10 — which includes the library rules — waiting to be approved by the governor. New revisions cannot start the process until the current revisions are signed.
Board member Sherry Jones said Friday’s vote could have put the rule change on the right track to continue discussion in the Rules and Regulation committee. She said one reason she voted for the proposal was because students don’t need access to s--ually explicit content, even if there is more to the book than one explicit scene.
“Unfortunately, p--n doesn’t disappear if you read the whole book,” Jones said.
Tegtmeier said she supported the proposal because she's seen research that shows the effects s--ually explicit materials can have on students.
"If we truly care about the mental health crises, and I know we do, I know each one of us do, and it's affecting youth," Tegtmeier said. "I feel like it's imperative that we follow the professional knowledge and expertise of the mental health specialists."
Gubbels said that the mental health crises is a complex situation that isn't only due to materials that students are exposed to.
The final vote against the proposal came after two hours of public testimony that featured emotional arguments from both sides. There were 175 written comments submitted.
Bad news Idaho!The bad Idaho book ban bill died by one vote last week, but it's back now with some new language.
https://idahocapitalsun.com/2024/03/1...
Weeks after a library materials regulation bill failed by one vote in the state Senate, Idaho lawmakers on Monday quickly advanced an amended library bill that stalled earlier this session.
The amended bill, now headed to the Idaho House floor, would allow children or their parents to file a legal claim against a public or school library if they obtain materials deemed harmful to minors. That’s if libraries don’t move materials within 30 days of receiving a request to relocate the material “to a section designated for adults only.” Children or parents could receive $250 in statutory damages, along with actual damages and other relief, such as injunctive relief, under the bill.
The amended bill comes weeks after the Idaho Senate rejected Senate Bill 1289, a library materials bill that involved a review process that critics called complicated.
Rep. Jaron Crane, R-Nampa, is co-sponsoring the bill advancing now, an amended version of House Bill 384, along with Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Winder, R-Boise, and House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star. Crane also co-sponsored Senate Bill 1289.
“I can assure you that there is no book banning and there’s no book burning and there’s no book removal anywhere in this legislation. What we have to look at when you look at these libraries is that you have differing viewpoints and different opinions from taxpayers,” Crane said.
The Idaho House State Affairs Committee on Monday advanced the amended version of House Bill 384 to the House’s second reading calendar. When bills reach the House’s third reading calendar, they are up for debate by the full House.
Idaho Library Association President Lance McGrath called the bill unneeded, and said it would strain libraries.
“The private right of action creates a bounty system that will place an incredible financial burden on libraries and open them up to spurious actions and the potential for expensive litigation,” McGrath said.
He said the bill “imposes government restrictions on free speech, relies on vague and overly broad language, is redundant and will have a chilling effect on free expression.”
Jeff Kohler, a trustee of the Meridian Library District, said every library that he’s aware of already has a written policy for relocation. In the past 12 years, only 13 books out of 200,000 books in his library had been challenged, he said. And none of those decisions were appealed up to the library’s board of trustees, Kohler said.
“These numbers tell me that our community’s patrons and taxpayers are pleased with our library and with the books it contains,” Kohler said. “Please don’t add complicated regulations to deal with a problem that doesn’t exist.”
What the bill would do
The bill would rely on Idaho’s existing definition of materials harmful to minors, which includes “any act of … homosexuality” under its definition of s--ual conduct.
The bill would also amend Idaho’s legal definition of materials harmful to minors. One of those amendments would be to add a definition of schools that includes “public and private school” that provide K-12 instruction.
Crane said while the bill wouldn’t block libraries from having such materials, he said it does call for relocation.
The committee’s two Democrats voted against advancing the bill.
Rep. John Gannon, D-Boise, said the bill promotes or encourages lawsuits or court action, when he said he thinks courts should stay out of politics as much as possible.
Under the bill, a county prosecuting attorney or attorney general would have cause of action for “injunctive relief against any school or public library” that violates the bill’s ban on promoting, giving or making available to children material that’s considered harmful to minors.
The bill would require libraries to have a form for people to request review of materials.
The bill outlines two affirmative defenses to civil causes of action: A reasonable cause to believe that the minor was at least age 18, like a driver’s license; or verification that the minor was accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
Bad news Idaho!The bad Idaho book ban bill died by one vote last week, but it's back now with some new language.
https://idahocapitalsun.com/2024/03/1...
Weeks after a library materials regulation bill failed by one vote in the state Senate, Idaho lawmakers on Monday quickly advanced an amended library bill that stalled earlier this session.
The amended bill, now headed to the Idaho House floor, would allow children or their parents to file a legal claim against a public or school library if they obtain materials deemed harmful to minors. That’s if libraries don’t move materials within 30 days of receiving a request to relocate the material “to a section designated for adults only.” Children or parents could receive $250 in statutory damages, along with actual damages and other relief, such as injunctive relief, under the bill.
The amended bill comes weeks after the Idaho Senate rejected Senate Bill 1289, a library materials bill that involved a review process that critics called complicated.
Rep. Jaron Crane, R-Nampa, is co-sponsoring the bill advancing now, an amended version of House Bill 384, along with Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Winder, R-Boise, and House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star. Crane also co-sponsored Senate Bill 1289.
“I can assure you that there is no book banning and there’s no book burning and there’s no book removal anywhere in this legislation. What we have to look at when you look at these libraries is that you have differing viewpoints and different opinions from taxpayers,” Crane said.
The Idaho House State Affairs Committee on Monday advanced the amended version of House Bill 384 to the House’s second reading calendar. When bills reach the House’s third reading calendar, they are up for debate by the full House.
Idaho Library Association President Lance McGrath called the bill unneeded, and said it would strain libraries.
“The private right of action creates a bounty system that will place an incredible financial burden on libraries and open them up to spurious actions and the potential for expensive litigation,” McGrath said.
He said the bill “imposes government restrictions on free speech, relies on vague and overly broad language, is redundant and will have a chilling effect on free expression.”
Jeff Kohler, a trustee of the Meridian Library District, said every library that he’s aware of already has a written policy for relocation. In the past 12 years, only 13 books out of 200,000 books in his library had been challenged, he said. And none of those decisions were appealed up to the library’s board of trustees, Kohler said.
“These numbers tell me that our community’s patrons and taxpayers are pleased with our library and with the books it contains,” Kohler said. “Please don’t add complicated regulations to deal with a problem that doesn’t exist.”
What the bill would do
The bill would rely on Idaho’s existing definition of materials harmful to minors, which includes “any act of … homosexuality” under its definition of s--ual conduct.
The bill would also amend Idaho’s legal definition of materials harmful to minors. One of those amendments would be to add a definition of schools that includes “public and private school” that provide K-12 instruction.
Crane said while the bill wouldn’t block libraries from having such materials, he said it does call for relocation.
The committee’s two Democrats voted against advancing the bill.
Rep. John Gannon, D-Boise, said the bill promotes or encourages lawsuits or court action, when he said he thinks courts should stay out of politics as much as possible.
Under the bill, a county prosecuting attorney or attorney general would have cause of action for “injunctive relief against any school or public library” that violates the bill’s ban on promoting, giving or making available to children material that’s considered harmful to minors.
The bill would require libraries to have a form for people to request review of materials.
The bill outlines two affirmative defenses to civil causes of action: A reasonable cause to believe that the minor was at least age 18, like a driver’s license; or verification that the minor was accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
Good news in Milford, Conn. Heartstopper stays on school library shelves.https://www.nhregister.com/news/artic...
Back to Montana- Billings Public Schools revisited their book selection policies this week. The proposal to take the power out of the hands of professionals in the school was not accepted. https://billingsgazette.com/news/loca...
Orange County, Texas residents claim 'dirty' books are in several school librarieshttps://kfdm.com/news/local/orange-co...
A group of concerned Orange County residents claim there are inappropriate books in several of the school libraries in the county, and when their concerns were not addressed by school leaders, they took to a new platform to get their point across.
"We didn't think we would find very much, but we were pretty shocked," Colleen Owens said.
Owens is part of a small group of Orange County residents concerned about what kids can get their hands on in school libraries. Using the school's websites, she said they found many 'challenged' books in the library databases.
"Our goal was not to make some kind of spectacle, to kind of deal with it quietly," Owens said. "Like 'hey, these books- here's a list of bad books in your school. Here's an excerpt from those books, and we want to make you aware that, of course, these books, it's illegal to have obscene books.'"
Owens said they met with a few school superintendents and some books were removed from libraries from Vidor, Little Cypress-Mauriceville and Orangefield schools. However, they felt like the point was missed -- inappropriate material will continue to make its way into schools unless procedures change. She said they're told parents can challenge a book, but she said parents don't have access to the contents of every book, especially when they continually come in.
That's when they decided to start making social media videos that are satirical in nature, starting with the 'Bridge City School's Dirty Book Club.'
Superintendent Mike Kelly said he addressed the group last spring. He said there are no record of the books in question ever being checked out, and they're not available to students, though the online inventory might say they are.
"We're looking at a way on the back end to clear up this confusion and say we don't have this book," Kelly said. "Whether it's out of circulation or whatever happened to it. Where we can make note of that, and there is no way to do that in the system."
Kelly said learning material is purchased through vendors and arrives in bulk, often times with other items included. He said school staff vet the material as best as it can. Still, Kelly said all school districts have policies on instructional material including the selection process.
"It's very similar to what every other school district in Texas does," Kelly said. "These policies are put into place by the Texas Association of School Boards or TASB. We adopt those policies, and we abide by those policies."
Superintendent Mike Kelly provided this statement in addition to his interview.
"If the group making these allegations did their homework, they would know that the books in question are not in any Bridge City ISD library or classroom. It is simply another attack on our public schools and our community. This entire issue is a baseless distraction from what the real problems are that those of us who are serious about improving the lives of children are working toward.
The real issue here is that educators in Bridge City ISD are doing the best we can for our students at a time when the Texas Legislature is not doing their job to keep up with appropriate funding for our students. ...
The funding and support our children deserve is being held hostage by certain state leaders so they can pass a pet political project, school vouchers. Our students and teachers are not pawns in a game, yet that is how they are being treated.
There is a crisis in our schools, but it isn't library books. It is the fact that the Texas legislature isn't doing its part in supporting our students or educators and our students are the ones who ultimately feel these effects. That is what we should be focused on.
There are countless positive ways that people could engage with students and the community, but that isn't what this is about. This is entirely about what many of us are far too familiar with these days; politics and stoking fear, anger, and resentment in our community over something that does not exist."
Vidor ISD Superintendent Jay Killgo:
Having appropriate book standards in our school libraries is a priority for Vidor ISD. We have had extensive conversations with parents and librarians about this issue. Soon, we will have an updated policy for anyone who wishes to have a specific book removed from circulation. Currently, we have a process in which books that might be offensive to some require parent approval before being checked out. Vidor ISD wants to maintain an open dialogue with parents on this issue and maintain trust with our parents that our resources are suitable for our students.
Orangefield ISD Superintendent Shaun McAlpin:
Orangefield ISD is committed to ensuring the books in our libraries are both appropriate and educationally significant. When accepting or purchasing library books, the district is required to comply with the standards set out in Orangefield ISD Board Policy EFB (Legal) and Board Policy EF (Legal) and (Local). A few of those standards include ensuring the books support the instructional program, are appropriate for the subject area and age of the students who will have access, reflect the needs and interests of the students, and present information with the greatest degree of accuracy and clarity. Additionally, Board Policy EF (Local) provides a mechanism for which concerns related to the appropriateness of a library book may be raised. This policy requires a review of the book by a committee who then provides a written report on its findings. Orangefield ISD believes these policies ensure students have access to relevant, age appropriate, engaging books."
In Orange County, California Voters recall anti-LGBTQ+ Orange County school board membersRick Ledesma and Madison Miner pushed ban on Pride flags, shut down the digital library, and forced outing of trans students
https://www.losangelesblade.com/2024/...
Unofficial results of from Tuesday’s election in Orange County suggest that voters successfully recalled two Orange County Unified School Board members who had pushed several anti-LGBTQ+ policies. As of Thursday afternoon, results showed both recall efforts leading by 53% to 47%.
If the recall is successful, an election for their replacements will likely be held in November, along with the general election.
The campaign to oust Ledesma and Miner began last year, after the board fired the board superintendent and placed the deputy superintendent on paid administrative leave, both with no notice.
Ledesma and Miner then led the conservative majority on the board through a series of culture war battles, including banning Pride flags at Orange County schools, shutting down a digital library that students depended on over concerns about LGBTQ+ content, and a policy requiring schools to get parental permission before using a student’s chosen name or pronoun.
The pronoun policy was put into place at a board meeting described as “toxic” by trustees who were forced to leave the meeting for their own safety, after it was swarmed with anti-LGBTQ+ extremists who recall campaigners say were invited to the meeting by Miner.
Ledesma and Miner call themselves parents’ rights advocates and led the board to adopt a “parents bill of rights” at the June 2023 board meeting. The policy allows parents access to all instructional materials, curriculums, and books, and allows parents to opt their children out of sex education.
At the June meeting, board member Kris Erickson dismissed the policy as “political theatre,” noting that parents already enjoyed those rights in the district.
Even without Ledesma and Miner, the seven-member Orange County Unified Board is likely to maintain a conservative lean. Ledesma has been a trustee with the board for 24 years, while Miner is serving her first term. Both were elected as part of a “parents’ rights” slate in November 2022; two other members of that slate were defeated in that election.
At least one public library in Alabama opposes a proposed law that would put the power of the library board into the hands of legislators. This library is unique, too, in its structure.https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/20...
The North Shelby library board is concerned a bill that would allow Alabama politicians to appoint board members is part of an effort to “politicize library boards throughout the state in order to control library collections to suit their own agenda.”
Rep. Arnold Mooney (R) filed HB89, which allows Shelby County state representatives to appoint library board members instead of a voter election. The bill is pending action by the Shelby County Legislation Committee, chaired by Mooney.
The North Shelby Public Library is unique in Alabama. The library, founded in 1988 by a legislative act and a majority vote by residents, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with no city or county governing body that typically oversees financial operations and human resources.
According to a statement by the board and the library’s website, about 24,000 property owners pay a $15 annual assessment, which funds 96% of the two branches’ operating budget of about $1.5 million.
Library director Kate Etheredge and a business manager handle the day-to-day operations of the library’s 25-person staff. The board oversees the library’s finances and annual planning. One board member is listed on the mortgage, which Etheredge said the library obtained to expand one of the branches.
The five-member volunteer board has few applicants, so a special election funded by the library is rarely held.
“In the past, we haven’t had a whole bunch of people just lined up waiting to take on the responsibility of running a library,” Etheredge said.
This may change because residents have packed library board meetings statewide since book challenges and other issues regarding inappropriate material for children have cropped up. Etheredge said several people have expressed interest in running for the board.
“The people who are interested in serving on the library board would file paperwork with the probate judge,” Etheredge said. If the judge has more than one person asking to be in the same place, “then that would trigger the need to have an actual, physical election.”
If HB89 passes, three members of the Shelby County delegation, including Mooney and bill co-sponsors Reps. Jim Carns (R) and Susan DuBose (R), would remove current board members and appoint new ones.
Iron River Wisconsin where they think I Love My Colorful Nails is explicit. I don't know in what universe. They probably never read the book. It's no big deal to paint fingernails. It comes off and it doesn't mean anything if a small boy wants to paint his nails. My nephew has in the past and he identifies as a boy. My mom, a retired nursery school teacher, says children feel they have no control over their own lives. Allowing them a small bit of bodily autonomy makes them happy because they feel like they are in control. [When questioned about my nephew's long hair and I'm guessing anything else he chooses that isn't traditionally BOY.]https://www.apg-wi.com/ashland_daily_...
The effort to limit access to ‘inappropriate’ books at the Iron River Public Library now has the attentional of a national hate group as the debate enters a new phase. A handful of residents over the past several months have voiced their opinions at library board meetings about titles available through the library — almost all by authors of color or concerning LGBTQ+ topics. At the board’s Feb. 26 meeting, a member of a ‘pro-family activist organization’ from the East Coast joined the debate."
https://www.apg-wi.com/ashland_daily_...
Arthur Schaper represents an organization called MassResistance. He joined the meeting via Zoom — and later declined to tell a Daily Press reporter how he heard of what’s going on Iron River and what his intentions are locally with MassResistance.
But the organization deemed a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center has a website that offers some details: “MassResistance provides the information and guidance people need to confront assaults on the traditional family, school children, and the moral foundation of society. Headquartered in Massachusetts, we have supporters and activists in all 50 states and numerous foreign countries.”
With MassResistance and community residents looking on, the board now has begun reviewing its policies governing staff purchase of books, DVDs and other materials for the library’s collection.
The board also now has forbidden Library Director Jacqueline Pooler to comment about the matter. Board President Cassie Fleming declined to comment on the policy review or the rules regarding Pooler.
Under current policy, the main criteria in the selection of books are reliability of information, timeless and permanent value, integrity of author and publisher, popular appeal and/or demand, existing library holdings, suitability of material for the needs of the community, good quality binding and paper performance to the collection and the library’s budget.
Although materials are carefully selected, differences of opinion regarding suitable materials can arise, the library’s policy states. Parents or legal guardians have the responsibility of selecting any materials that their children may borrow. Selection of library materials will not be inhibited by the possibility that materials may come into the possession of children, the policy continues.
Patrons requesting that material be withdrawn or restricted within the collection may complete a “statement of concern” form. The complaint then is reviewed by the board.
Calls to limit access to certain books started last year when a group calling itself Concerned Citizens of Iron River sent a mass letter to the community calling on residents to stand up and take action against books that “encourage exploration of changing your gender to small children,” including kids as young as toddlers. The letter listed several titles — including “I love My Colorful Nails,” and “The Hips On the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish,” that the group wants banned. The books are “extremely graphic in nature,” [in what universe?!] in written format or in artwork, the letter claimed.
Another title, the graphic novel “Let’s talk About it,” by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan, has drawn more criticism from the group. It includes “cartoon drawings (that) depict various transgender and heterosexual s-x acts, how-to pictures on various ways to (view spoiler) the letter says.
Group members have insisted at meetings that they aren’t anti LGBTQ+, but Iron River Library patron Rachel Zwicky doesn’t believe them.
“The inaccurate claim that there is p--n in the library is nothing but a cover for a very prejudiced agenda to discriminate against a marginalized group in the community,” she said.
Zwicky is even more concerned now that MassResistance is focusing on the town. It guides people on how to get books banned, she said. For example, MassResistance published an article on its website in November, crediting its Kenosha chapter for getting “p----graphic” books removed from the school library there.
Library board members are set to continue the discussion of its selection policy during their March 20 meeting.
From literary activist and author Kelly Jensen. She reportshttps://stackedthoughts.substack.com/...
Mauston, Wisconsin, a small town in the middle of Wisconsin, population about 4400.
The Mauston Public Schools serve 1,500 students, of which 20% are minority and nearly 50% are economically disadvantaged. There are 7 districts in the school.
Juneau County does not have a chapter of Moms For Liberty*. It also has some pretty boring board meeting minutes–just the kind of thing you want to see from school board meetings. Compare the school board minutes for Mauston with those from Phillips Public Library three hours north and it’s night and day.
Imagine the surprise, then, that Mauston Public Schools have elected to implement BookLooks to decide whether or not to keep books on shelves in the middle and high schools.
Principals at the middle and high schools decided to use BookLooks to get rid of books. None of this came from the school board. The principals sent out the directive at lunchtime on February 15, 2024, within minutes of one another.
There is no context for this decision, but it’s framed in an interesting way. The scoring rubric is “good,” and the cherry-picked salacious passages include “very relevant information.” Relevant to whom? Did the school librarians ask for this? What about the teachers, for whom this is also applicable?
It is concerning for every book rated 4 or 5 to be automatically pulled, with decisions over books rated 3 being left to the assistant principal. Toni Morrison’s Beloved has a 3, so it’d be reviewed by the assistant principal, while Morrison’s The Bluest Eye garners a 4 rating that will mean it is automatically removed.
Within minutes of the email, the first books were removed from a teacher’s classroom.
The assistant principal was thrilled.
Then a teacher speaks up.
He handles it professionally, if not vaguely, and we learn that he’s already removed a book in the past. We don’t learn what book nor the context. Instead, this helps justify the internal decision to implement BookLooks as a censorship tool.
[We] can never learn what books were weeded or tossed from collections because those only exist in singular data points and by asking for a list of those data points, you’re asking for a new record in entirety through the Freedom of Information Act.
But even this tiny thread of communication tells a chilling story: none of this is known to the community, to students, nor to the board itself. This is a perfect encapsulation of quiet/silent censorship, done with the “guidance” of a made-up ratings system and cherrypicked sample sections of books.
It begs the question of how many schools is this kind new policy the new norm and how many community members–let alone governing bodies like school boards–are even aware of it? BookLooks is not a professional tool, nor will it ever be. When it’s built by a group crying “groomer,” but rates a book about actual grooming, like Lolita, as more appropriate for high schoolers than The Kite Runner, that alone should send up red flags.
How many are skirting by BookLooks and instead utilizing Common Sense Media, which is now so conveniently integrated into book ordering systems like Mackin?
In any case, it undermines the professional knowledge, experience, and expertise of trained library workers and educators. And for what? To buy into a product made by the very people itching to dismantle the entire public education and library system as we know it?
It’s not a good look. It’s a dangerous one."
Nine books in Albemarle County Schools (VA) have "instructional parameters" in place related to how they can be used in classrooms and discussions. https://www.29news.com/2024/03/11/29i...
“Instructional parameters” is one way of saying a book has come under fire for what’s inside. In Albemarle County schools, there are nine titles that aren’t necessarily banned, but with rules for how they can be used in schools.
They are:
Bridge to Terebithia
The Education of a Little Tree
The Great Gilly Hopkins
Hatchet
It’s Perfectly Normal
Living Dogs and Dead Lions
Romiette and Julio
Seedfolks
A Study in Scarlet
“They have instructional parameters around them, and each one has something different, like, ‘Be aware of this component,’ or, ‘Reach out to parents.’ Just little notations on them,” Cabarcas said.
CCS says it has heard complaints, but this has never resulted with any titles being restricted.
“I’m sure parents have had questions with librarians or teachers in the past, but those questions have been resolved,” CCS Spokesperson Beth Cheuk said.
Cheuk says an issue over a book has never reached the division-level committee for review.
“Those situations typically resolve themselves within a conversation,” she said.
Cheuk tells 29News that if it a conversation alone does not do the trick, CCS does have a protocol in place: “Beyond that, if the questions were not resolved, we have a form on the website that somebody could fill out that could fill out to start the official process for review,” the spokesperson said.
That form, a Request for Review of Materials, is a part of School Board policy.
Cabarcas says the process for ACPS starts similarly with a conversation over raised concerns: “It could be a teacher, or an administrator or librarian that receives the initial complaint, but then it would be moved forward to the principal who’s the instructional leader of the building,” she said.
The series of steps is outlined in School Board policy.
Cheuk says there are a few hot topics that have attracted controversy elsewhere: “Nationally, these things are disproportionately focused on Black authors, Black history, LGBTQ topics,” the spokesperson said.
There is one topic in Virginia that requires parents to be notified: S--ually-explicit materials.
“It’s the one that requires parents to receive 30 days advance notice,” Cabarcas said.
This falls under Virginia Code 22.1-16.8, adopted in 2022, and lays out requirements for all commonwealth schools.
“We have worked out procedures and teachers have received training on that, and we’re all pretty much have protocols in place for any books that would fall under that,” Cabarcas said.
Both school systems say they do all they can to make sure students have access to interesting yet age appropriate reading materials.
“We want to make sure that our students feel seen and welcomed and have the chance to learn and grow in our libraries,” Cheuk said.
“Our ultimate goal as educators is to make sure that we find, match students with compelling texts that match their interests,” Cabarcas said.
Woohoo in North Carolina we have FOURTH graders protesting against Charlotte-Mecklenburg [NC] school leaders’ decision to discontinue the use of an online library program."I'm very well acquainted with 4th graders and they never hesitate to speak their minds. They can be cute but they're also very sassy.
https://www.qcnews.com/news/charlotte...
CMS district officials issued a notice of cancellation of the Epic service to educators in late February. They cited the North Carolina Parents’ Bill of Rights, which received lawmaker approval about a year ago.
“In response to state requirements put forth in the Parents’ Bill of Rights, it has been determined that the e-book platform, Epic, does not meet the requirements for use a supplementary instructional service,” the district said.
They removed student and staff access to the e-library on Feb. 26.
Parents’ Bill of Rights supporters of the measure said it allows guardians more oversight of classroom materials and enables them to raise any moral or educational objections to said materials. Those opposed to the bill said it could lead to unnecessary censorship.
CMS administrators said the recommended alternative to Epic is a platform called Sora. Some teachers, however, don’t believe Sora is an equal replacement. They say Sora lacks the interactive features and many of the titles featured on Epic. They also note many of the materials available on Sora are often “checked out” and students must wait weeks to access books.
About a dozen parents and children showed up to Tuesday’s CMS Board of Education meeting. They held hand-made signs asking for elected leaders to reinstate their access to the online books.
Students with Paige Anderson’s fourth-grade class at Charlotte East Learning Academy led the charge. They outlined 25 reasons why they want the Epic system back.
“The best thing about Epic is it makes reading fun,” said Fincher Nelson.
“If one parent doesn’t want their child to read on Epic, it shouldn’t be blocked for others,” said Alexandra Diaz.
“We have over 500 signatures and we’re still collecting. This proves that these kids want Epic back,” said Elliot Vargas.
Anderson said Epic has been a tool she has used for many years. She said teachers have the ability to block their class from content on the site or curate collections of approved books.
She said she wants the district to reinstate access to the resource.
“I foresee that kids are not going to read as much because Epic makes reading fun and that’s the bottom line,” Anderson said. “They are learning to love to read.”
The Anderson County Library (SC) has been dealing with book banners who want to move Melissa from the youth section — where it belongs — to a different area. Now, it looks like the library board will increase in size in a move we've seen before, indicating that it will shift to sympathize with book banners.https://www.postandcourier.com/politi...
A rural SC library board is getting more members. Some say it's to increase censorship.
The Anderson County library board is debating moving a children's book with transgender themes in the wake of a recent vote to expand the body's membership, a hotly contested decision decried by critics as a play for majority power and censorship in the rural Upstate.
The seven-member library board and library director attempted three times March 11 to decide whether to relocate the children's novel "Melissa" out of the children's section after a local parent challenged the book.
Before a small crowd of concerned residents, the board ultimately postponed the vote to the next meeting, May 13, after each of the motions failed.
But the debate over moving the book came on the heels of a contentious County Council meeting March 5, where the majority Republican council voted for the third and final time to add two new members to the board, boosting it from seven to nine members.
While Vice Chairman Brett Sanders said the expansion was not political — and that it would give new council members greater say over who serves on the board — dozens of residents attended the meetings to either condemn the expansion as backdoor censorship or support it as moral protection.
...
The rural Upstate — some of the most conservative, religious territory in South Carolina — is far from an unusual place for this debate to rage. Anderson County, home to just over 200,000 residents and private Baptist Anderson University, is composed mostly of rolling farmland that is rapidly developing into new subdivisions. The county has voted solidly Republican for the last several decades.
Those undertones were apparent March 5 when 31 county residents spoke for more than an hour on the potential board additions. Those in support said the new board members were needed to counter "a liberal agenda." Multiple speakers quoted Scripture and one warned of the “judgment of God” for those who harm children by providing inappropriate materials.
"When we allow p---ographic, explicit s--ual materials into young children, it awakens in them thoughts that they don't have," Anderson resident Sherry Hodges told County Council. "We need to protect that innocence."
"For a library board to even wonder how much s------lization is appropriate for a child simply means there's something seriously amiss," Anderson resident Bill Cord said.
But 21 of those speakers said the new positions are a thinly veiled attempt to appoint more people who would censor books, and it's up to parents, not the library board, to monitor what their children read.
"People are wanting to expand the board but for not the right reason," said Ernest Mackins, an Anderson resident and former assistant principal at Belton-Honea Path High School. "Everybody in this room knows knowledge is power. … If you censor books, you censor our children's right to learn and grow."
Library board members are each appointed by their County Council representative and serve four-year terms. Under the new county ordinance passed March 5, two new at-large members will serve the whole county for a two-year term.
Sutton said 10 books in Anderson's library system have been challenged in the past year and a half. Only four have escalated up to the board for action.
"Melissa" is a children's novel about a young transgender girl. The library has three copies, and books like this account for 1 percent of the library's collection, Sutton said.
The novel, located in the juvenile fiction section, was challenged in 2023 by a parent in who wanted it moved to the older teenage section, Sutton said. When a committee of librarians ruled the book was in an appropriate location, he appealed the decision to the board and asked it be moved to the adult section.
Six speakers addressed the board March 11 before they voted. Most urged the board not to move or remove the book.
"We need to prepare children for the world in which they live," said Barbara DuCharme, a retired teacher. "You can talk with your children about diversity, but it doesn't mean that you embrace those ideas. But you can discuss them without condemnation and judgment."
Trustees voted first to move the book to the family resource section, then to move it to the teenage section and then to keep it in the children's section. All three votes failed.
"When the library reviews materials for reconsideration, it is not done lightly. We take the responsibility seriously and consider many factors," Sutton said. "We understand that not every book is right for every child, but we rely on parents as the ultimate decision-makers for their children."
Wicomico County Schools (MD) will now limit book complaints to only residents in the county with students in the districthttps://www.delmarvanow.com/story/new...
"A book one Manheim Township School District [PA] parent asked to be removed from the high school library was removed because it had only been checked out twice in 14 years, not for content the parent labeled as ‘sexually inappropriate.’" We need to remember that checkout numbers are not the only measure of a book's use, but it sure becomes a nice way to ban books. https://lancasteronline.com/news/loca...
A book one Manheim Township School District parent asked to be removed from the high school library was removed because it had only been checked out twice in 14 years, not for content the parent labeled as “s---ally inappropriate.”
“Identical” by Ellen Hopkins was weeded from the Manheim Township High School library Nov. 27, 2023, according to a Right-to-Know request filed by the LNP | LancasterOnline. Weeding is a routine process performed by librarians to remove books that are checked out infrequently, are outdated or damaged.
“Identical” was one of more than 4,000 titles weeded from the Manheim Township High School Library since the beginning of the 2021-22 school year . In the same time frame books “They Came from Below” by Blake Nelson and “Melting Stones” by Tamara Pierce are two examples of books also weeded for low circulation.
“I'm glad nobody’s reading it,” said Manheim Township parent Mark Dienerwho challenged “Identical” in 2023. “I consider it trash.”
“Identical,” a 2008 New York Times bestselling novel, met the weeding criteria for lack of or low circulation, wrote district spokesperson ShaiQuana Mitchell in an email. It had been available in the high school library for students in grades nine through 12 since 2009 and has only been signed out twice – once in May 2015 and March 2022, according to circulation records.
Mitchell said she couldn’t specify a time period or number of sign-outs that would qualify a book for weeding based on low circulation and she declined to allow LancasterOnline to speak with a librarian in the district.
“The book challenge process does not inform the district weeding process,” Mitchell wrote.
Diener challenged “Identical” April 21, 2023, claiming it exposes minors to “p____graphic and violent material,” but withdrew the challenge because he couldn’t attend the June 15 meeting when the school board planned to vote on his request.
“I don’t feel that it had educational value,” Diener said. “It’s kind of shocking when you read through some of the text, some of the chapters had vulgarity, pervasive vulgarity – pretty intense stuff.”
Hopkins is known for writing young adult fiction in verse poetry that covers controversial topics such as substance abuse and the ways teens cope with mental illness and traumatic events in their lives. H
At a June 8 school board meeting, Superintendent Robin Felty explained an Advisory Review Committee had been assembled to review the book and had recommended the book remain in the library.
“We also intend to follow our standard weeding process to eliminate the text, in the event that it meets those established criteria,” wrote the committee in its report.
“It’s a waste of taxpayer money, it’s a waste of space in the library,” Diener said. “There’s hundreds of thousands of other books to be picking from rather than books that kids aren’t even going to read.”
Diener said he filed a second challenge in December 2023 to “The Little Black Book for Guys: Guys Talk About Sex,” by St. Stephen’s Community House, raising concerns that the book includes pictures sodomy and oral sex. He said he’ll follow that challenge with one to “This Book is Gay” by Juno Dawson, located in the middle school library, because he said it’s “raunchy.”
“The Little Black Book for Guys: Guys Talk About Sex,” written by youth at a community-based social service agency in Toronto, Canada, features interviews with health professionals and other teens about puberty, safe sex and birth control, sexually transmitted infections and other s-x-related topics.
An district advisory review committee assembled to review the “The Little Black Book,” which Diener claimed aims to “debauch young people,” recommended the book remain in the library but resolved it’ll likely meet the district’s weeding criteria in the future as it was only checked out once, in 2019, since it was first placed in the library in 2010. Diener has appealed the committee’s decision not to remove the book due to content to the superintendent.
Diener has two daughters at Manheim Township High School. The other three of his children already graduated from the high school. He said he chose not to opt his children out of the books he has challenged because they won’t check them out anyway. The district has a policy that allows parents to opt their children out of access to any library book the parents find objectionable.
“I don’t think it’s a matter of if we have to find all these books and educate ourselves and opt in or opt them out,” Diener said. “I’d rather just remove them.”
If you don't approve, don't go. Or go alone and check it out and see what it's all about before you make any judgments. https://lancasteronline.com/news/loca...
Residents defend library drag queen story hour at Lancaster County commissioners meeting
About 20 people packed into the Lancaster County commissioners meeting Wednesday, many of them criticizing the two Republican commissioners for their social media posts and public comments against an upcoming Drag Queen Story Hour for children at Lancaster Public Library.
Commenters accused Commissioners Josh Parsons and Ray D’Agostino of willfully misrepresenting the March 23 event for political gain.
Drag Queen Story Hour, scheduled for 1 p.m. next Saturday at the North Queen Street library in downtown Lancaster, will be hosted by Miss Amie Vanité, a longtime Central Pennsylvania drag performer who launched a regional chapter of Drag Queen Story Hour in 2018, according to the library’s event description.
The library’s online calendar describes the event as “Stories, songs, crafts, creativity, dancing and drag: Join Miss Amie Vanité as she spreads awareness and acceptance by celebrating diversity, inclusiveness, kindness and love through LGBTQ+ literature for young readers.”
Pilisa Mackey, a Lancaster city resident and organizer with the activist group Lancaster Changemakers Collective, told the commissioners she believes “events like Drag Queen Story Hour help to educate kids in an age-appropriate way about the beauty of the queer community, the importance of affirming and accepting people of all gender identities and presentation.”
“This is a message we should all be sending,” she said.
The speakers said they objected to the language Parsons and D’Agostino used to criticize the event as inappropriate for children.
Parsons first posted on Facebook and X about the event last Thursday and directed concerned residents to contact the library’s board of trustees. “Libraries should be places for kids to safely read and learn, not politicized social laboratories for woke ideology,” Parsons wrote.
D’Agostino followed with a similar post Friday on Facebook. “How is it that we wonder why children today are more confused, anxious and stressed than ever when people are trying to push adult themed issues at such an early age?” D’Agostino wrote. “This is about the safety of our children.”
Anticipating public criticism at Wednesday’s meeting, the two commissioners responded to the first speaker by presenting a slide on TV monitors that showed excerpts from social media about another recent show by the same drag performer.
The excerpts appeared to come from a Feb. 17 event called “Drag Queen Story Hour After Hours” at Chatty Monks Brewery in West Reading. The Facebook promotion said attendees needed to be at least 18 years old and included tongue-in-cheek, hypersexualized language parodying children’s book-reading events hosted by drag queens.
“Much like a regular Story Hour, Amie will read stories and perform songs…but nothing about this show is appropriate for your semen demon offspring,” the promotion read.
“Any rational adult is going to look at this and tell you that someone who is objectifying children in this sexual way should not be presenting a program in a library,” Parsons said.
An excerpt of the same promotion for the adult event at Chatty Monks Brewery appeared Wednesday afternoon on the prominent far-right, anti-LGBTQ social media account Libs of Tiktok. The post presented the description of the library event next to the Chatty Monks promotion, strongly suggesting they were from the same event.
The social media account has millions of followers and has been a prominent online meme generator for far-right causes and misinformation campaigns. The account, run by [anti-LGBTQ terrorist]
Commenters speaking in support of the scheduled story hour said the blurb from the Feb. 17 event was clearly geared to adults, while the library event is not.
“I can’t think of one of my colleagues who’s a performer in Lancaster who would show up half naked or do s--ually explicit content for children,” said Mackey, who told commissioners she also has performed at children’s events and done adult theater shows. “We gear it to who they’re working with, which is what Miss Amie is doing.”
On Wednesday, Christopher Paolini, who has performed as the character Amie Vanité for 20 years, said he disagreed with any idea that his adult-oriented performances would make him unqualified to also perform for children.
“It’s basically the same thing as saying a teacher is not allowed to go out to a bar at night and have a couple drinks and dance,” Paolini said. “Or because this is your day job, you can’t do this at night. You can’t have adult time with friends, away from children.”
When performing for children, Paolini plays guitar and plays songs such as “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing (in Perfect Harmony),” “If You Want to Hear a Story Clap Your Hands,” and “The Rainbow Connection” from “The Muppet Movie.”
“It is a very, very wholesome program that is suitable for all ages, which I have also done in a nursing home,” Paolini said.
>Commenters, including Angelique Chelton, a pastor at Pilgrims Mennonite Church in Akron, said Parsons’ and D’Agostino’s comments on the story hour harmed the LGBTQ community, particularly school-age children who deal with bullying and struggle to reconcile their identity with the broader community.
“Please stop, because it is dangerous to children who are told, ‘There is no place for you, there is no place you can go to see people who maybe are LGBTQ and who are living incorporated lives into our society,’ ” Chelton said. “Our kids deserve to see people like them in public.”
Several commenters referenced recent suicides of local transgender youth, including 22-year-old Ashton Clatterbuck of Martic Township, who died by suicide last month, saying the two commissioners’ comments added to the vitriol young queer people face at school and in the public realm.
“You cannot separate the mischaracterization of a Drag Queen Story Hour held by Lancaster Pride from the effects that has on queer and transgender youth, who see this mischaracterization from their government officials and say, ‘I don't belong here,’ ” Mackey said.
Parsons and D’Agostino both took exception to accusations that they were spreading hate or contributing to the potential for suicides among LGBTQ youth.
“I think that that is a tactic of the left: to say, ‘Josh you're killing people, therefore you can't respond to something that you feel strongly about,” Parsons said.
One person spoke in support of Parsons’ and D’Agostino’s comments on the story hour at the Wednesday commissioners meeting. Joel Saint, a Denver resident and pastor at the Independence Reformed Bible Church, is a frequent speaker at commissioners meetings and called the drag queen story hour “appalling.”
“Thank you, commissioners, for standing up against this event, which is horrific.”
Ben Cattell Noll, a Lancaster resident who said he planned to take his family to the story hour later this month, called on Parsons to condemn social media users who responded to his posts with personal attacks on parents who plan to take their children to the event. Some of those responses called these parents “p----philes” and “groomers.”
Parsons didn’t directly answer Cattell Noll’s request. “There’s all kinds of awful things hurled around about people. People can make their own decisions about those items. I don’t endorse any hate whatsoever,” he said.
Toward the end of the public comment session Wednesday, Democratic Commissioner Alice Yoder addressed the issue for the first time since Parsons and D’Agostino took to social media last week. Deklan Rupp of Lancaster city commented earlier that Yoder’s “silence was deafening.”
Yoder said she was excited about the event and thought it was an example for other organizations in the county to provide LGBTQ-friendly events for families.
The Democrat said she didn’t comment on it previously because it didn’t seem like an issue that had a connection to the board of commissioners.
“I want to make sure that we don’t leave here today without the LGBTQ community knowing that I am in support of them in their community and any of the work that needs to be done to support (them), and to particularly focus on children so that their mental health and well-being is well preserved,” Yoder said.
The good news for Miss Aime is that more people support her than are against her.https://lancasteronline.com/news/loca...
Lancaster library's drag queen story hour sees sign-up surge after criticism from GOP commissioners
The library, which has about 58,000 card holders, is bracing for high turnout and potential fallout. After the commissioners said they don’t believe a drag queen event for children is appropriate, many who share their view called, emailed and posted online to criticize the library for hosting it.
Supporters of the event, meanwhile, are planning to provide a visual barrier between potential protesters and families walking into the building.
All that attention has led to unprecedented interest, according to Lancaster Public Library Executive Director Lissa Holland. More than 250 parents have reserved spots for the event. That number far exceeds any other event the library has held — and the real number of attendees will be at least twice as high, since the parents who registered will bring one or more children.
Parents are saying they wish they had something like this for their children who are now grown. Other parents are saying that they're happy to expose their children to diversity and talk about how people are different. ”
The event, paid for and arranged by Lancaster Pride, is just one of the 105 children’s programs on the library’s calendar since last June, according to Jon Heinly, the library’s director of donor advising. It’s the library’s first time hosting a Drag Queen Story Hour.
In his letter, D’Agostinoexplained that TV shows such as the 1980 sitcom “Bosom Buddies” and movies like the 1982 romantic comedy “Tootsie,” starring Dustin Hoffman, and the 1993 comedy “Mrs. Doubtfire,” featuring Robin Williams, are not sexual in nature. But entertainment like that should not be confused with “the performances of Drag Queens.”
D’Agostino and Parsons shared images at Wednesday’s meeting of Facebook posts promoting an adults-only drag queen story hour featuring Miss Amie, held at a bar in Berks County. He criticized language and images used to advertise that event.
D’Agostino didn’t respond to a reporter’s request for comment on Thursday. In his March 11 letter to the library, he said that as a public official, he must protect the “health and welfare” of Lancaster County citizens. He told the library to cancel the event. “And to be clear,” he wrote, “I don’t want Lancaster County’s tax dollars funding an organization that hosts such an event.”
That sentence set off a wave of concern among library leaders, Holland said. County commissioners have some control over funding for the Lancaster County Library System, which provides about $77,000 annually to the Lancaster Public Library
That’s just about 3% of the Lancaster Public Library’s annual budget, noted Holland. Most of its annual revenue comes from fundraising. But losing the county funds and access to IT and other services would be significant.
“It potentially would hurt all 14 independent public libraries in Lancaster County,” she said.
In Illinois, where it is illegal to ban books, West Prairie policy change raises ‘scary thought’ about possible book banshttps://www.tspr.org/tspr-local/2024-...
A vote by the West Prairie Board of Education is raising concerns about the possibility of book bans in the school district.
The board voted 6-to-1 to approve a state policy about library media programs, but only after striking some language from it. President Scott Vogler cast the only “no” vote.
Districts must approve the policy as written to be eligible for certain grants.
But board member Honey Zimmerman suggested several changes, which included striking a line about complying with rules set by the Illinois State Board of Education.
Zimmerman said she’s concerned about an outside agency such as ISBE telling the district what to do.
High school math teacher Julia Burns found that disappointing.
“I guess I don’t understand what they think ISBE does. Our whole school system in the state is governed by ISBE,” she said.
Burns, who is president of the West Prairie Education Association, also opposed the board’s decision to remove a section about adhering to principles of the American Library Association.
The ALA opposes censorship and book bans, which Burns said could happen now in West Prairie.
“I just think that door is open, and that’s a scary thought,” Burns said
“The language that they’re striking from the footnotes does say that they won’t ban books. They say that’s not their intention, but it’s concerning and I’m really disappointed.”
Burns made her comments to TSPR after the school board meeting.
At the beginning of the meeting, Burns urged the board to approve the state policy as written.
“You are jeopardizing future library funding by not accepting this. More importantly, you are also sending a message that you don’t trust the teachers – the trained professionals that you hired,” Burns said.
“Is the message you want to send: West Prairie hires incompetent teachers who are not capable of choosing age or reading level appropriate materials for their students? Because that’s what it sounds like.”
West Prairie Junior-Senior High School counselor Michele Aurand also addressed the board. She said the books from the building’s media center help students develop a curiosity about the world around them.
“Books are just one of the ways that our students have to learn about families, cultures, and communities that are different from our own,” Aurand said.
“If you are afraid that books might change a student’s thinking, then you are not afraid of books. You are afraid of thinking.”
High school sophomore Hailie Hendrix told the board that people have differing opinions and beliefs, and she recognizes parents might be concerned about their children reading things that don’t align with their beliefs.
“However, that does not mean that you get to decide what every child in our district gets to read,” she said.
“What you want (your children) to read and what you don’t want them to read is between you and your child. To put your thoughts and beliefs onto a community takes away everyone’s First Amendment right.”
Hendrix said students should be able to read any book they like – with their parents’ blessing – without the school board limiting their options. She said the only access some students have to books comes through their school.
Zimmerman said that she doesn’t want to ban books, but also emphasized several times that the district should not be bound to someone else’s rules.
She also said the district does not qualify for the grants in question because it does not have a school library – it has a media center. She said if that changes, the board can change the policy.
It required more than one meeting for board members to work through the issue. They approved the policy -- after making changes -- on its fifth reading. They rejected the policy in February, but didn’t offer an alternative at that time.
Camden County Library (MO) has a new director, and he is addressing the nonstop nonsense over "p----graphy for kids" in the public library. But his "compromises" are not only censorship — moving books from children and teen areas to the adult area if there's a challenged book there — but a deep invasion of children's rights to privacy — calling their parents if they try to borrow a flagged book. https://www.lakeexpo.com/community/co...
For over two months, Lake area residents raised concerns about what some deem age inappropriate books in the Camden County Library. A proposal related that debate, made by the district's new director Jim Pasley, will be voted on this week.
On Feb. 16, citizens attended the Camden County Library District board meeting to voice their opinions. In December and January, some residents and public officials advocated for total removal of “p___graphic” books, while others wanted children to keep the same access.
According to current library policy, any minor (17 & under) with a parent/guardian approved library card can have access to all of the library's materials, physical and digital.
The Missouri Secretary of State's office enacted the Library Certification Requirement for the Protection of Minors on May 30, 2023. That rule requires libraries to adopt written policies determining what materials are age appropriate. Libraries are also required to honor a parent’s decision as to what material their child has access to in the library. Another statute from last year gave guidelines for what state libraries must do to continue to receive funding, including the aforementioned certification requirement.
“We can debate on defining what a child is and what p__n is, but if we want to keep our state funding, we have to comply with what the state is telling us to do,” said newly elected CCLD Director Jim Pasley. “Or we lose our funding and go back to a one room schoolhouse for a library.
After researching and listening to suggestions from all parties, Pasley recommended to the board that “challenged” books be removed from the children and teen section to the adult section of the library.
“I have tried to come up with a compromise,” Pasley said. “I will not ban any books. The books will still be in our libraries. We already have a policy for the purchase of books in our library manual. I am going to try to comply with state statute, so we do not lose funding. All books will go across my desk before they are purchased.”
His recommendation includes moving literature from the baby/toddler area.
“If a parent wants to check a challenged book out and let their children read it, they can,” said Pasley.
But what about books online? The CCLD utilizes the Evergreen catalog system, which includes books that can be borrowed from any library in Missouri. Going forward, Pasley suggests that any “challenged” books will be tagged in the system to inform parents and library workers, like a warning label on video games.
“All we are doing is putting this back into the hands of the parents to decide for their own children,” Pasley said. “We are trying to keep a balance. Not everyone is going to be happy, but the library is not your parent, as the school system is not your parent. Unfortunately, a lot of parents have given their children over to the schools to raise.”
If approved, when a child picks up a flagged book, the library will call their parents to obtain permission for the minor to check it out.
The board motioned the issue as old business to let members read the proposal and make an informed decision. The CCLD will vote on the recommendation at the March 15 meeting at 9 a.m.
They don't quit in Maine which is worrisome. In Dixfield schools (ME), the new book policy states that if a librarian reads "conflicting reviews" of a title, then it will be the superintendent's job to make a decision.
https://12ft.io/https://www.sunjourna...
Today's censorship news is brought to you from IowaIowa Poll: Half say new law requiring schools to ban books depicting s-x acts goes too far
The Des Moines Register has documented about 1,820 books — including 615 unique titles — removed from Iowa schools since the law went into effect July 1.
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/sto...
Half of Iowans believe the state’s new book ban law — which has resulted in the removal of more than a thousand books from public schools — goes too far, a new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll finds, while a third view the law and subsequent removals as “about right.”
Thirteen percent believe “this does not go far enough,” and 3% aren’t sure.
The Iowa Poll asked respondents to give their opinion on “Iowa’s new law requiring schools to ban books depicting s-x acts,” which “has resulted in the removal of more than 1,300 books from Iowa public schools.”
And Ohio‘An attack on our freedom to read’: Attempted book bans hit record high in 2023 in Ohio, libraries say
https://www.cleveland.com/open/2024/0...
And Alabama where librarians have been fired in Prattville for doing their jobs and refusing to remove books. A Go Fund Me is set up by EveryLibrary Institute on Go Fund Me to help the librarians.https://www.al.com/news/2024/03/pratt...
The board of the Autauga-Prattville Public Library on Saturday appointed a new interim director just days after former director Andrew Foster and four staff members were fired, amid months of book challenges, according to news reports.
Protestors stood outside of the library holding signs and many others sat in on the meeting as the library’s board of trustees unanimously named the interim director, Tammy Bear, WSFA reported.
“The first thing I want the interim director to do is start hiring people,” Board chairman Ray Boles said, according to The Montgomery Advertiser. “I don’t want the library closed for one day.”
Residents called for the reinstatement of Foster and his colleagues and an end to challenging books.
The board fired Foster after he fulfilled an open records request. Other employees were fired after they closed the library following Foster’s termination.
Boles has said Foster gave a reporter redacted emails about the new book policy and about potentially moving more than 100 children’s and young adult books to the adult section that discussed “sexual orientation, gender identity or gender discordance.”
The board also reprimanded Foster for recording meetings, which is allowed by state law if at least one person consents.
Read Freely is partnering with the national library advocacy organization EveryLibrary with a petition and fundraiser.
https://action.everylibrary.org/save_...
And North Carolina,paywalled story but the Google snippet says
But at the end of the meeting, Burke school board member Leslie Ritchie Taylor shared a list of books pulled from school libraries, including multiple books speakers referenced during public comments. Among those titles were: The entire “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series (five books) by Sarah J. Maas.
https://hickoryrecord.com/news/local/...
AHHH The state newspaper had a story today I missed and Book Riot missed it as well. It's not quite book banning news but it's a step in that direction and took place near a library.I had to dig for the original story.
Backstory:
In 1675-1676 Metacomet (King Philip), son of Wampanoag Chief Massasoit (the one from our history books who helped the Pilgrims), decided to reclaim New England for the Natives. In December 1675, English colonials militia and their Native allies (BTW, is it a coincidence the Pequot and the Mashpee Wampanoag get casinos?), massacred hundreds of Natives, including women and children. In retaliation, Narragansett warriors tortured and killed 9 members of the English militia.
The site where the militia men were killed is now the grounds of a monastery and the public library is on the site as well.
The Mayflower & the Pilgrims' New World
Now the news compiled from different sources because I had to dig for it where you can click the links and read for free.
THE BAD:
"Members of a racist white supremacist group with a goal of seeing New England recognized as a white homeland and sovereign state made multiple visits to town sites on Saturday.
Representatives of PINE, or the People's Initiative of New England, with a mission to “embrace nationalism,” visited the Monastery/Cumberland Library property, the William Blackstone monument on Broad Street, and Town Hall, among others.
Members confirmed in online posts that they chose the Monastery to pay respects at the Nine Men's Misery monument, in keeping with their practice of visiting sites where whites were killed by Native Americans.
Library patrons confirmed that the group was distributing literature at the Monastery, including their 5-point program."
"The Anti-Defamation League lists PINE as a white supremacist group and an offshoot of the National Socialist Club 131, which has been active in the state in the past.
“PINE advocates for its five-point plan for New England, a more sanitized version of NSC-131’s agenda that includes seceding from the U.S. to create a ‘white homeland’ and ending all non-white immigration,” the ADL’s website says.
Local police were called to the meeting sites out of “caution,” and that the gatherings were orderly and no arrests were made."
https://www.abc6.com/white-supremacis...
"Library director Celeste Dyer believes they may simply have stopped where they saw activity after posing for the pictures they posted online of themselves next to Nine Men's Misery, a monument on the same former monastery property that marks the spot where nine Colonists were captured and killed by the Wampanoag tribe during King Philip's War.
Whatever led them there, Dyer said, their presence – and their message – made the library patrons uncomfortable.
Reading one of their pamphlets, "we were all horrified,'' Dyer told Political Scene. "But they have the right to say what they want to say. We just don't have to listen if we don't want to."
Found the whole article for free.
https://www.aol.com/ris-cozy-local-li...
THE GOOD!I knew we couldn't be far behind our neighbors with an anti-book ban bill. I am a huge fan of my state representative from my own neighborhood. She's a tireless champion of women's causes, poor people and progressive values. She's a history teacher at an area private school.
“What does the bill do? It protects the freedom of public libraries to acquire and deaccession materials according to their professional standards of carrying out their role,” continued Representative Stewart. “It also asserts that libraries shall provide an adequate collection of books and other materials sufficient in size and varied in subject matter to satisfy the needs of the people in their communities.”
“This bill is about protecting a public library's ability to carry out its mission and function. In an ideal set of circumstances a bill like this shouldn't be needed, [but] you're going to hear testimony tonight from several people about why it is needed as a protective measure and as an important statement [in support] of the democratic values of Rhode Island.”
Representative Stewart’s bill - H7386 - The Freedom to Read Act, “asserts that it is the responsibility of the state government to support the right of Rhode Islanders to read freely,” wrote Stewart in a statement.
State Representative Brian Newberry (Republican, District 48, North Smithfield) opposed the bill as written, though he claimed to support libraries and free speech.
Contrary to Representative Newberry’s assertion, in 2022, according to the PBS NewsHour, there were four efforts to ban books in Rhode Island. Last year there was a bill introduced in the Rhode Island House of Representatives to restrict access to “obscene” books.
Robert Chiardo Jr. Fanatic who opposes "obscene" books in Westerly even though his sister is chair of the school board is still at it.
Amy Rodriguez M4L claiming they don't ban books. riiiggghhht....
Ironically, the pastor supports the bill!
I guarantee you Rep. Patricia Morgan (Republican) also opposes the bill. She introduced a parental rights bill that went nowhere.
Mira Meladosian Doesn't have or want kids, doesn't support the bill claiming "The bill addresses school libraries, not just public libraries. And it says in the bill that you are prohibited from bipartisan or doctrinal objections. The bill states that you can't object to anything.
Would a parent or anyone who's like, “I don't want my elementary school child exposed to a book that teaches them (view spoiler) [be prevented from complaining] because that’s a doctrinal or partisan objection [per] this bill? Everyone should be able to have their choices, but this is a bill designed to create secrecy and make it difficult for people to have input if not eliminate the possibility to do so.
I hope that everyone will reevaluate it. And with all due respect to the sponsor and the people who co-sponsored it, I think you should be ashamed of yourselves."
https://legiscan.com/RI/text/H7386/id...
https://steveahlquist.substack.com/p/...
Anti-book ban bill updateRhode Island: shelved for further consideration by the House. *sigh*
And down in Augusta-Prattville Alabama lots of fall out from the firing of the director and quitting off the staff.
https://www.wsfa.com/2024/03/16/exclu...
In a meeting that lasted less than two minutes, the Autauga-Prattville Public Library Board named the new interim library director, Tammy Bear.
It comes just days after the board controversially decided to fire the previous director, Andrew Foster. Foster claimed he was told that it was due to him sharing an e-mail exchange with a media outlet through an open records request. His supporters say that the termination was motivated by his pushback against moving books that some parents believed were s----ally explicit out of the children’s section.
“I think if you read the emails that are now widely available publicly, it becomes apparent why this occurred,” said Sam Olson, who showed up to protest with the group Read Freely Alabama.
“My message to the board is that I would like them to resign,” said Amber Frey, member of Read Freely Alabama’s senior leadership team. “I believe that there are much more qualified candidates out there, and they have done things to this library that are irreparable.”
While activists say that this decision will make the library less inclusive, library board chair Ray Boles says they are misinformed.
“This library is for the community,” Boles stated.
Boles says the library implemented a new policy several months ago that bans books pertaining to s-x or sexuality from the children and young adults sections. He made sure to clarify that these books will not be entirely banned from the library, just moved.
“If it’s a s-x or sexuality book, we are going to put them in the adult fiction if that’s where they belong. We will put them in the adult non-fiction if that’s where they belong,” Boles explained.
Boles felt like the former library director mischaracterized the situation.
“Three times that man asked me, ‘just tell me it’s about the LGB community,’ and all three times he recorded me, but he didn’t release those recordings. Every time he recorded me I said it is absolutely not about our LGB community,” Boles said.
Protestors have a different view of Foster’s tenure.
“He has been an absolute gift to this community, he is an exemplary library director,” Olson said.
Boles confirmed that the books in question are not currently on shelves because they are inside the former director’s office and they do not have the key. He went on to say that they will have that key on Monday and the books will be placed in their newly designated sections.
Autauga-Prattville library asks fired employees to return to workWould you stay to fight or leave to protest censorship? I'm not sure what I would do. Probably quit before I got fired.
https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/...
Boles said the library system will operate as normal and that the four fired employees had been asked to return to the job. He said one of the employees had returned to work at the library, another is considering returning to work and two have decided not to return to work.
Indiana (I think) a community into literacy. https://wsbt.com/news/local/new-prair...
New Prairie school board rejects removal of challenged books
They're speaking out on a Book Challenge Policy that would remove several books from the middle school library.
The removal efforts were spearheaded by the LaPorte chapter of Moms for Liberty.
The board voted to keep the books in the school library, with dozens attended the meeting to share their thoughts both in favor, and against banning the books.
This is the second round of books that were at risk for removal. In January, the board voted to retain five books brought to their attention for being inappropriate or offensive. That vote resulted in one of the books being moved to the high school library.
This time eight books are being considered for removal.
[Same old, same old yada yada yada]
The eight books being challenged are The Poet X, Friction, Me & Earl and the Dying Girl, Smoke, Glass, Impulse, Burned, and Crank.
These books targeted for inappropriate language, drug usage, or being sexually explicit.
Some opposing the removal of the books are current students. One being a 5th grade student who loves to read.
Her mom says that the challenged content in the book has offered them a chance to have conversations about it.
Censors names posted publicly
Heather Oake
Bad news in Utah.Gov. Cox inks bill containing trigger to pull books from all Utah school libraries in certain cases
https://www.ksl.com/article/50954233/...
Gov. Spencer Cox signed a measure into law Monday that calls for removal of challenged books from all public school libraries across Utah if three school districts opt to pull them.
HB29, building on a 2022 measure targeting books containing "sensitive" passages, also contains a provision allowing school district administrators to pull books in certain circumstances without having to put them before a review committee.
The new measure, aimed at books with s--ually explicit content, passed with heavy support from GOP lawmakers, who worried pornographic literature was making its way to the hands of school kids. Democrats, though, expressed concern about the trigger allowing for books to be pulled from libraries statewide.
The measure also sparked opposition from an array of organizations, including the Utah Library Association and PEN Utah, that worried the measure posed a threat "to the vibrant tapestry of ideas that should adorn our educational landscape."
HB29 sponsor Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan, had touted the measure as a means of clarifying apparent confusion expressed by some school officials about 2022's HB374. It was one of 72 measures Cox signed into law Monday, the governor's office said.
HB374 led to a flurry of book challenges in Utah schools in 2022 and 2023, including requests that three religious books be pulled — the Bible, the Book of Mormon and the Quran. The religious tomes were challenged in the Davis School District, seemingly by critics lashing back at HB374, but Davis school officials ultimately allowed all three to remain on school shelves.
Ivory didn't immediately return a call Monday seeking comment. He had argued, though, that the provision allowing for the removal of books from all Utah schools in certain circumstances creates "uniformity" in libraries rather than a "patchwork," with books pulled in some places and allowed in others.
They are never ever going to be happy! Florida of course.A conservative advocacy group is suing the school district, alleging that its handling of book challenges violates state law.
A conservative group is suing the Polk County School Board over its handling of school book challenges, Hernando’s school board votes to remove four more books,
A conservative advocacy group is suing the school district, alleging that its handling of book challenges violates state law. Citizens Defending Freedom also said if the district doesn’t make significant changes in its review procedures, the group will ask Gov. Ron DeSantis to remove members of the school board. “This school board has chosen to allow books that are not borderline pornographic, they are full-blown pornography,” former state legislator Anthony Sabatini said at a press conference Monday. A district spokesman issued a statement saying, “Polk County Public Schools follows state law regarding school library book challenges.” Lakeland Ledger.
https://nextstepsblog.org/2024/03/pol...
Conservative group sues Polk School Board over book challenge policy: “We're also going to be drafting a letter to the governor for the removal of these School Board members, because if you don't follow Florida statute, you're purposely violating the law.”
Fwww.theledger.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Flo...
paywalled story but Google snippet reveals
Lawyer: Might seek removal of board members
Minutes earlier, a lawyer representing the group had filed a lawsuit against the Polk County School Board, alleging that it has broken state law in the way it handles citizen objections to books shelved in school libraries.
Hernado Florida
Hernando: School board members voted last week to remove four more books from schools despite the recommendation of a book evaluation committee that three of them remain available to students. The Haters by Jesse Andrews, was removed on a 5-0 vote. The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu, Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin and Dime by E.R. Frank were removed on 3-2 board votes. Suncoast News.
https://nextstepsblog.org/2024/03/pol...
Suburban Illinois District Cancels Caudill Awardshttps://literaryactivism.substack.com...
Calling the awards "left leaning," the school board in Wadsworth, Illinois, canceled the long-running award program in the district.
-cancelled children's book awards
-books voted on my students in middle grades reader category
-seen as "too left" leaning
-adults haven't read the books!
brainless censors who don't read or understand concepts like "windows, mirrors and sliding glass doors"
board member John Ruggles
The board member complaining noted that he hadn't read any of the books except one his son brought home, and he felt deeply offended by. He felt it inappropriate to have the book on a list to be celebrated.
The book in question was Stamped: (For Kids) Racism, Antiracism, and You. It appeared on the 2024 Caudill list, and it was a title selected for the award by 5-8th grade students in Illinois.
John Lorentzen, Peter Pettorini, Liza Wooster, and John Ruggles all delivered the votes that ended the program at the school.
Among the reasons cited for discontinuing the program by these board members from Ruggles included that there was no proof the list wasn't political and that PragerU offered a good enough list of books. Wooster noted that kids can find books on their own elsewhere and Pettorini stated that–despite evidence in the room contrary to it–the vast majority of people wanted books on the list to be banned anyway.
Members of the community have put together a petition to draw attention to the ending of this program that encourages reading and participation in the literary arts.
Why was an Alabama library director fired? Read Between the Lineshttps://www.al.com/news/2024/03/whitm...
https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/20...Dozens of books have a new location at the Trussville Library after public concerns
https://www.wbrc.com/2024/03/20/dozen...
“What has been happening in Alabama is we’ve had a kind of vocal minority of extremists who have been challenging books, who have been calling books that are about crayons sexually explicit,” Matthew Layne of the Alabama Library Association recently told AL.com. “It’s been really remarkable and fascinating, but also kind of heartbreaking at the level of mis- and disinformation that’s been spread out there.”
Trussville Public Library Director Jason Baker said a Trussville resident, Sheila Wright, approached library staff on Dec. 5, 2023 about some concerns that, he said, were largely related to content around sexual orientation and gender identity. As a one-time exception, staff agreed to review the full list of 41 items that she had shared.
Trussville Public Library’s current book challenge policy requires complainants to first submit a statement of concern for each item they wish to remove. Once staff receives a submission, they will review the materials, discuss them and make a recommendation on how to move forward.
Wright then read a letter at a February board meeting demanding the removal of the materials – as well as others that were not originally included, Baker said. Officials said about 10 people spoke in support of Wright at that meeting.
The board decided to keep five titles in their current locations, including three parenting books about gender, sex and pronoun usage and two teen and adult-rated movies, “The Duff” and “Call Me By Your Name.”
Of the 25 titles that were moved, seven were transferred to the adult section because the board felt they contained adult content.
Another 18 young adult items with mature content will be labeled as “mature teen” or “mature young adult” content and moved to its own area in the adult section. Those titles include “The Hate U Give,” by Angie Thomas, and “Eleanor and Park,” by Rainbow Rowell.
Wright said Monday that she is opposed to moving the material where it is still accessible...
She noted a board book for toddlers about gender identity, a book called “Sex is a Funny Word” ... and fantasy books by Sarah Maas, a popular teen author.
...
She was met, however, with opposition from several parents, who said they should be trusted to make their own decisions about their childrens’ reading habits.
Some compared recent book challenges to authoritarian rule. Others said they were an affront to values like freedom and liberty.
“I’m proud to be an American and proud to be a patriot,” said Jennifer Corpus, a self-described homeschool mom and Air Force wife. “What I’m not proud of is when that same freedom that my husband has sworn to protect is infringed upon here in the Trussville library, where my five- and two-year-old come to learn about people who are different than them. It is not our right to control what others have access to.”
David Teel, a Methodist pastor, said his local library introduced him to viewpoints and perspectives that he wouldn’t have otherwise encountered in his rural hometown.
Some noted policies already in place to help families monitor children’s reading. Trussville Public Library cards for children under the age of 15 are connected to a parent’s card, which allows adults to review the content children are checking out.
“The library has come under attack for these books,” said Esther Glenn, who credited the library for helping to homeschool her four children. “But I believe that these library policies can and should be allowed to handle every challenge that’s brought before it because these are the professionals and we need to let them do their job.”
Pastor Bill Wilks, from North Park Baptist Church, mentioned that he was part of a group of pastors who had raised concerns about certain books that were available to children. He clarified that their intention was not to ban books, but to ask the library to make common-sense decisions about books that may not be appropriate for children or the public library.
Wilks further explained, “We’re talking about books that sometimes visually show graphic images and verbally describe things that I think any reasonable parent would not want their child to be exposed to.”
The library received 41 books on their challenge list and decided to take action. 18 of these books will be moved to a new older teen section, seven will be relocated to the adult area, and eleven were removed from the library because they hadn’t been checked out in years. The remaining five will remain in their current location.
Jessie Odell, a resident of Trussville, expressed his satisfaction with the changes and said, “These parents have a right to be parents and parent their child in whatever fashion suits their family’s values. We’re all families, but every family is unique in its way.”
He also added that it’s up to parents to know what their child is reading, and although they have a great library in the city of Trussville, the responsibility of monitoring the content that their children read lies with the parents.
Both Wilks and Odell clarified that there were never any petitions or plans to ban these books from the library. Decision-making about books is made at each library according to the leaders who oversee them.
And Texas...Author of book pulled from Lake Travis ISD elementary schools speaks out, as district considers removing two more books
https://www.kxan.com/news/education/a...
The Lake Travis ISD board of trustees will take up complaints filed against two books in the district’s libraries during a Wednesday night meeting, according to a LTISD spokesperson.
The two books are novels “The Hater” and “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl,” both written by author Jesse Andrews. According to the spokesperson, the books have been in LTISD since 2016 and 2017, respectively.
The district declined to release information about why the complaints had been filed, but said that the board’s consideration came after a multi-stage review process. The books remained in the school libraries during that process, according to the district.
KXAN reached out to Andrews for comment on the potential bans.
It also moved the children’s book “Bodies are Cool” from elementary schools to a staff-only collection, after a 5-2 vote by the board at a November 2023 meeting. According to LTISD, the book was acquired in December 2023.
District students, and parents of students, spoke on the issue of banning books during that meeting, as reported by KXAN.
“Books do not hurt impressionable minds,” said Lake Travis High School student Carter Davis at the board meeting.
Previously, the district removed the novel “I Never” by Laura Hopper from Lake Travis High School, and moved the novel “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson from its middle schools to the high school.
Tyler Feder, the author of “Bodies are Cool,” said that the bans were likely because of transgender representation in the book.
“I guess some people think that seeing a trans person being visibly trans is scandalous in some way,” Feder said. “There are queer and trans people in the world, and kids are gonna see them. I think normalizing those relationships and those bodies for young children, all it does is prevent bullying and promote respect.”
Elsewhere in TexasMidland ISD issues statement on books that are concerning to parents
The concern was brought to the attention of Midland ISD at the school board meeting that took place on March 19.
https://www.newswest9.com/article/new...
They intend to comply with the law but which law I don't know...
"he district adheres to the law and EF (LOCAL) for the process by which a school library acquires, maintains, and withdraws materials and follows this policy when books are challenged. Should community members discover a book they find to be objectionable, they are encouraged to bring their concerns to the attention of administrators in accordance with board policy." - Midland Independent School District Communications"
One of the books that was talked about at the board meeting was titled "Push", which was released back in 1996.
The hysteria continues in South Carolina. Repeat after me... there is no P-word in libraries, therefore you will not find what you're looking for and why are you even looking at you know what anyway?https://www.postandcourier.com/politi...
Anderson Moms for Liberty say school district hid books from parents
The Anderson County chapter of parental rights group Moms for Liberty claimed school librarians stocked inappropriate books for students and went to lengths to conceal those titles from parents. This latest controversy has put librarians in the rural district front and center in the battle over banning materials.
Now state Rep. Thomas Beach, a staunch conservative, is calling for Anderson District One to fire the librarians, accusing them of "grooming" in an open letter shared to his Facebook page.
Beach also called for state Education Superintendent Ellen Weaver to launch a statewide investigation "to see if these methods of hiding graphic and p----graphic materials from parents is happening throughout South Carolina."
Parents and the South Carolina American Civil Liberties Union decried the rhetoric as a smear campaign and as attempted censorship — a debate that is unfolding in school districts across the state and nationally as people clash over what materials should be accessible in schools.
Harassment of teachers and librarians often follows attempts to ban books, SC ACLU Communications Director Paul Bowers said.
"The net effect is it's a campaign of intimidation," Bowers said.
Moms for Liberty's communications are handled by Calvary Strategies led by Melissa Stone, former chief of staff for Florida Sen. Rick Scott. Many of the group's events are bankrolled by major members of the Council for National Policy, a network of right-wing billionaires and Christian fundamentalist leaders that underwrite modern conservative politics.
The Anderson County chapter of Moms for Liberty was founded in late 2022 and has over 100 members, according to Calvary Strategies.
In February, the chapter began circulating documents to local media outlets that they obtained in a Freedom of Information Act request filed by state Rep. April Cramer, a member of the ultra-conservative South Carolina Freedom Caucus in the state Legislature. The emails, they said, showed librarians in Anderson One School District — an area that includes rural Williamston, Pelzer, Piedmont and Powdersville — were conspiring to hide books from parents in the school catalog so they were not flagged as "controversial."
The FOIA, which Moms for Liberty said included 10 boxes of printed records, had emails between local school librarians discussing how to restrict online card catalog searches to district students and staff only. The documents also detailed how Anderson One District staff removed online card catalog guest access so parents could not "scour it for critical race theory books," according to one email sent by Powdersville High School librarian Jen Chesney.
The FOIA was filed after several school board meetings at which parents challenged nine books for being "s----ally explicit," said chapter president Carly Carter.
The documents prompted Beach to share an open letter on his Facebook page calling for the teachers' termination and a subsequent investigation.
Anderson One parents and students always have had access to the card catalogs through their child’s login, district spokesperson Jennifer Mazza said.
"Additionally, the district has made sure that every book available to students is visible to the general public through the district website," Mazza said in an email to The Post and Courier. "Our goal is complete transparency and efficient communication with our community."
Like most South Carolina districts, Anderson One has a policy for students and community members to challenge the appropriateness of school materials. Parents also can use an “opt out” form to limit their students' access to particular books.
Jessicka Spearman, whose four children attend school in Anderson One, said it was "concerning for intellectual freedom" to hear about these allegations against librarians.
"I'm being told what my child can and cannot read, and I don't think that's fair," Spearman said.
Josh Malkin, a senior advocacy strategist for SC ACLU who tracks public library debates, said it's troubling that Freedom Caucus representatives are targeting individual librarians.
"When you have legislators and elected officials using their power and their platforms to attack public school educators, I would really kind of hope there would be some response in saying, 'This isn't how we treat our educators,'" Malkin said.
On March 16, Beach shared a response from Weaver to his Facebook page.
While the superintendent noted she shared Beach's concerns, the department's investigative powers are limited to potential teacher certification violations, she said.
Weaver also pointed to regulation pending in the Statehouse that will require school materials to be "age and developmentally appropriate" and for districts to maintain public access to library catalogs.
"While I believe our efforts with librarians and the SBE's regulation will have a positive impact, more must be done," Weaver wrote.
The rest of the week in censorship news is brought to you by Pennsylvania where ironically, William Penn founded the colony for Quakers and other religious dissidents to practice their religion freely. Religious liberty law firm that helped Central Bucks is working with York County schools. Here's what to know.
https://www.inquirer.com/education/in...
The Independence Law Center recently signed agreements with three school districts in York County, and is being considered by additional districts.
The legal group that helped Central Bucks implement restrictions on library books and transgender athletes is no longer active in the district, which flipped late last year from Republican to Democratic control.
But it continues to shape school policy elsewhere in Pennsylvania.
The Independence Law Center recently signed agreements with three school districts in York County, and is being considered by additional districts, according to the York Dispatch. The law center’s potential involvement in the West Shore School District in suburban Harrisburg spurred protest Monday, with residents voicing concern the group would introduce discriminatory policies.
The law center says it aims to “preserve religious liberty, promote marriage and the family, protect human life, and improve education and policy for our clients.” It is the legal arm of the Pennsylvania Family Institute, a nonprofit that lobbies for “family values” in Harrisburg.
PA Family is listed as a state-level group on the website of the Family Research Council — a national Christian conservative advocacy organization that aims to promote “family issues that affect the nation from a biblical worldview.” The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated the Family Research Council a hate group, accusing it of a “defamatory campaign to link LGBTQ people with p---philia” and other anti-LGTBQ myths based on “discredited research and junk science.”
The Independence Law Center has filed amicus briefs in support of plaintiffs represented by the Alliance for Defending Freedom, a national conservative Christian legal advocacy group.
Central Bucks said last year that it had enlisted the center to help write regulations governing its policy prohibiting “sexualized content” in library books, which the board passed in July 2022. The policy led to bans of two books — Gender Queer and This Book is Gay — and challenges against 60 others. The center did the work pro bono, according to the district.
The district also worked with the group on crafting a policy that banned teachers from advocating to students on “partisan, political or social policy issues,”
In Washington (state), new history teaching standards are passed into lawWhat to know about WA’s law requiring LGBTQ+ history in public schools
https://www.seattletimes.com/educatio...
Public schools in Washington will be required to teach students about the contributions and history of LGBTQ+ people under a new law signed by Gov. Jay Inslee on Monday.
Senate Bill 5462 mandates that school districts in Washington adopt curricula that include “diverse, equitable, inclusive, age-appropriate instructional materials” that reflect the history and perspectives of historically underrepresented groups.
State learning standards already direct schools to teach students about the historical perspectives of some marginalized groups, such as tribal communities and enslaved people, but did not explicitly require lessons covering LGBTQ+ histories.
“The contributions of gay Washingtonians deserve recognition, and just as importantly, students deserve to see themselves in their schoolwork,” Sen. Marko Liias, a Democrat from Edmonds who sponsored the bill, said in a statement. “That leads to better attendance, better academic achievement and better overall quality of life, ensuring success for all our students.”
The bill passed in both chambers without any Republican support. Opponents had argued the bill infringes on the rights of parents and powers of local school districts to decide what their kids learn in the classroom.
Under the law, the Washington State School Directors’ Association, with assistance from the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, will create a model policy and procedure on how to design courses and select instructional materials by June 2025. Then, by October of that year, schools will have to update their policies to incorporate the new curricula.
Bad news in Huntington Beach, Calif. This is about banning books more than finances. Huntington Beach Moves Ahead on Privatizing Library Management
https://voiceofoc.org/2024/03/hunting...
Huntington Beach City Council members are looking at turning library management over to a private company and establishing a review process on what books are allowed to hit the shelves.
During Tuesday’s public meeting, council members voted 4-3 to authorize a bidding process to privatize library management and create a book review group.
A vast majority of residents who spoke during public comment were against both proposals, with the council nearly throwing multiple people out of the room for chanting “Shame!” when the council majority approved the move.
“I want the people removed now,” said Councilman Tony Strickland right before a 5-minute recess was called after the audience outburst.
“We’ve created a ‘We Love Our Libraries’ month only to turn around and look at selling that very library system out,” said Councilwoman Natalie Moser. “We already have a bookstore in town, we should not be looking at turning our library into another one.”
The discussion on privatizing library management comes after former Mayor Mike Posey reached out on behalf of his employer, Library Systems and Services, to ask if the city was interested in having them take over running the library.
While none of Orange County’s libraries are privately operated, Library Systems and Services runs libraries in places like Riverside County and the cities of Upland, Escondido and Palmdale.
The vast majority of commenters and those who sent in letters criticized the privatization move.
Debra Jubinsky, board president of the Huntington Beach Management Employees Association, told council members that the librarians were “the heart and soul of our award winning library.”
“Next to the beach, our library is probably our best known and most well-loved facility,” Jubinsky said. “Please don’t let your legacy be the dismantling of this beloved resource and the staff that makes it so awesome.”
Multiple council members claimed switching to a private company would cut off any public pensions employees could receive and would lead to lower pay for workers, despite no staff report on the item.
A handful of people came out in support of the move during public comment, saying it would help remove any s--ual content from the children’s section.
City council candidate Chad Williams was one of the most outspoken supporters, highlighting a picture book titled “The Big Bath House” that is carried by the local library.
“This is normalizing adults bathing nude with children, this is a p---phile’s dream,” Williams said. “You’re wondering why we need to resort to this so-called privatization. It’s because the city staff can’t stop showing adult privates to our children.”
The discussion also came as city leaders are trying to decide what books should or shouldn’t be in the children’s section, with the council adopting new rules for a 21-person panel that’s slated to decide what children’s books are allowed to enter or remain in the library’s general circulation.
While the creation of the panel was approved last October, the rules for how it’ll function weren’t approved until Tuesday night, allowing the committee members to pull books for review and to review books before they entered the library.
“I feel like the Libertarian on this council trying to limit government interference into our daily lives,” said Councilman Dan Kalmick, a Democrat who voted against the new proposal adding the panel would “break our children’s library.”
Burns said he felt it was “obvious” what books would be considered, and that there wouldn’t be more than a handful of books getting reviewed each year.
Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark also criticized Kalmick’s comments, saying parental involvement through the book review panel will reduce governmental influence on the library.
“It seems a little elitist that you don’t think we’re as worthy as you are cause we don’t have a degree,” Van Der Mark said. “(The government) are the only ones that have any control right now, so I will bring the parents in.”
Kalmick said he wasn’t trying to keep parents out – just politicians.
“When I mean keeping the government out of the library, it means keeping politicians, politics out of the library,” Kalmick said. “I’m not trying to be elitist – I’m trying to be real when we have a professional system.”
“It’s opinion vs expertise.”
From Literary ActivismNo, book bans don't make the kids want to read the books. No, book bans don't just impact schools. Those and other common myths and ideas about book bans.
https://literaryactivism.substack.com...
Book bans are driving kids away from libraries. Moreover, the severe restrictions placed on libraries and what they can acquire means that wish lists from students are not being fulfilled like they once were, either.
Recall that for many kids, the school library is the only place of book access available to them. No matter how many times book banners say they're "only removing books from schools," they're doing the same things at public libraries. With book prices for YA titles reaching upwards of $25 a pop for hardcover and $16 for paperback, teens simply cannot afford to buy the books if they even have access to a local bookstore. No, most of them do not have credit cards to "just get them from Amazon," either.
What banned authors do experience, though, is having their books banned. The emotional toll of it is real; as is the financial toll—in too many cases, book bans mean those authors lose out on connecting with audiences and money that helps support their work as writers.
By attributing book bans solely to Moms for Liberty, the dozens of other groups operating both on the national, regional, and local levels are overlooked and do not get the criticism they deserve.
Know who is behind the banning in each community. If it's Moms For Liberty, attribute it to them. If it's No Left Turn in Education, attribute it to them. If it's "Clean Up [fill in the blank]," name them. Clarity matters.
. Even—and especially—in progressive states. Massachusetts, California, Illinois, Oregon, Minnesota, and Washington, to name six "blue" states, are all still experiencing book bans in schools and public libraries. By pretending it's only some states, those stories not only get overlooked, but the blinders go up. This creates the prime environment and fuel for mass quiet/soft/silent censorship.
In progressive areas, simply not buying the book or quietly removing it via "weeding," that isn't true weeding by policy, will create far less of a stir than outright banning.
It's also important here to emphasize that stigmatizing entire states based on the actions of a few helps no one. No matter how many poor policies may come to fruition in states like Texas, uttering "Well, it's Texas" helps no one. Texas politics are as they are not because of how the majority of people in the state vote. They're that way thanks to systematic disenfranchisement of voters and districting that favors right-wing politicians.
The people most hurt by these kinds of statements or sentiments are the very people whose lives are being torn apart by these politicians and the people on the local level who are outright banning books about their lives.
Book bans are everywhere. But book banners have effectively written their lines such that they make it sound as if what they're doing is simply aligning what's available in schools with what they believe to be age and curriculum-appropriate. Thus why there are entire websites that proclaim, "It's Not a Book Ban."Except, not only is it a book ban, it's also just step one. While they tell you it's not a book ban, they're busy banning books in public libraries and fighting to get books removed from bookstores, too.
Even if it were "only" school classrooms and libraries, that's still censorship. Our kids and educators deserve better.
What about the rainbow book bus/the bookstore sending free books to kids/the free book fairs/the free LGBTQ+ libraries, etc.?
Those are cool.
They are not a solution to book bans.
They are very good publicity for some of these organizations.
They are not a solution to book bans.
These do not get books onto shelves. They get books into the hands of kids who know how to find them.
They are not a solution to book bans.
The solution to book bans is getting the legislation righted. It is showing up to the polls and voting for candidates who care about these issues.
It feels good to get books into the hands of kids; it really does. At heart, that's what these initiatives are, and that should be commended.
But it is not the solution. It cannot be the solution.
We do not individual solution our way out of gross systemic issues.
We do not individual solution our way out of systematic bigotry and racism.
It's not banning if you can get the book on Amazon/B&N.com/Other Retailer
A book ban is simple. It's the removal of a book from a place where it once belonged, making it inaccessible. A book that used to be on a classroom or library shelf that had not been weeded via collection policies (i.e., routine maintenance done by trained, educated, and qualified library professionals governed by process and data) no longer being on the shelf is banning. It doesn't matter if it's "temporarily" removed while it is being assessed. It doesn't matter if the book "hasn't been borrowed in a long time anyway." If someone can no longer get the book where once they could, the book has been banned. Period.
Censorship news I missed this week:Upper Adams School District (PA) is considering a policy update this week that would remove all books with sex or profanity from district libraries and classrooms. It's Policy 109-1, and it's accessible under the board meeting consent agenda.
https://app.agendamanager.com/uasd/me...
This is appalling, even in Florida. Librarians go to graduate school for two years to learn how to do their jobs plus there's a practicum or internship or some kind of work experience requirement to graduate!__________
Moms for Liberty members made up three of six members of a Department of Education workgroup that met Thursday in Tallahassee to redevelop an online training program for school librarians and media specialists following a 2023 state law focused on book challenges."
https://www.tallahassee.com/story/new...
“It’s evident that the Florida Department of Education is not ready to turn a corner and start tamping down on the gross censorship we’re seeing across the state,” said Stephana Ferrell, co-founder and director of research and insight for the Florida Freedom to Read Project, a book access advocacy organization.
Ferrell had applied to be a part of the workgroup. So did more than 20 others, according to resumes her group received through a public records request. Most, like Ferrell herself, weren’t picked.
Instead, the department selected Priscilla West, chair of Moms For Liberty-Leon County, Moms for Liberty Indian River County Chapter Chair Jennifer Pippin and Jamie Merchant, Florida legislative chair for the national parents' group.
West and Pippin, in an interview after the meeting in the state Department of Education building, emphasized their role as parents, not just Moms for Liberty representatives.
“Organizations aside, at the end of the day, we're parents, we're moms and we're concerned with what we're finding in the schools,” Pippin said.
And they were also concerned with the meeting itself, which lasted approximately only an hour. Advocates on both sides of the book debate said it didn't do enough to clarify the expectations for schools.
In the lead-up to Thursday’s meeting, the Facebook page for West’s chapter made a multitude of posts soliciting parents to challenge various titles with s--ual and LGBTQ material.
.... objecting to “Felix Ever After,” which won a Stonewall Book Award.
When a commenter responded that transgender students deserve to see themselves represented in books, the account ridiculed gender transitions.
Pippin, meanwhile, made many headlines for her school book challenges. One of them was about a children’s book, called “Unicorns Are The Worst,” that showed the bare behind of a goblin. As a result of her challenge, clothes were drawn over the goblin.
She also got “Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation” pulled from a Indian River County high school.
Merchant, the Moms for Liberty Florida legislative chair, was previously reported as a “Mamas for DeSantis” participant... The conservative education reform-focused Florida Citizens Alliance lists her on its website as a member of its advisory council.
The other three members were made up of media specialists from Republican-dominated Marion, Manatee and Wakulla counties.
Both Pippin and Merchant had been in the original workgroup, which was formed after DeSantis signed the Republican-backed Curriculum Transparency Act in 2022, which he touted as a way to increase parental involvement in education and prevent "indoctrination."
The law requires districts to catalog every book they offer and put a formal review process in place for complaints.
The original online training program, which came out at the beginning of 2023, contained a slide that warned educators to “err on the side of caution” with their book choices. Another slide pointed out that school officials could be charged with a third-degree felony if materials are found harmful to minors under an older state law.
The workgroup didn’t alter that original presentation wording, much to the disappointment of a Florida Education Association representative who spoke during the public comment period of the meeting.
“We should err on the side of freedom. We should err on the side of education, not on the side of caution,” said Luke Flynt, communication specialist for the teachers union.
Instead, the group discussed the incorporation of yet another book challenge law into the training. The measure makes it easier to get a challenged book removed for “s----al conduct.”
Much of the meeting, which was not broadcast virtually, was dominated by the complexities of the new law.
Members agreed on adding a new slide about the new objection criteria, which includes requiring that a book be removed within five days of a challenge because it includes p----graphy or "s---al conduct" and until the complaint is resolved. They also OK'd adding audio to a slide about book selection criteria explaining that people can file s---al conduct objections.
Despite having an agenda predicting the meeting would last much of the day, it started and ended in about an hour.
Pippin and West said they would have liked more time. The meeting, they said, could have been a virtual meeting or email.
"My anticipation was to do the work and discuss other things," said Pippin, who added that she had woken up at 3 a.m. to make it to the meeting, which was attended by and steered by Department of Education employees. "I probably had five or 10 more questions I could have asked, but I saw they kept redirecting to (the new state law)."
Ferrell also said the group should have done more, such as including information about the settlement from earlier in the week between the state and LGBTQ groups over the critic-called "Don't Say Gay" law, which restricts classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation. Some school districts had pulled books citing the law.
But the settlement, in part, comes with a statement from the state that the law does not affect library books (something that had already been said by Attorney General Ashley Moody in legal filings).
Ferrell said she doesn't believe the training properly explains the new law and only adds to the confusion: "They will encourage more removals," she warned.
South Western School District in York County (PA) is considering cutting a $10,000 donation to the Guthrie Memorial Library in Hanover—the district is debating the lack of donation because the PUBLIC LIBRARY carries a book that the SCHOOL BOARD doesn't like. The district claims it's because of budgetary reasons, but interestingly, this same district was able to hire a law firm that specializes in bigotry.____
West Shore School District parents, community members rally against anti-LGBTQ law firm
https://keystonenewsroom.com/story/we...
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)
More...
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)
More...
https://12ft.io/proxy
A panel of educators selected “Wishtree” for Floyd County schools’ March “One Division, One Book” program, in which students are issued a copy of the same volume and are encouraged to read it at home with their families following a prescribed schedule.
The book, said Floyd County parent Justin Buehler, promotes acceptance and unity. But in Floyd County, it’s elicited an opposite reaction.
Scheduled reading of the 51-chapter novel commenced March 4, and by Monday students were expected to have finished chapter 17. Instead, on Monday the school system sent an unsigned email to Floyd County parents canceling school activities related to the book — and suspending the reading program. (Nowhere does the email cite the book’s title.)
The complaints started with a March 8 social media post by Jodi Farmer, a mom who lives in Carroll County and sends her boys to a private Christian school in Dugspur, also in Carroll County.
An identical version of Farmer’s post also appears on a Facebook page for Hebrews 11 Ministries, which has 199 followers and describes its mission thusly: “Helping children and their families realize Biblical truths through scientific principles.”
“Parents be careful if your child comes home with this book,” both posts read. “Floyd County has just sent this book home. Below is a picture from the Floyd Elementary School Facebook page, an excerpt from the book itself, and reviews that praise the book for its non-binary character.” (Jodi Farmer answered emails sent to that the email address listed for that page, too.)
The attachment with the excerpt (above) features this comment apparently added by the poster: “This is the book this year ALL the floyd county elementary schools read for one division, one book month. It’s called Wishtree. A tree with pronouns, and can be any sex it wants. Indoctrination at its finest.”
As of Wednesday, Jodi Farmer’s post had been shared eight times and had attracted eight comments. Some were just one word — “Sickening!” “Insane!” and “Eeeek.”
“Oh, there is a big discussion within the Floyd group right now with some very upset parents,” commented Teresa Martin.
“There is nothing wrong with the book,” Terry Boothe wrote on the same post. “Just read it completely. Maybe we need some more education about trees, plants and discrimination.”
Floyd County School Board Chair James Ingram responded to neither an email nor voicemail seeking comment. Reached by phone, school board member Gene Bishop replied “No comment”.
Buehler said he attended a meet-and-greet with school board members Tuesday evening at Check Elementary. He said Bishop appeared to be the most anti-“Wishtree” of the four school board members present.
Farmer said she created the post because, “I wanted to make sure parents in the area, who have children in public schools were aware so that they could make an informed decision on whether their child should read this book or not.”
Farmer added: “Yes, it is a scientific fact that trees can have both ‘male and female’ parts, but the way the book words it seems to be using an agenda to show that it is ok to use different pronouns to describe oneself,” Farmer added.
“It is important that children know what is going on in the world today, but it is not the schools job to tell children what they should believe or to normalize this lifestyle. It is the job of the family. I have taught my children to love everyone. I want them to love the drug addict, love the alcoholic, love those that live "alternate lifestyles". Jesus loved the sinner, therefore we should too.
“Just because I love them and teach my children to love them, doesn’t mean I have to agree with what they do and it doesn’t mean that I have to normalize that lifestyle.”
“’Wishtree’ is a book about tolerance, community, and kindness: nothing more, nothing less,” Author Katherine Applegate said in the email. “That trees can be monoecious, meaning a single plant can have both male and female parts, is a scientific fact. “If you believe that God made trees, then it seems to me that’s where you should be directing your complaints."