Children's Books discussion
Banned Books: discussions, lists
>
Discussion of censorship, equity, and other concerns.
Surprisingly good news from PennsylvaniaNazareth school board votes 5-4 to keep controversial book in high school library
https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/news...
Push
Nobody on the Nazareth Area School Board enjoyed reading the book “Push.”
Nobody said it should be widely distributed among the school district’s youths.
But enough board members agreed that they didn’t want to act as parents for the entire student body and yank the book from the high school library just because it didn’t appeal to them personally.
The school board voted 5-4 at the March 26 meeting to follow the recommendation from Superintendent Richard Kaskey and a review committee to keep the book by the author Sapphire in the high school library.
appropriate for high school kids.
“This does not belong on our school library,” resident David McMurtrie said. “I don’t care what the argument is. It’s filth.”
The subject matter is horrifying, but it could be cathartic for children in our community undergoing similar abuse, according to Jessica Dieck. She’s the secretary of the Nazareth / Lehigh Valley chapter of PFLAG.
Those children might have nowhere else to go but a library book to try to make sense of their own trauma. Exposing children to books like this prepares them for life after high school, according to resident Liz Sommers.
“Our world is diverse, much broader than our small community. It is our job to prepare our children for the world in which we live,” she said.
Voting in favor of keeping the book in the library were board President Linda Stubits and board members Chris Miller, Melissa Kalinoski, Jodi Mammana and Gregory Leh.
Voting against keeping it in the library were Wayne Simpson, Elmo Frey, Kathryn Roberts and Melinda Gladstone.
A committee of district educators and staff voted 4-3 to recommend it remain in the library.
Board members said they discussed the matter at length with members of the community and their own families before voting. Board member after board member called it a very tough decision.
“I’ve been thinking about this a lot. No matter how I vote, half the people are going to hate me and be mad,” Miller said.
He doesn’t particularly like the book, but he doesn’t want to dictate for someone else’s child what that child can or cannot check out of the library. He felt the same way about masking policies during COVID-19, he said.
Leh said the district could be sued if it removes the book from the library. It makes more sense to let the book be removed during the process of “weeding” old books from the library shelves. “Push” has been in the library for 17 years and it’s only been checked out three times. One of those three times appears to have been when board member Wayne Simpson read it, Leh said.
“This does not belong in our school. Period,” Simpson told the board as he held up the book during a meeting in October.
Board member Kathryn Roberts said she loves to read and encourages her child to read all sorts of different books. But she found “Push” to be too explicit and not age-appropriate for high school kids. She voted “no” despite fears she’ll be branded as someone who wants to throw books onto a bonfire.
Gladstone found the content to be as advertised: graphic and disturbing. But she found herself more upset by the afterword. She found the author to be a hateful person, she said.
“That is what disturbed me more than the content,” Gladstone said.
Stubits said the young people she talked to about “Push” were indifferent over whether it remained in the library.
“That made me think, ‘Why are we making such a big deal of this?’” she said. Stubits wouldn’t want her children or grandchildren to read it, but said it’s up to each individual parent to decide what’s appropriate for his or her child.
From now on, any book recommended for purchase by a school librarian will be put on the school board agenda for approval .<---- No. That's not the way it works. Librarians go to school for at least two years to train to know how to choose books for students and educate the students on how to use a library.
They're still at it. Book banning news today.No librarians or library training? What the heck is wrong with people? It undermines the librarians doing their JOB and makes their years of study and hard work meaningless if any old person can decide what goes into a public library. Libraries are for everybody!
Alaska
Mat-Su creates new challenged-book committee nominated by borough mayor
https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/mat-s...
A new citizen committee will take over the review of challenged books in Matanuska-Susitna Borough library collections after the suspension of a prior committee amid chaotic public hearings.
The Borough Assembly voted 5-2 on Tuesday night to create a seven-member committee made up of borough residents nominated by Borough Mayor Edna DeVries and approved by the Assembly. No members of the new committee are required to be librarians or have expertise in literature or books.
The new body replaces the longstanding challenged material review committee that included librarians and members of the borough’s library advisory panel selected by the borough’s recreation manager.
The new borough committee and member selection process was proposed by three Assembly members: Dee McKee, whose district includes portions of Wasilla and Palmer; Dmitri Fonov, whose district includes Wasilla; and Robert Bernier, whose district includes Trapper Creek. Other votes in favor also came from Bill Gamble, whose district includes Big Lake, and Robert Yundt, whose district includes Wasilla.
Unlike the previous committee, which conducted book reviews as hearings without public comment and relied on input from librarians, the new committee will be made up of borough residents chosen by the mayor “for their expertise and knowledge of the community,” according to a memo accompanying the proposal.
The committee is designed to give the community control over whether children have access to books some members of the public consider too sexual rather than leave that decision entirely up to librarians who may have had a hand in selecting those books to start with, several Assembly members said Tuesday.
“What I hope it brings is commonsense policies and procedures (and) gets rid of self-policing,” Yundt said.
Voting no were members Stephanie Nowers, whose district includes Palmer, and Tim Hale, whose district includes Butte.
Nowers and Hale both said they do not support the new committee because the member selection process politicizes whether books that some view as problematic should remain on shelves.
“Any committee that is appointed by people at this table is inherently political,” Hale said during the meeting.
The Assembly’s formation of a new committee marks the latest in a series of book policy debates across Mat-Su including Wasilla’s temporary relabeling of the “young adult” section as “adult” and a school district review of dozens of challenged books that’s prompted a lawsuit.
The new borough book review committee will meet at least quarterly to review challenged materials, allow public comment, and make recommendations through a “scoring card” that Borough Manager Mike Brown said is still under development. The committee’s recommendations will be sent to the community development director for a final decision.
Mary Revetta, who regularly testifies about books she considers obscene, on Tuesday said she sees the new citizens’ committee as a win because it gives the community a stronger voice in the reconsideration process.
“I feel like it was a touchdown,” she said. “I am elated that it passed.”
Others worried the new committee will cause violations of personal freedoms because the committee’s reliance on hand-picked community members who are not required to have any library expertise allows a review process that can more easily discriminate against individual titles, they said.
“A library provides free and equal access to informations for everyone,” said Mary Robinson, a Wasilla resident who regularly testifies in support of keeping all current library books on shelves. “It’s your business what book you take out of the library, and why you’re reading it is no one else’s business. It’s as simple as that.”
The borough’s citizen advisory committee is modeled on a similar 11-member Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District committee the school board assembled last year.
That group is tasked with examining 56 challenged books to determine whether volumes qualify as “indecent material” under state law, and whether they should remain on all shelves, be removed entirely, or restricted to secondary schools only.
South CarolinaThis hasn't worked before so stop wasting police time and taxpayer dollars.
https://www.counton2.com/news/dd2-lib...
DD2 library books reported to Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office
Dozens of books allegedly in Dorchester School District Two libraries have been reported to the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office.
Bruce Budnik is the parent of a fourth and fifth grader who both attend Beech Hill Elementary School in DD2. He said he has concerns about a list of books found inside the district libraries.
Nearly 160 books at DD2 have recently been challenged for allegedly containing inappropriate content. Earlier this year, the school board discussed the process for reviewing these books. For Budnik, the solution is simple.
“The librarian can go up there and pull those books out really quickly. Forget about how they got in there. They’re there,” Budnik told News 2.
Budnik said he has been in contact with the governor’s office about this matter. Last month, he also sent over the list of books to the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office.
“One thing led to another, and all of a sudden, I got an email and some questions and they wanted detail information. They wanted to know the book, the page, etc. And I said, ‘it’s not just one page. It’s books, it’s photographs, it’s pages and pages of material,’” Budnik explained.
An incident report provided to News 2 by DCSO shows another person reached out to the sheriff’s office this week with the same complaint. They alleged more than 160 books at DD2 contain p___raphic passages.
Meanwhile, Budnik said DCSO told him his inquiry was recently passed over to a solicitor.
“I’m not putting it to bed until we get these books out of the schools. And then the second step is to make sure that those don’t go back in the school,” Budnik said.
A spokesperson for DD2 said “Dorchester School District Two has not received any inquiry from law enforcement concerning library books.”
2 more books banned in Carroll County, Marylandpaywalled story
https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/04/....
According to a Wednesday email from school officials, “Empire of Storms,” by Sarah J. Maas and “The DUFF,” by Kody Keplinger, were banned in the most recent round of evaluations. “The Handmaid's Tale” by Margaret Atwood; “Looking for Alaska” by John Green; and “The Carnival at Bray” by Jesse Anne Foley were retained.
And in Idaho, Idaho legislature approves bill to regulate library content for minorshttps://www.ktvb.com/article/news/loc...
Governor Brad Little vetoed a similar bill last session. This bill wants to relocate inappropriate books to an "adult only" section of the library.
BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Senate and House passed House Bill 710 (H710) with strong majority party support to restrict material deemed "inappropriate for minors" by existing state law inside Idaho libraries.
If a book is brought into question, the bill would allow the library a 60-day period to review the complaint. If they agree and relocate the book to a different part of the library, the problem is resolved. When a library disagrees, the complainant can file a civil lawsuit for $250.
"When you have an issue like this, where multiple districts multiple libraries are coming for and multiple constituents across the state are coming forward. Then you say we have a state issue, and we now have to step in and solve it for the for the whole state, as opposed to it just being a one-off library issue. It's pretty prominent," bill sponsor Rep. Jaron Crane (R-Nampa) said.
Governor Brad Little (R-Idaho) vetoed a similar bill, also sponsored by Rep. Crane, last legislative session. Reop. Crane met with the governor to review his concerns for a second attempt at the legislation in 2024.
"It's a learning process. The great thing about the veto is it brought people to the table. We didn't have conversations before that we needed to have. That brought them to the table," Rep. Crane said. "I think that [the governor] is gonna support this one. I feel very strong about that. "
The Idaho Libraries Association (ILA) opposed the legislation and its previous forms all session. They testified the $250 civil enforcement is just a floor - legal fees to defend appeals in court will be costly. The ILA also calls the bill and unfunded mandate; they interpret the legislation to mean they must block off and "adult only" section of the library and actively enforce the age restriction.
This week's roundup from Literary Activismhttps://literaryactivism.substack.com...
Several books — and, namely, LGBTQ+ themed or authored titles — were removed from Boiling Springs High School library (PA) while they were being reviewed. This is a book ban, even when the books are "temporarily" removed while under the review process.
https://12ft.io/proxy
Local resident Carol Yanity opposed the move during a school board meeting in late March. She said the books in question had previously been approved by school librarians and the board.
“They were not required reading, but they were available,” Yanity said, adding that the titles were removed from the shelf because some individuals were uncomfortable with having these types of books available to students. The titles Yanity mentioned included “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson and “Last Night at the Telegraph Club” by Malinda Lo.
“The titles referenced were ones that were brought forward as a concern and have been set aside to hold for an internal review,” said Jason Baker, assistant to the superintendent. “We continue to refine our administrative regulations on this topic. Once these administrative regulations are complete, we will conduct the internal review and make a decision about the future of these particular titles utilizing the process outlined in the regulations.”
Yanity cited the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court case of Island Trees School District vs. Pico in which Justice William Brennan said that school boards could not determine the content of school libraries based on their personal political ideology.
“You need to support your school librarians and your administration to make the choices that are best for the students, not based on your political ideology,” Yanity said. Board members did not respond.
In Tennessee, the Senate has passed a bill that would allow anyone to sue school districts when they feel the district isn't following the "Age Appropriate Materials Act" passed in the state in 2022. Kelly Jensen believes "Districts will be sued into oblivion by folks with nothing better to do, defunding the public system and opening the door wide open for the privatization of education on the backs of taxpayers."https://www.wkrn.com/news/tennessee-p...
The Tennessee Senate officially passed SB1858, which would grant legal standing to any student, student’s parent or guardian or school employee to civilly sue their school district if a school “fails to implement the requirements” of the Tennessee Age Appropriate Materials Act of 2022.
The 2022 law is an effective book ban in public and charter schools in Tennessee, according to critics of the law. Proponents of the law say it is a tool to ensure no student in Tennessee gains access to “inappropriate” reading material.
The bill, as it was amended Thursday morning, grants “a student, a student’s parent or guardian, or a school employee” standing to file civil suits against schools where the student is enrolled or the employee works in chancery court if they don’t comply fully with the 2022 law. The bill stipulates, however, that it does not create a right to appeal “a determination made by a local board of education, public charter school governing body, or the state textbook and instructional materials quality commission” on matters related to age appropriateness or suitability.
During debate on the Senate floor Thursday, March 28, Nashville Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D) said the bill was inappropriate and flew in the face of the separation of powers. Yarbro also said this law would be legislative interference in an ongoing court case, referencing a Williamson County lawsuit filed by parents over the district’s enforcement of the Age Appropriate Materials Act.
The House bill was assigned to the Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee in February but wasn’t heard; instead, the measure was “placed behind the budget,” meaning it won’t be debated further until the state passes a budget. Those hearings are expected to be done in April.
The fiscal note attached to both versions of the bill says it may “result in mandatory increase in state and local expenditures” but the exact cost “cannot be reasonably determined” yet.
Red, White, and Kryptonite: Christian Nationalists Target Metropolis IL .https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024...
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024...
Brian L. Anderson is the pastor of Eastland Life Baptist Church. The current mayor of Metropolis, Don Canada, is a member of the church. He was elected in 2021. He has been appointing other members of this church to many boards in town.
[Reportedly] Rosemary Baxter [served] as Director of the Metropolis Public Library for the past 2 plus years, and she has close associations with Eastland Life Church. She started an “after school” program at the library, and steadily added children to it. They recite prayers as part of this program, and she "apparently believed that if the parent signed a waiver giving permission for that, there was no problem." And she has stated in public interviews (more on that later) that 'all the parents signed."
Ms. Baxter was also steadily removing upwards of 15,000 books from the library shelves to ostensibly “make room”. She claims she used a process relating to whether a book had been checked out in a certain number of years, but members of the Library Board have stated that she was not being straightforward with them and giving them the numbers and lists of books being removed or purchased to update the library, despite repeated requests.
Then, IL Governor Pritzker signed the new law prohibiting the banning of books in 2023. Libraries were required to sign onto the Library Bill of Rights [in order to get public funding.] [T]he library already had adopted this Bill of Rights for a number of years, but only needed to amend it to include a paragraph about respecting the confidentiality and privacy of patrons in order to be in compliance.
[I]n January... members of Eastland Life Church along with many members of the local Ministerial Alliance unexpectedly attended the usually quiet and routine meeting of the Metropolis Public Library Board of Trustees to express opposition to a Drag Queen Story Hour (despite one never being proposed by anyone), as well as opposition to amending the Library Bill of Rights. This amendment was simply about respecting privacy and confidentiality of library patrons, and was required under the new IL law prohibiting book banning,
Pastor Brian Anderson began making frequent public claims that signing onto the amended Library Bill of Rights would lead to Drag Queen Story Hour coming to the library, as well as “explicitly s--ual books” being available to young children.
[Cue inflammatory homophobic statements on social media]
Pastor Anderson sees an unknown "enemy" "attacking" the public library and wrote an op-ed for the local paper.
The President of the Library Board of Trustees, Rhonda James, was asked by the local Democratic Executive Committee to come and answer questions about what was going on after the January board meeting. Other concerned community members attended, not just the committee. The next day, Brian Anderson’s op-ed was published in the local paper. They and others then organized a peaceful rally to support keeping the library public and opposing censorship and banning of books.
A new library board member, Carl Johnson, who reportedly attends Rosemary Baxter’s church where her spouse is pastor, had just been appointed to fill a vacancy . There is now what seems to be a split in the orientation of the Board with a minority being aligned with Eastland Life Church, although the majority, including the President of the Board, is still committed to the “public” in public library. The Library Board President, Rhonda James, a local business owner, also did an interview with the Metropolis station, WMOK in which she explained her history with the board and that they had been shown a film at the start of her tenure advising against micromanaging, and she felt she and some others had gone too far the other direction and just had not monitored what was going on closely enough after Ms. Baxter was hired. They now plan to have more committees to oversee various aspects of library functioning.
At that meeting of the Library Board of Trustees, many people spoke up during public comments, and the main issue the Board dealt with was being more clear with the director, Ms. Baxter, that she had to comply with their request to provide them with data on books being culled and books being ordered. A vote was taken to require her to submit to a clear plan to address that issue.
Ms. Baxter was also told that they would be developing an action plan to be sure she was acting in compliance with the Library Bill of Rights, which would be presented to her for agreement at the next month’s meeting.
But then—Ms. Baxter and Pastor Anderson decided to participate in an interview with one Greg Dunker at WKYX radio in Paducah, Kentucky.
During that interview, Ms. Baxter made it clear that she misled the board when she said she hadn’t applied for a state grant that would have provided roof repair funds because it was too lengthy and she just didn’t have time.
Ms. Baxter also stated her pride in never applying for any state funding during her tenure, and her skill at making improvements using other sources of funding.
Greg Dunker also asked her about questionable books that parents had objected to. She said that she had parents come in sometimes upset. Why? Because they checked out a children’s book without knowing what it was about and when they got to the end there was a “surprise” ending—that involved the child character having two mommies or two daddies.
The Library Board called a special meeting on February 28th, [attended by activists and members of the Eastland church] The Library Board went into closed session after brief public comments. They then called Rosemary Baxter in. When she came out, refusing to speak to anyone, she later stated "she resigned because she could not comply with what they were asking her to do (abide by the Library Bill of Rights) and “knew where it was leading”.
She was overheard [referencing] a male board member, who is known to be a gay man, and said “He is Satan”.
The board then moved to terminate her contract, voting 5-3 for termination. Many Eastland Life Church members then said things in our direction like, “Well, you all got what you wanted, it’s just going to hurt the kids.”
Evidently during the closed meeting, Ms. Baxter asked what would happen to the after-school program, and was told by the member she later called “Satan” that it was no longer her concern. She related this in a second radio interview with Greg Dunker.
Director Rosemary Baxter was terminated on February 28th. Three employees, two of whom ran an after-school program at the library, coordinated to resign the next day rather than give two weeks notice as is customary.
Ms. Baxter used the Library FB page to invite parents to bring their children to Eastland Life Church, where they could join with the homeschool co-op that meets there, and she even offered to arrange bus transportation with the local schools. The library was forced to pause the after-school program for three days until they found public school teachers to volunteer for the remainder of the school year. The parents who changed to Eastland Life Church were given partial refunds on their fees.
The Library then was moving forward, although with an obvious split in board orientation, with two members clearly aligned with Eastland and some disagreements over how various things had been handled. But they quickly hired an interim director, and set up new committees to address needs including oversight.
The mayor has been steadily appointing only Eastland Life affiliated or sympathetic evangelicals to boards—not just at the library. And now they have gotten a screed published in Glenn Beck’s online The Blaze as an opinion piece.
Many people from Eastland Life Church or their contacts and relatives began reaching out to at least several different community members for help-- and asking to remain anonymous . Some wanted to leave the church but said they were afraid. Some were concerned about children from the homeschool co-op—once cheerful but now fearful, who cling to their parents when they are away from the church environment. Some were concerned about shocking statements they’ve heard directly from church members that state LGBTQ+ people need to be “gone”. As in dead. And that Pastor Brian is just “helping people” when he preaches these things.
The emerging coalition of local citizens opposed to the agenda of the Eastland Life Church and their other evangelical allies includes Christians, Democrats, Independents, and even some supporters of Donald Trump.
Three of the current board members including President Rhonda James have confirmed that their terms were terminated by Mayor Canada late on Friday, March 22.
Rhonda James had stated publicly her term was up in June, and he would have the option not to renew her term then. What did it mean that the letter said they were being terminated due to “loss of faith in the Board” while the agenda naming replacements stated they were for “expired terms”? Was the applicable procedure under the legal code even being followed?
Attorneys Richard Krueger and Rick Abell began researching the law to determine the legality of what Canada was doing. An online petition in support of keeping the current Library Board was posted, as well as a paper version that was available at the library’s Open House scheduled that Saturday.
[At the Metropolis City Council meeting, the agenda called for Pledge of Allegiance AND prayer.]
[A lawyer for the library noted the proper procedure and how the mayor did not follow it in terminating the board members immediately.]
Mayor Canada's first appointment in the fall was Cheriah Herring, who teaches in the Eastland Life Academy homeschool co-op, and her first meeting in the fall had the Library Bill of Rights on the agenda. Canada made statements at the Council Meeting implying he was going “down the list” chronologically, and that was met with disbelief from the crowd that he was not looking at ALL the potential candidates and not choosing the best qualified candidates to produce a well-rounded board with diverse sets of skills and background. Current Board Secretary Stephanie Johnson expressed concern about appointments.
The opposition movement to Pastor Brian Anderson’s attempted manipulation of city boards and Mayor Don Canada’s attempted termination of the Library Board members is growing stronger and more organized. The bi-partisan coalition from the protests is now an organized group presently called Library League.
Alabama as usual...Prattville library board calls special meeting to discuss pending litigation
The meeting comes just over a week after former director Andrew Foster demanded that the board reinstate him as director.
https://www.alreporter.com/2024/04/01...
The meeting comes just over a week after former director Andrew Foster demanded that the board reinstate him as director, restore his access to the library and conduct a name-clearing hearing, or potentially face litigation.
The letter outlined three potential Open Meetings Act violations during the meeting in which Foster was terminated, plus another probable violation regarding the subsequent meeting to hire an interim director.
That letter gave the board until March 29 to take action, which has obviously passed, but APR had heard that the two sides may have begun talks last week allowing for a brief extension to settle the matter.
Foster is also demanding that the board restore his right to access the library as a patron, which has been denied to him after board chair Ray Boles told Foster he was permanently banned from the library. The board chair has no such authority, and even the library director has a due process to follow for banning people from the library. There have been no allegations of Foster doing anything that would support banning him from the library.
In Pennsylvania, a conservative school board member has launched their own school board association in the state without ever mentioning it's a conservative-focused org or that such an org that IS nonpartisan already exists.https://www.wesa.fm/education/2024-04...
Conservative Pine-Richland school board director launches new statewide coalition
The Pennsylvania School Directors Coalition has billed itself as a resource for all school board members, “regardless of political viewpoint or ideology.” But its website doesn’t detail its leaders’ history with the state’s conservative education movements.
Pennsylvania already has a long-established, non-partisan organization for school board members: The Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) has been around since 1895, and provides support and services to the Commonwealth’s school boards.
The organization has also advocated for policies that benefit the Commonwealth’s public schools, voicing its interest in cyber charter reform and opposition to student vouchers for non-public schools. Those stances tend to be popular with Democrats, though the organization has presented awards of recognition to lawmakers across the political spectrum.
Similarly, the new Pennsylvania School Directors Coalition (PSDC) will also provide “a much-needed resource for elected school directors throughout Pennsylvania,” according to its website. But when asked what sets her organization apart, PSDC founder and president Christina Brussalis said that her organization shouldn’t be compared to any other.
“We're not for or against anyone else. Our view is that the state is big, and there's a lot of room for a lot of different ideas, and there's certainly room for both of us in the conversations around education,” Brussalis told WESA.
Though the website itself doesn’t include any information about the nonprofit’s board or funders, Brussalis said that its leadership is primarily composed of sitting school board members, including one from Pine-Richland and another from Mars Area School District.
Brussalis is no stranger to the Commonwealth’s school boards, either. She currently serves as a school board director at Pine-Richland, one of the largest suburban districts in Allegheny County.
Brussalis came onto Pine-Richland’s school board in 2021 as part of a slate of conservative candidates — known as PR Kids First — calling for a return to in-person classes and balking at masking requirements. The group received $10,000 from a PAC funded by conservative venture capitalist Paul Martino, who gave money to mostly Republican candidates across the state as long as they pledged to keep schools in-person.
In the years since, the board has amassed a conservative supermajority, and indefinitely tabled a proposed equity policy that would have protected students of color and prioritized more diverse hiring. The board has also recently considered banning several books that feature LGBTQ authors or themes, and challenged counselors’ decisions regarding social-emotional learning curriculums.
Brussalis, who has a background in political communications, filed a request with the state in February 2023 to reserve the rights to “Pennsylvania School Directors Coalition.” One month later, she spoke on a panel about “Empowering Parents and Students” at the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference outside Harrisburg last year. The event also featured a keynote from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and a school board campaign workshop led by an executive at Moms for Liberty.
Brussalis — who is married to Point Park University President Chris Brussalis — added that, most of the time, she doesn’t agree with PSBA’s policies.
“And they had an entire workshop about creating parents groups and having a goal of having parents groups in every school district,” she said. “We need to beat them to it. We need to plant parents groups that are conservative and fighting for conservative values in every school across the state.”
When reached for comment, PSBA said the Commonwealth’s public education system was “too important for PSBA to be distracted by any individual or group attempting to impose their personal ideology onto their local schools.
Brussalis maintains that her organization will support everyone, no matter the political affiliation. Trainings the organization has scheduled for this spring cover more practical topics, such as “how to understand school district finances” and “legal basics.”
Guest speakers the organization is bringing in also promote conservative stances. Republican state representative Barbara Gleim, who has repeatedly introduced bills to restrict trans athletes’ participation in school sports, spoke at the organization’s first training. And an upcoming training will be taught by Bill Gillmeister, a consultant at the Christian Massachusetts Family Institute.
“I have done trainings with Dr. Gillmeister, and he is by far one of the better parliamentary procedure trainers that I know,” Brussalis said. “And I'm excited to bring his knowledge on parliamentary procedure — which is not partisan by any means — to school directors across the state.”
In Minnesota they need a reminder - there is no pr0n in the library! School Board continues book ban talks; member claims 'we have a lot of p----'
https://www.southernminn.com/faribaul...
Faribault’s School Board is looking to adopt a formal policy that would streamline the process to request a book’s removal from the school library shelves.
For a thorough review of the ever-evolving body of case law seeking to balance First Amendment rights with the desire to protect children from obscene content, the School Board invited attorney Christian Shafer from Ratwik, Roszak & Maloney for a presentation and Q&A session Monday night.
Legislation which could significantly limit the ability of Minnesota school districts to ban books is currently under consideration in St. Paul, pushed by members of the DFL majority who argue that some boards have gone too far in limiting access to controversial books.
The anti-book ban bill would limit districts to only restricting access to materials based on age appropriateness, not disagreements with ideologies or ideas a book may express and convey.
Terry Morrow, director of legal services for the Minnesota School Boards Association and a former DFL state representative from St. Peter, expressed support for the bill in testimony, arguing it would provide much needed clarity for boards across the state.
Morrow and bill sponsor Rep. Cedrick Frazier, DFL-New Hope, noted that under the legislation, a parent or legal guardian could still choose to protect their child from materials they find to be inappropriate by simply asking the school librarian not to allow their child to check them out.
...
As the number of book challenges is increasing, Shafer did encourage the board to set out a formal policy for evaluating book challenges, based on the Minnesota School Boards Association’s model policy, which reaffirms the responsibility of professionally trained staff to select appropriate materials.
The ultimate authority to make the final call on textbooks and instructional materials lies with the School Board, though the policy also clarifies that should instructional staff decide a material is outdated, inaccurate or no longer useful, they may dispose of that material themselves.
...
In line with the model policy, Shafer recommended the creation of a thorough formal review process guided by a committee which, appointed at the superintendent’s discretion, could include staff, teachers, administrators, students and community members.
Should this committee produce a decision which is still not satisfactory to the requestor, the decision could then be appealed to the superintendent and to the board. Throughout the process, Shafer said district officials should err on the side of free speech.
Conservative board members Linda Moore, Lynda Boudreau and Richard Olson argued that the policy is much needed because of the continued presence of books on the media center shelves which they see as highly age inappropriate and in some cases p____graphic.
As Moore and Boudreau noted, a handful of concerned citizens have brought to the board’s attention in recent months specific sections of currently available school library books which include graphic depictions of s-x or violence.
“We have a lot of p---- in our library, we do,” Moore said. “What I’m really concerned about is what research shows p--- does to the mental health of students.”
Citing a study published in 2014 by the American Bar Association Child Law Practice Today resource, Moore said [it] can have damaging impacts on an impressionable young child’s psyche, normalizing unhealthy and abusive relationships.
Shaffer said he could not comment on the appropriateness of books currently available in school media centers without first reviewing them, but emphasized that the entirety of a book must be considered in any ban request, not just specific sections.
While the First Amendment may provide for expansive right to free speech, courts have held that it does not protect obscenity. However, the definition of obscenity has remained nebulous, with Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart famously declaring, “I know it when I see it.”
Setting up a process to review objectionable materials will not be cheap. Bente estimated last month that even the most efficient districts typically spend upwards of $7,000 on each material review. And once a process has been set up, cases can be filed by the dozens.
Given the high threshold materials would need to clear to overcome free speech concerns, Board Vice Chair Chad Wolff expressed concern that the entire process could lead the district down an expensive, time consuming rabbit hole with little change in the end.
However, Boudreau argued that something must be done to ensure that all materials in the library are age appropriate. She worries that a significant number of controversial materials may have snuck into the library with little real review, much of it donated.
“Parents are concerned about the graphic and s---ally explicit materials that are in schools,” Boudreau said.
Let us remember a bridge just collapsed in Baltimore killing people. Don't these people have better things to worry about than BOOKS?M4L active in Howard County, Maryland targeting 46 books
https://baltimorefishbowl.com/stories...
Lisa Geraghty, president of the Chapter, said the campaign is not limited to these books, but will eventually expand to include books containing s--ally explicit language, as well as gender-related and other ideologies that her organization “absolutely does not agree with.”
The challenge sparked a protest from book ban opponents who disrupted the Howard County Chapter’s February meeting, which was held at the Central Branch of the Howard County Library System and featured speaker Jessica Garland, who led the Carroll County effort as vice chair of the M4L Carroll County Chapter.
“I wanted protestors to come because they are believing a media narrative that is completely false,” Geraghty said of the venue choice. “I wanted to educate them on (our positions) and thought we would be able to find some common ground.”
Jennifer Mallo, chair of the HCPSS Board of Education, said the BOE has dealt with book challenges in the past. The last one came in 2021 and targeted a singular subset of the LGBTQ community.
“One board member questioned the legality of the books, but the board decided against sending it to legal counsel and instead went through the process of establishing a committee to review the books and evaluate their literary merits,” she said. “By and large I’m going to emphasize that we want to follow our established process.”
That committee, consisting of parents, staff and students, concluded that the two books in question did not depict or describe p____hilia and restored the books to the shelves.
Additionally, Mallo said, every piece of instructional material is displayed at the HCPSS Central Office and Howard County public libraries each year, and residents can give feedback and provide input before they are brought forward for approval.
“It would be prohibitive to include every book that’s in the media center, but … there are guidelines for what is approved to go into a media center,” she said.
Requiring parental consent to check specific books out of the media centers could be a compromise, Geraghty acknowledged, “but even if it’s under lock and key kids can still forge signatures. Our point is you have to draw reasonable boundaries of zero tolerance of any of these woke ideologies. We’re talking about age appropriateness, even our laws say p___ is a crime. I don’t think this is a blurry line or something that should be compromised, it shouldn’t be there in the first place.”
More to the point, she said, is the issue of potentially sidestepping parental rights.
“We don’t think anything that pertains to parental rights belongs in the public square,” Geraghty said. “We as parents have the right to direct the upbringing of our children with our beliefs and values, but unfortunately lawmakers and school board policy makers are foisting their religious ideologies on us.”
According to its mission statement, HCPSS “ensures academic success and social-emotional well-being for each student in an inclusive and nurturing environment that closes opportunity gaps.”
“It doesn’t really emphasize academics, and that’s what we’re all about,” Geraghty said. “We’re not against other people believing in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion … but you can’t foist that through curriculum and through other ways in the school system.”
She added that M4L’s Howard County Chapter is closely aligned with Stephen Wallis, a former HCPSS middle school principal who ran as an unaffiliated candidate for Howard County Executive in 2006.
“His standards were all about academics and a culture of character,” Geraghty said. “We see the social-emotional well-being and nurturing environment focuses as taking away from the academic focus.”
Emily Bahar, director of multimedia communications for HCPSS, disagreed with that sentiment.
The HCPSS mission statement “acknowledges that well-being and a supportive learning environment are crucial for student achievement,” Bahar said. “Improving student well-being and ensuring all students feel safe, included, and welcomed is part of the school system’s mission and is key to ensuring student engagement and academic success, and is not a religious ideology.”
M4L’s Howard County Chapter members are reviewing the illustrations of each book on their list, and one member has actually read the book “Blankets” by Craig Thompson which is being challenged, but Geraghty acknowledged the group doesn’t have the manpower to read every single book.
“We’re looking for excerpts, and we already had a lot of the work done by Carroll County,” she said.
According to Mallo, the Board agrees that parents should be involved in what their children pick out to read, “but their restriction of their own child should not be the limiting factor for someone else’s child.”
Moreover, she said, the targets of book challenges tend to be the LGBTQ community, which has an exceptionally high rate of suicide.
“Being able to find characters they can see and identify with is critical to their own health and well-being,” Mallo said. “This Board wants students to be able to see diverse characters, learn how to think critically and communicate with other people, and learn from lived experiences.”
As for M4L, “I wish people would know that we’re not political, we support their right to teach their children Satanism or nature worship or whatever they want, and we’re not commenting on that or against it,” Geraghty said. “We’re against any ideology that’s foisted upon our kids, and against allowing pornography in the (school) library that takes my decision not to allow my minor child to view it out of my hands.”
https://bizmonthly.com/news/business/...
Also in the same countyTrent Kittleman, an early Moms for Liberty backer in Howard County, now seeks a school board spot
https://baltimorefishbowl.com/stories...
Trent Kittleman is a former state delegate whose career includes stints as Deputy Secretary of Transportation under Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a term on the county’s Republican Central Committee and an unsuccessful run for County Executive in 2010. She is the widow of former State Sen. Robert Kittleman, and stepmother of former Howard County Executive Alan Kittleman – both known for their moderate views.
At age 78, and after a re-election defeat for delegate in 2022, Kittleman is now a candidate for school board representing County District 5 in western Howard County, the most conservative area in the county.
As the primary election draws closer, Kittleman has been distancing herself from Moms for Liberty. Her campaign website does not list her affiliation with the organization.
Lisa Geraghty, chair of the Howard County chapter of Moms for Liberty, said Kittleman “asked to be taken off the rolls when she decided to run for school board.”
“I don’t think she wants to be associated with Moms for Liberty,” she said. “It’s a hot button problem and she doesn’t want to be associated with it. But her palm card is everything we believe.”
Kittleman has argued that grades should be “based on merit, not equity” and that Howard’s school system should “end equity-based redistricting and focus on building communities around schools.” She also calls for greater parental rights and removing “identity politics and political ideologies from the school system.”
And although Howard school officials say they do not teach Critical Race Theory, a graduate school theory that holds that racism is built into the system’s laws and rules, Kittleman insists that what she calls the “genteelisms” educators use and in policy documents have “enshrined” CRT in the schools.
She points in newsletter articles she wrote during her time in the House of Delegates to phrases educators use, such as “interrupting racism,” “cultural proficiency/relevance,” “critical ethnic studies,” and “diversity and inclusion” as evidence that the theory is being taught.
Kelly Klinefelter Lee, a teacher and president of the Howard Progressive Project, a liberal group, called it “shocking” and “alarming” to “think about Moms for Liberty and what it stands for in Howard County. Its values are retrograde.”
Kittleman is one of three candidates for the school board seat that shares boundaries with the district with the only Republican on the County Council. School board races are technically non-partisan, but many educated voters and those involved in education affairs typically have a clear understanding of the ideology of those running.
Kittleman’s opponents in the May 5 primary are focusing on school budgets, maintenance, and a chaotic start to the 2023 school year – not culture war issues.
Also in MarylandOcean City School Board (MD) is threatened by the possible Freedom to Read Act in the state, worried they won't be able to ram their politics down on books.
Op ed.
https://capemaycountyherald.com/artic...
Kelly Jensen adds "The note about the prurient interests of the board showing up in their calling the act the "Freedom to Groom Act" cannot be bolded enough."
In CaliforniaHuntington Beach is moving forward with its parent/guardian children’s book review board after it received another round of approval at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.
https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-p...
The vote was the same as the initial vote two weeks prior, when the board item was introduced. Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark, Mayor Pro Tem Pat Burns, and council members Casey McKeon and Tony Strickland voted in favor, with council members Dan Kalmick, Natalie Moser and Rhonda Bolton voting against.
Now finalized, Ordinance No. 4318 will add Chapter 2.66 to the city’s municipal code, relating to the “Community-Parent Guardian Review Board for Review of Procurement of Children’s Library Material.”
Public comments were less numerous than the previous meeting, but the vast majority of the 40-plus speakers were against the creation of the board, which will have up to 21 members.
Possible library privatization of library operations has also been a controversial issue in Surf City, with the council majority voting to initiate an RFP process on March 19. On Friday night, more than 100 people gathered at the Main Street Branch Library and completed a silent march to the pier in protest.
Lynne Deakers, who introduced herself as a mother of four grown children and a school librarian for 20 years at a Catholic school in Huntington Beach, spoke out against the review board item at Tuesday’s meeting.
“This cannot be about personal preferences,” she said. “This oversight board is unacceptable to me. If it’s p___ you’re worried about, I assure you — librarians don’t want p___ in libraries either.”
Resident Ann Palmer, however, called the parent/guardian review board “exemplary.” “This is a perfect example of participatory government, which is a leading principle in local government,” she said.
Members of the board will pull children’s books they want to review from a list of thousands the library procures every year. The decisions of the board are final.
“If any book can be pulled by any member of the board, what stops someone from just pulling every single book, basically saying, ‘I want to review all of them?’” Kalmick asked, expressing his doubt about a process he believes “could get broken by a bad actor.”
He also noted that if one member hasn’t reviewed a book, the board can’t take a vote, which could also be abused.
Additionally, Kalmick asked if any private organizations that were submitting a bid during the RFP process were aware that they could potentially be litigants in a 1st Amendment lawsuit.
Moser made a substitute motion against adopting Ordinance No. 4318, in favor of keeping the library’s current collection development policy. She read that policy aloud from the dais.
“What I appreciate about this library policy is that it’s thought through, it relies on professional librarians, it considers the needs of the entire community,” Moser said, adding that it provides a method for requesting a book’s removal.
Moser’s substitute motion was defeated by a 4-3 vote.
Also in Cali. Newport BeachUnder a recently instituted practice, the Newport Beach Board of Library trustees is poised to hear public appeals this month on two children’s books — “Melissa,” by Alex Gino, and “Prince & Knight,” by Daniel Haack.
https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-p...
Board members will deliberate on whether or not to uphold a decision made by the city’s library director after community members requested an evaluation of both books in September. As part of a collection development policy, community members are able to request evaluation of resources if they have concerns about certain titles. That request then goes to library staff before it makes its way to the desk of the city’s library services director, Melissa Hartson.
“With that, the existing development policy states that any unresolved concerns after receiving the director’s decision can then be brought before the board for a final decision. Patrons did inquire with the board about how this stage of the process within our policy works, and the board formalized an appeals application and process in January of this year,” Hartson said.
The board will hear the first appeal under this process on April 15. Twelve titles have been submitted to date, and eight of them are children’s books.
The last time a decision on a book was appealed was in 2004, according to Hartson, with the 2002 novel “Gossip Girl,” by Cecily von Ziegesar.
Both books remained on the shelves as of Tuesday. Community members remain divided on what the outcome of the appeals on these two books could mean for the future of the Newport Beach Public Library.
Resident Karin Bates said more and more families have been seeing inappropriate books, which has led to an increase of these appeals, though the process has always existed. Bates said that, ideally, she’d like to see a policy that clearly spells out what age-appropriate means for books to appear on public shelves.
Bates said both of her children are now teenagers, but she’s heard from friends. Those books, she said, picked up by her friends’ children, were inappropriate because of their content for their age groups, pointing to “It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health” by Robie Harris, which includes information on puberty for preadolescent children, and “Push” by Sapphire, which deals with (view spoiler)
“There is a transparent agenda taking place, and grooming of children is happening. (view spoiler) “This book is not appropriate for anyone under 18 years old. Just like one has to be 18 to watch a rated-R movie, one should have to be 18 to read some of the books on the library’s shelves.
“We are not book banners, nor are we looking to ban any books from publication. We are simply asking them to move the books to another section of the library. The children’s or young adult’s sections are not the place for many of these books. Anyone who wants to check these books out may still request them or go to another section of the library to find them.”
Former Mayor Rush Hill, in a comment submitted to the board for its March meeting, agreed that children should be reading age-appropriate books in that section of the Newport Beach Public Library.
“Let the liberals focus their attacks on the sanctuary cities. I would suggest that our City Council remove from the library board any board member that feels our underage children need to be shoved into ideas that are being preached by the extreme left,” Hill wrote.
But others, like parent Cindy Parker, an emergency room physician, say such perspectives open the door to ignorance.
Parker said she read “Prince & Knight” and saw it simply as a story about love between two men. She said there is nothing explicit or p____phic about the book. She said having access to books that depict people different from one another is a way for people to better educate themselves. It leads to greater understanding of others, she said.
“[People] are so convinced that these books should not be available because these books don’t align with their personal beliefs. But we can’t pull books and resources just because they make people uncomfortable or don’t align with their sociopolitical opinions,” Parker said. “I don’t think we should be hiding racism or bigotry. I think not having access to books on these topics just promotes it. If you can’t learn about it, and it’s handled as though it’s this big, secret and silent thing that you only hear about from your parents and their views, then of course you’re going to fear it.
“That leads to terrible things. It leads to people not being tolerant of each other, and what we need right now is a lot more kindness and compassion in our society.”
Parker said if it was a matter of excluding pornography from children’s books, then concerned parties should be reviewing books that are actually p-----phic as opposed to “Prince & Knight,” which touches on relationships that occur in real life.
Discussions should be happening at home between parents and children, she maintains. She noted that much scarier information is on the internet that most children, once they’re around 7 or 8, can access at any time.
“The best way to educate your kids is talk to them and have a good relationship with them, discuss these topics and have an open mind,” Parker said.
Parent Julie Nance said she cried when her daughter transitioned at age 11 because of the years she felt she’d lost with her prior to that change.
“I cried tears of grief for a lost childhood and for part of my own lost motherhood. I ached to go back in time and love that little girl that was never seen. Never acknowledged. To go back to that time where a little girl was masquerading as a boy, aching to be seen, known and loved. I wonder what could have happened if that child could have been read to [from] a book like ‘Melissa,’” Nance said in a text Wednesday. “Maybe I could have met [my daughter] sooner. Had a few less lost years. To lose a book like ‘Melissa’ is to lose a childhood, a motherhood and parenthood.”
In FloridaThe School Board of Alachua County unanimously approved the removal of two books from school libraries during a regular meeting on Tuesday. The decision was based on the recommendation of the district-level library advisory council (LAC) which reviewed the books after a citizen’s challenge.
2 adult books based on s---ual content.
https://www.mainstreetdailynews.com/e...
The School Board of Alachua County unanimously approved the removal of two books from school libraries during a regular meeting on Tuesday. The decision was based on the recommendation of the district-level library advisory council (LAC) which reviewed the books after a citizen’s challenge.
The citizen challenged “The Sun and Her Flowers” by Rupi Kaur and “Haunted” by Chuck Palahnuik based on sexual content.
The Parental Rights in Education Act, which last year was expanded to include grades K-12, prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity and also requires schools to remove materials in classrooms or school libraries if a citizen raises a valid concern that it contains sexual conduct, pornographic content, is unsuited to student needs, or inappropriate for the grade level.
Become A Member
Mainstreet does not have a paywall, but pavement-pounding journalism is not free. Join your neighbors who make this vital work possible.
See Member Benefits
Before September 2023, Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) district media specialist Patty Duval had not seen any book challenges, though parents could submit forms if they had concerns.
At the end of September, a parent’s complaint through the new system resulted in one book being removed by a principal. Since then, the total number of books challenged has reached about 32, according to Duval.
Duval said there have been a total of 35 complaints, but some of them are duplicates. Of the complaints, 15 were filed by one parent, and another eight were submitted by another citizen. The number of challenges filed has now exceeded the district’s capacity for what it can review in the remainder of the school year.
The district finalized a system in February to send each complaint through the district LAC, which has regularly scheduled meetings. Duval said the LAC can only review two books at each meeting, as the council members must first read the books to discuss them, and while this year’s remaining scheduled meetings could possibly fit in a discussion of a picture book, several chapter books have already been pushed to the fall for review.
Duval said the fast flow of requests has put a strain on herself and the district attorney. She said she has not been able to provide support to school media specialists as she normally would.
Duval said she is frustrated that the increase in book challenges have come from a small number of people, at least one of whom does not have a child in ACPS.
“I completely support, and would bend over backwards to support, a parent who would like to exercise their right [to dispute a book] that they have encountered in an organic way,” Duval said in a phone interview.
Board Member Sarah Rockwell said she took an oath to uphold the law, and Florida law requires the district to remove books that contain s---ual content. She said her opinion is that the content of school libraries should be decided by staff with training and curriculum, media center curation and child development, as the district has done in the past.
“I have the utmost respect for the members of our district library review committee,” Rockwell said. “They are experts in child development, media center curation and curriculum, and I am therefore going to vote with their recommendation, but I have reservations about that.”
Rockwell said she has concerns about upcoming challenges that will come before the board for a vote, and about those that were made before the state settled a lawsuit over the Parental Rights in Education Act. The settlement established that the law’s ban on teaching about gender identity and sexuality includes heterosexuality.
Rockwell requested that staff review any books that have already been removed to ensure that they should not have been exempted from removal. She also asked for the AP, IB and Cambridge reading lists be examined to ensure the district does not remove any of those books, which are exempted from the statute.
Board Member Tina Certain agreed with Rockwell, saying that not all laws are good laws, and changing representation at the state level is more difficult than it sounds. She thanked the citizens who attended the meeting and lined up to provide their feedback.
“I applaud the citizens and I appreciate them for coming and leaning in and advocating to us, their elected officials,” Certain said. “Because if no one speaks up and pushes back, nothing would ever change.
Joe Smith, director of the Pride Community Center of North Central Florida, also spoke during public comment. He asked the board to add a process for appealing a removed book if it no longer fits the state’s criteria for removal, and to create a system that does not allow a minority to have such a large impact on what materials are available to students.
Smith also asked for more protections for teachers and media specialists.
“Recognizing and representing that queer parents, students and families exist is not a part of some ideology or nefarious plan,” Smith said in the meeting. “The only agenda is that we want those children, who are currently being told that they are wrong, and that their families are wrong, to grow into adults.”
Olivia Haley, the petitioner who submitted challenges on both “Haunted” and “The Sun and Her Flowers,” said she challenged the books for (view spoiler)
“How does this account for any educational value?” Haley said during public comment. “The short answer is, it doesn’t, and it’s highly inappropriate. I can guarantee that there are other books that have related overarching themes, that you can substitute.”
Haley said board members and teachers are public servants, not leaders, and that even one parent’s concern should be treated with “the utmost respect.”
Other citizen commenters said books like “The Sun and Her Flowers” provide meaningful and helpful guidance on how to get help and persevere after a sexual assault.
Sadie Matteucci, a teacher at Gainesville High School questioned the validity of Haley’s book challenges, as Haley is a student at the University of Florida and not a parent of an ACPS student. She called for the board to prevent “bad actors” from submitting “frivolous book challenges.”
Bart Birdsall, librarian media specialist at the Sidney Lanier Center, brought several books from the school library with him to show during public comment, including a children’s Bible and “And Tango Makes Three,” a book about two male penguins raising a baby penguin. He said none of these books are “flying off the shelf.”
“Nobody’s walking in and saying, ‘where are the gay books, I want to find the gay books,’” Birdsall said. “Or ‘where are the Bible books,’ even. But we need to have all kinds of books for all kids that we see in our school.”
Back to Alabama- A bill in Alabama would criminalize librarians for just about anything that someone complains about.Alabama Republicans Try to 'Criminalize Librarians Simply for Doing Their Jobs'
https://www.commondreams.org/news/ala...
House Bill 385, introduced Tuesday by state Rep. Arnold Mooney (R-43) and 30 other legislators, says that "under existing law, certain obscenity laws do not apply to public libraries, public school libraries, college libraries, or university libraries, or the employees or agents of any such libraries."
"This bill would provide that these criminal obscenity laws do not apply to college or university libraries or their employees or agents, but do apply to public libraries, public school libraries, and their employees or agents," the legislation continues.
H.B. 385 would also add the following language to the definition of sexual conduct: (view spoiler)
Matthew Layne, president of the Alabama Library Association, declared that "the message is clear—don't arrest Alabama librarians and stop turning our libraries into political battlefields. Montgomery politicians are now seeking to criminalize librarians simply for doing their jobs."
"Under H.B. 385, public and school librarians could be penalized or even arrested by prosecutors eager to follow the demands of Alabama Republican Chair John Wahl, an Alabama Public Library Service Board member, who's willing to jail librarians for having books he considers unacceptable," Layne said. "This bill is government overreach, robs parents of their rights, and would have a chilling effect on free speech by potentially incarcerating librarians because particular books are available, including even the Bible."
Lots of news. It's National Library Week and ALA has released their State of America’s Libraries 2024 Report. Nothing we didn't already know.https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org...
ALA recorded 1,247 attempts to censor materials and services at libraries, schools, and universities in 2023. Of the 4,240 unique titles that were challenged or banned in 2023, here are the top 10 most frequently challenged:
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe. Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be s--ually explicit.
All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson. Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be s--ually explicit.
This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson. Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, sex education, claimed to be s--ually explicit.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Reasons: Claimed to be s--ually explicit, LGBTQIA+ content, r-pe, drugs, profanity.
Flamer by Mike Curato. Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be s--ually explicit.
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. Reasons: (view spoiler) EDI (equity, diversity, inclusion) content.
(tie) Tricks by Ellen Hopkins. Reasons: Claimed to be s--ually explicit, drugs, r--e, LGBTQIA+ content.
(tie) Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews. Reasons: Claimed to be s--ually explicit, profanity.
Let’s Talk About It by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan. Reasons: Claimed to be s--ually explicit, sex education, LGBTQIA+ content.
Sold by Patricia McCormick. Reasons: Claimed to be s--ually explicit, rape.
'It's Been Devastating': A Q&A With The Top Librarian Fighting The GOP's Book Bans"The weaponization of libraries ... is a bludgeon that’s scaring people everywhere," said American Library Association President Emily Drabinski.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/americ...
Drabinski also described the personal attacks she’s faced after tweeting ― and then deleting ― that she identifies as a Marxist lesbian. Several state libraries have cut ties with ALA in part because of her self-identification. In Georgia, the state Senate recently passed legislation that would ban libraries from spending money on services offered by ALA, which a Republican state legislator called “Marxist and socialist.”
“It turns out there’s an algorithm for those two words in conjunction,” she told HuffPost. “It has become a bludgeon people have been using to attack libraries and library workers. It’s been devastating. ... I ran for this office because I love libraries and I love library workers.”
It’s intense out here. As president, I have been traveling all over the country talking to librarians and visiting libraries in all kinds of places. Everywhere I go, the story is the same: library workers are afraid. They have a lot of anxiety. Even in places where they’re not seeing censorship in their own community, the threat of it is weighing heavily on library workers.
The weaponization of libraries that we’ve seen since 2021 – when I’ve really seen this starting, then the attacks on ALA and now me personally ― is a bludgeon that’s scaring people everywhere. I hear that everywhere I go. It gets in the way of doing a job that everyone feels is important. People should agree: Kids should be able to read. Schools and public libraries are institutions that make reading possible for people, regardless of their needs and identity.
So what I’m seeing are a lot of people sort of bending themselves to accommodate and try to be “not a lesbian” or whatever. But that doesn’t seem to stop the attacks.
Most libraries are funded locally. Federal funding is pretty small. But state-level people are facing attempts to gut funding. For example, in Iowa, they have the largest number of bills attacking libraries and library workers’ right to read. One of the bills this session would have changed language that mandates library funding, for some amount of county money going to public libraries, it would change it from “must” to “may.” This language change would have made it elective if Iowa supports libraries.
When you fund libraries, you have more things that the library funds in the community. What gets lost in conversations about book banning is that it’s really about eliminating the institution of the library, period. It’s not about the books. Well, it is about the books, but the books are the way in to gut one of the last public institutions that serves everyone.
I ran for this office because I love libraries and I love library workers. I also have a union background. So, to see my identity weaponized against the people I care the most about has been very emotionally difficult.
It’s especially challenging in Montana. They were the first state to withdraw from ALA because they said it was against the Constitution of the United States to be affiliated with a Marxist organization.
But when I went to the hearing and listened, it wasn’t about me being Marxist at all. It was about me being a lesbian. The attacks were around my gender and sexuality.
I wish I knew the endgame. We live in an upside-down world where a person is against a kid reading. My fear is we’re heading to a dark world where people don’t have access to books unless they have the means to buy things for themselves. I think it’s about eliminating the universal access to the stuff of imagination, which is what libraries provide. The idea that imagination is something that not everyone can have.
This is why the conversation needs to be larger than book bans. If we only focus on books, we’re gone. I think we’re in a bigger fight than that.
Libraries are hyperlocal institutions that meet the needs of your community. I could tell you millions of stories about what libraries do. We all want this. How we found ourselves in a place where it’s up for debate, I don’t know how we got here. But I know how we get out of here, and we need to talk about how libraries are amazing.
...
We have master’s degrees in building library collections. I don’t cut my own hair. I don’t paint my own house. People don’t think there’s something to selecting books. The idea that [far-right groups] would know better than we would?
Librarians fear new penalties, even prison, as activists challenge bookshttps://indianapublicmedia.org/news/l...
When an illustrated edition of Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” was released in 2019, educators in Clayton, Missouri needed little debate before deciding to keep copies in high school libraries. The book is widely regarded as a classic work of dystopian literature about the oppression of women, and a graphic novel would help it reach teens who struggle with words alone.
But after Missouri legislators passed a law in 2022 subjecting librarians to fines and possible imprisonment for allowing s--ually explicit materials on bookshelves, the suburban St. Louis district reconsidered the new Atwood edition, and withdrew it.
(view spoiler) says Tom Bober, Clayton district's library coordinator and president of the Missouri Association of School Librarians. “It’s literally one panel of the graphic novel, but we felt it was in violation of the law in Missouri.”
Across the country, book challenges and bans have soared to the highest levels in decades. Public and school-based libraries have been inundated with complaints from community members and conservative organizations such as as Moms for Liberty. Increasingly, lawmakers are considering new punishments — crippling lawsuits, hefty fines, and even imprisonment — for distributing books some regard as inappropriate.
The trend comes as officials seek to define terms such as “obscene” and “harmful.” Many of the conflicts involve materials featuring racial and/or LGBTQ+ themes, such as Toni Morrison’s novel, “The Bluest Eye,” and Maia Kobabe’s memoir, “Gender Queer.” And while no librarian or educator has been jailed, the threat alone has led to more self-censorship.
“The laws are designed to limit or remove legal protections that libraries have had for decades,” says Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom.
Since the early 1960s, institutions including schools, libraries and museums — as well as educators, librarians and other staffers who distribute materials to children — have largely been exempt from expensive lawsuits or potential criminal charges.
These protections began showing up in states as America grappled with standards surrounding obscenity, which was defined by the Supreme Court in 1973.
Some Republicans are seeking penalties and restrictions that would apply nationwide. Referring to “p---graphy” in the foreword to Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation's blueprint for a possible second Donald Trump administration, the right-wing group's president, Kevin Roberts, wrote that the “people who produce and distribute it should be imprisoned. Educators and public librarians who purvey it should be classed as registered sex offenders.”
Indiana lawmakers stripped away “educational purposes” as a defense for school librarians and educators charged with giving minors “obscene” or “harmful” material — felonies punishable by up to 2½ years in jail and $10,000 in fines. The law also requires public catalogs of what's in each school library and systems for responding to complaints.
Indiana’s law took effect January 1. It's likely a matter of when — not if — a lawsuit is filed, and the anxiety has created a chilling effect.
“It’s putting fear into some people. It’s very scary,” said Diane Rogers, a school librarian who serves as president of the Indiana Library Federation. “If you’re a licensed teacher just being charged with a felony potentially gets rid of your license even if you’re found innocent. That’s a very serious thing.”
Rogers said she's confident Indiana's school libraries don't offer obscene materials, but she's seen reports that some districts have moved certain titles to higher age groups or required parental approval to check them out.
“Gender Queer” is another title no longer available to high schoolers in Clayton, where district officials recently turned their attention to Mike Curato's graphic novel, “Flamer,” about a teenager who struggles with his sexual identity and how to fit in at Boy Scout camp. The American Library Association included “Flamer” on its list of 2023's most challenged and/or banned books.
“We had a lot of conversations about how to interpret the law and not be in violation,” Bober said. “But we also didn't want to overreach and overcensor our collections. With ‘Flamer,’ we did not feel we were in violation of the law.”
Books will remain at Pine-Richland school libraries after being targeted for removal https://www.post-gazette.com/news/edu...
Fourteen books that were challenged in the Pine-Richland School District will remain available to middle and high school students, Superintendent Brian Miller announced Monday.
The determination by Mr. Miller came after a months-long review process — the first time the process, laid out in a district policy, was used — to determine the appropriateness of the novels that were first challenged in October when a group of community members pleaded with directors to remove books from school libraries they deemed to be sexually explicit and obscene. A month later another group of community members touted the importance of the novels, the majority of which focus on LGBTQ+ people or people of color, and of representing all students within the district.
Mr. Miller’s recommendation is final.
“Because library books are optional for students, the stance that I have taken is that every book in the library should be suitable for some students, but no book in the library has to be educationally suitable for every student,” Mr. Miller said.
School directors on Monday did not push back against the determination, but they did suggest they would begin to “clean up” language in the policy moving forward.
In all, challenged books at the high school included “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson; “Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out” by Susan Kuklin; “Nineteen Minutes” by Jodi Picoult; “Out of Darkness” by Ashley Perez; “Push” by Sapphire; “Shine” by Lauren Myracle; “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison; “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood and “The Handmaid’s Tale: The Graphic Novel” by Margaret Atwood and Renee Nault.
Other books challenged at both the high school and middle school included the first four volumes of “Heartstopper” by Alice Oseman. “Nick and Charlie” by Alice Oseman was challenged at the middle school level.
Once the district received the challenges they put together a 10-person committee made up of community members and school officials as laid out in the district policy. In all, the district had 329 residents interested in sitting on the committee. Five were chosen through a lottery system.
Those who sat on the committee read each of the challenged books. They then came together to discuss the novels before putting together a written recommendation for each book and giving it to the superintendent.
The committee largely agreed that each novel should remain in the respective libraries, except for “Push,” for which there was a 5-5 vote, meaning a consensus was not reached.
At the same time, Mr. Miller also read each of the novels in their entirety, one of which he read twice. While reading through the books, Mr. Miller considered the educational suitability based on the age range of the middle and high school, with the idea of “if we think about a high school, an entering ninth grader is extremely different than a senior who’s preparing to move on to pursue their path,” Mr. Miller said.
Given concerns expressed by some residents, Mr. Miller also took into consideration sexually-related content and whether he felt it was pervasively vulgar, obscene or intended to sexually excite the reader, while considering demographic information about each book and the literary, artistic, societal and political value of the work.
Mr. Miller said he also read more broadly than the 14 books to ensure an understanding of the broader context of library books, considered library book titles in districts adjacent to Pine-Richland and looked at how book challenges are “one of several national political themes that are tied to culture wars in the United States,” he said.
Hempfield Area School District in Westmoreland County revised its policy for selecting resource materials to require librarians to submit a public list of requested books and permit the public to voice any concerns about the titles before they can be purchased. The change came after a small group of parents challenged “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” which chronicles the author’s journey growing up as a queer Black man, and “The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person” by Frederick Joseph, which discusses the author’s experiences with racism.
The Blackhawk School Board in Beaver County in October voted to amend its policy to allow students and parents to reject the use of resource materials that did not match their values or fundamental religious beliefs. That policy was rolled back in December after a new board was seated.
“The library is not the classroom,” Mr. Miller said. “At the secondary level, students’ use of the library is often voluntary and optional. I know we have a wide range of students and families in the district. Within the high school alone, we have a wide range of students; within any single grade level, we have a wide range of students.”
School directors now plan to tweak the policy starting at the next board meeting, a decision that came after the previous board in October originally planned to reexamine the policy around resource materials and how books are chosen for student access. But school directors in November tabled a potential review of the policy until newly elected school board members — now making the board majority conservative — were seated in December.
On Monday, Director Marc Casciani suggested the policy now needs to be “cleaned up” because there are certain aspects that he said are not happening, such as a list of purchased library books not appearing in a newsletter to families. He also said a list of donated books should be available for the public.
Several residents on Monday spoke out against removing books from school libraries, including students who are part of the district’s gay-straight alliance.
Fort Bend Texas ISD trustees argue over controversial book ban policyhttps://www.houstonchronicle.com/news...
Fort Bend ISD debates giving superintendent authority to ban books that 'stimulate s---al desire'
The Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees swiftly appointed Dr. Marc Smith, the current superintendent of Duncanville ISD, as Dr. Christie Whitbeck’s successor. On Friday, Dec. 15, 2023, the trustees unanimously voted 7-0 in favor of his selection.
Fort Bend ISD trustees spent hours Monday night considering a policy that would give the superintendent sole authority over library books and textbooks in the district, mandating, among other requirements, that none “stimulate s---al desire” among students.
The strict policy proposal, which comes in response to a new Texas law, drew concern from families, librarians and even board members who noted that the district just approved an instructional materials policy last year with a specific book challenge process that includes a volunteer review committee and puts staff in charge of book acquisition and periodical review of the district’s collections.
The Ridge Point High School student said challenges to books like “Night” and “Maus,” while still on Fort Bend ISD library shelves, could result in increased struggles to explain her Jewish faith and the impact of the Holocaust.
Librarians turned out to support the current book review and acquisition policy. One librarian told trustees that the current policy is thorough and that they just went through an extensive graphic novel review. Putting the responsibility solely with the superintendent is not a good idea, she said.
Trustees David Hamilton and Sonya Jones, who put the item on the agenda, maintained that Fort Bend ISD’s current policy is out of compliance with recently passed House Bill 900. The law, called the READER Act, took effect Sept. 1 and mandates that instructional materials are not obscene, pervasively vulgar or harmful.
While the new law does not define those terms, the Texas Penal Code defines harmful materials as “utterly without redeeming social value for minors” and “patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable for minors.”
Fort Bend ISD’s policy revision asks that “ultimate authority over instructional materials rests with the … Superintendent as the District’s instructional leader to make decisions in accordance with this policy regarding the acquisition, use, maintenance, restriction of access to, and removal or rejection of all instructional materials.”
It lists 12 different characteristics books should or should not have to be considered “educationally suitable,” including that the books must support the state curriculum, promote literacy and be factually accurate.
The proposal also mandates that materials be “free of graphic images or descriptions of s--al acts that stimulate s--ual desire or advocate or promote unlawful s--ual activity or s--ual activity amongst minors.”
The Texas Freedom to Read Project, a nonprofit that aims to help parents and stakeholders fight back against book banning, published a blog post explaining that Fort Bend ISD’s considered policy revisions were concerning.
“Who is charged with determining what [that even means?] How exactly would someone determine that? … How about books that include stories of surviving and overcoming s--ual abuse?” the blog post reads.
Laney Hawes, co-founder of the Texas Freedom to Read Project, said the proposed policy “goes well beyond what is required by HB900” and that “for trustees Jones and Hamilton to claim that this policy is simply putting FBISD in compliance with HB900 is disingenuous at best.”
District legal counsel maintained that the district does have to update board policy regarding HB900, but that the Texas Association of School Boards will likely send out its board policy update recommendations in late spring or summer, and that TEA has not specified its mechanism for measuring or responding to a school board’s non-compliance. They also added that there is no deadline for the district to comply with HB900.
Additionally, while this was not referenced in board discussion, the book rating system outlined by HB900 is currently tied up in legal proceedings, after bookstores and manufacturers across the state filed suit against the policy.
Most trustees were concerned with putting the weight of all instructional material review directly on the superintendent. When asked his opinion, Superintendent Marc Smith said “any policy that moves us closer to a singular person having autonomy is problematic for us,” and that he believes the district librarians do a great job.
Trustee Angie Hanan was particularly concerned as a member of the policy committee, alongside Hamilton and Jones. Hanan said she had not received the updated policy until Tuesday morning, and that there was not a policy committee meeting where the revisions were discussed.
“I vehemently reject this draft of EF local,” she said, maintaining that she had no part in authoring the changes that were placed on the agenda. Hanan added that the original library review policy took almost a year of “diligent work” and that six of the trustees currently on the board voted for it at the time.
Parents group defends right to challenge school district’s book banning at Eighth Circuit Parents group defends right to challenge school district’s book banning at Eighth Circuit
The policy requires schools to preemptively remove library materials, including books, after receiving a challenge and before conducting any review or vote.
https://www.courthousenews.com/parent...
A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, finding that the parents failed to show an injury, which prompted the appeal to the Eight Circuit.
The school district holds that the dismissal was proper because there was no actual injury done.
“This is an anticipated, hypothetical potential future temporary removal of a book, while it is reviewed by a committee before the board makes a decision,” said J. Drew Marriott of EdCounsel, the district's attorney.
U.S. Circuit Judge Lavenski R. Smith, a George W. Bush appointee, questioned Marriott whether this policy was a threat to First Amendment rights.
“When we're talking about that protected liberty interest, what we're looking at, is it stifling the actual expression?” Marriott said. “That’s not been alleged in this case, and so we have a policy in place that is viewpoint neutral and that been determined by both the Eastern District and in the Western District of Missouri as viewpoint neutral because it's been challenged with identical language in two different cases.”
Wilcox pushed back on that argument during her rebuttal.
“One person can lodge a complaint, can list every book that was written by or in favor of Republicans, and they would be removed automatically, because the policy requires it,” Wilcox said.
She added this this wasn’t a preenforcement challenge, that the policy has been enforced.
Wilcox noted the policy applies to all schools within the district, so when a parent in one school files a complaint, the book in question is immediately removed districtwide.
The April 25, 2022, removal of the book "Cats vs. Robots Volume 1: This is War" sparked the lawsuit. The challenge form submitted by a parent stated only “non-binary discussion chapter” as the basis for the complaint.
Both attorneys touched on the fact that this is the first challenge to a policy that has been in place for 12 years.
“We are here on a case that is not challenging the removal or temporary removal of any actual book,” Marriott said. “It's challenging a policy about an intention of students to use the library, a fear of some future event that they may not have access to some book, but they don't know what book, upon a challenge by someone."
He continued: "And what I would say is that the reality is, we have schools that have a finite number of books and libraries to begin with, right, so we don't have an issue with curating and what books are in there. And they also have to have the ability to update those books, change those books, remove those books.”
The Independence School District serves more than 14,000 students in the western suburbs of Kansas City. It has three high schools, four middle schools and 20 elementary schools, according to its website.
Parents group defends right to challenge school district’s book banning at Eighth Circuit Parents group defends right to challenge school district’s book banning at Eighth Circuit
The policy requires schools to preemptively remove library materials, including books, after receiving a challenge and before conducting any review or vote.
https://www.courthousenews.com/parent...
A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, finding that the parents failed to show an injury, which prompted the appeal to the Eight Circuit.
The school district holds that the dismissal was proper because there was no actual injury done.
“This is an anticipated, hypothetical potential future temporary removal of a book, while it is reviewed by a committee before the board makes a decision,” said J. Drew Marriott of EdCounsel, the district's attorney.
U.S. Circuit Judge Lavenski R. Smith, a George W. Bush appointee, questioned Marriott whether this policy was a threat to First Amendment rights.
“When we're talking about that protected liberty interest, what we're looking at, is it stifling the actual expression?” Marriott said. “That’s not been alleged in this case, and so we have a policy in place that is viewpoint neutral and that been determined by both the Eastern District and in the Western District of Missouri as viewpoint neutral because it's been challenged with identical language in two different cases.”
Wilcox pushed back on that argument during her rebuttal.
“One person can lodge a complaint, can list every book that was written by or in favor of Republicans, and they would be removed automatically, because the policy requires it,” Wilcox said.
She added this this wasn’t a preenforcement challenge, that the policy has been enforced.
Wilcox noted the policy applies to all schools within the district, so when a parent in one school files a complaint, the book in question is immediately removed districtwide.
The April 25, 2022, removal of the book "Cats vs. Robots Volume 1: This is War" sparked the lawsuit. The challenge form submitted by a parent stated only “non-binary discussion chapter” as the basis for the complaint.
Both attorneys touched on the fact that this is the first challenge to a policy that has been in place for 12 years.
“We are here on a case that is not challenging the removal or temporary removal of any actual book,” Marriott said. “It's challenging a policy about an intention of students to use the library, a fear of some future event that they may not have access to some book, but they don't know what book, upon a challenge by someone."
He continued: "And what I would say is that the reality is, we have schools that have a finite number of books and libraries to begin with, right, so we don't have an issue with curating and what books are in there. And they also have to have the ability to update those books, change those books, remove those books.”
The Independence School District serves more than 14,000 students in the western suburbs of Kansas City. It has three high schools, four middle schools and 20 elementary schools, according to its website.
Capping off National Library Week As part of the Books Unbanned Project, Brooklyn Public Library and The Seattle Public Library have gathered hundreds of stories of teens and young people who signed up for a free Books Unbanned e-card to access materials that have been challenged and banned in schools and libraries across the country.
https://booksunbanned.com/documents/B...
Listen to the actual "children". They do actually know what they can and should be reading! They will self-censor on their own. I grew up only wanting to read LHOTP, Anne of Green Gables and Little Women, all the classics. I was the weird one!
A YA Author, Activist, and Social Issues Scholar Meet to Discuss Book BansYoung adult fiction author Julian Winters, activist Cameron Samuels, and Dr. Tanishia Lavette Williams had a discussion held at Brandeis University on April 3rd on the reality of book bans. They discussed how book bans were affecting learning and dismantled the idea that book bans aren't preventing people from reading. Winters said, “Books aren’t cheap — it’s hard to watch when books are continuously pulled from [school and library] shelves. For some that’s the only way they’re accessible." —Book Riot editor Erica
https://www.thejustice.org/article/20...
Attempts to ban books are at an all-time high. These librarians are fighting backhttps://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/att...
This is sickening.Alabama legislators want $6.6 million in library funding tied to book relocations
https://www.al.com/educationlab/2024/...
Alabama legislators are pushing to make librarians move “inappropriate” books for children in order to get millions of dollars in funding.
That funding is contingent on a code change that hasn’t happened yet. A public comment period is still open for multiple rules that would impact how libraries handle content dealing with sex, gender and LGBTQ issues.
For public libraries to receive $6.6 million in funding for fiscal year 2025, “a public library must be in compliance with the Governor’s proposed amendments” to the Alabama Public Library Service code, which includes moving books deemed “inappropriate” for children and teenagers.
The budget passed the House Ways and Means Education Committee on Wednesday and will be on the floor of the House before the public comment period ends.
“We believe these are good recommendations,” said Rep. Danny Garrett, (R-Jefferson County) House Ways and Means Education Committee chair.
“These are not book banning restrictions,” Garrett said. “It’s a very deliberative process. This is the overwhelming thinking of the legislature.”
Garrett said legislators have limited time to make decisions because the legislature only meets for 30 out of the 105 days in session. He said this month’s public comment period “would be considered for the next budget cycle.”
The budget amendment is the third legislative action taken regarding libraries in the last week. Two bills were filed last week to make public school, university, and public librarians liable for “obscene” content checked out by minors and to prohibit libraries from joining the American Library Association.
The proposed library code amendments include the following:
“In order to receive state aid, a library board must approve written policies for the public library which cover the following: Physical location (and relocation of s--ually explicit or other material deemed inappropriate for children or youth. Advance approval of materials recommended, displayed, or otherwise actively promoted to children or youth.”
“Exercising discretion in the location of s---ually explicit material or other material deemed by the public library board to be inappropriate for children or youth does not constitute a denial of service on the basis of age. Taking age into account when recommending, displaying, or otherwise actively promoting library materials does not constitute a denial of service on the basis of age.”
“Any expenditure of public funds to the American Library Association must be approved by the governing board of the public library or public library system in an open, public meeting following advance public notice.”
In a statement, anti-censorship group Read Freely Alabama called the amendment “a direct and intentional subversion of the established legal process with the goal to suppress the voices of Alabamians they disagree with.”
“This move will not only further target library professionals, but punish citizens for daring to exercise their right to participate in the established process for changes to the codes by which their public libraries operate,” the group said. Their biggest concern is how this “unethical tampering” will affect libraries in economically disadvantaged or rural areas.
Stephanie Williams, who challenged several books at the Foley Library, said in an email the proposed change “is a good start in this highly incendiary debate.”
“I remain saddened that it is even necessary to codify common sense protections of minors from sexual predation, but here we are in 2024 Alabama.”
Westmoreland education leaders, residents explore the impact of book bans as challenges rock Western Pa. https://www.post-gazette.com/news/edu...
As libraries across Western Pennsylvania continue to receive pushes to remove books from their shelves, a panel discussion at the Greensburg YWCA on Thursday night dove into the impacts of book bans.
The event, titled “What do we lose by banning books,” drew nearly 20 people from across Westmoreland County who conversed with a panel of local academics, delving into the complications of book bans and the impacts they have on young people and society. It was hosted by Voice of Westmoreland, a non-partisan, grassroots organization.
The goal of the event was to highlight the consequences book bans have on some of the nation’s youngest learners such as making them less prepared for life and depriving them of their individuality and liberties. The panel also showcased how book challenges have turned school board meetings across Allegheny, Beaver and Westmoreland counties into contentious battles that mirror national trends.
Hempfield Area School District in Westmoreland County revised its policy for selecting resource materials to require librarians to submit a public list of requested books and permit the public to voice any concerns about the titles before they can be purchased. The change came after a small group of parents challenged “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” and “The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person” by Frederick Joseph, which discusses the author’s experiences with racism.
The Pine-Richland School District in Allegheny County received challenges to 14 books in October, the same month a group of community members pleaded with directors to remove books from school libraries they deemed to be s--ually explicit and obscene. A month later another group of community members touted the importance of the novels, the majority of which focus on LGBTQ+ people or people of color, and of representing all students within the district. The challenged books went through a review process laid out in a district policy. This week Superintendent Brian Miller announced that all of the books would remain in the library.
School directors are now planning on tweaking the policy around resource materials during a school board meeting this month, a decision that came after the previous board tabled a potential review of the policy until newly elected school board members — now making the board majority conservative — were seated in December.
Similarly, the Blackhawk School Board in Beaver County in October voted to amend its policy to allow students and parents to reject the use of resource materials that did not match their values or fundamental religious beliefs. That policy was rolled back in December after a new board was seated.
But the problem, Dennis McDaniel, an English professor at St. Vincent College said Thursday night, is that book challenges take away the opportunity for kids to learn about people different from themselves, “not just people who lived in Shakespeare’s time or live in Texas or China, but about racial and ethnic and non-hetero conforming groups. Books that feature non-white, non-European, non-heterosexual characters may be the only way students in this area experience someone unlike themselves.”
He continued, adding that book bans deprive students of their independence and liberty by telling them that choices around reading and literature are not for them to make. That in turn, Mr. McDaniel said, can make young adults feel as if their votes in elections are insignificant.
“When young people stop reading and turn their back on politics not only do they lose representation but they also become more vulnerable to authoritarians who are more willing to tell them what to think and what books to read,” Mr. McDaniel said.
But according to Renee Kiner, a public services librarian at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg who used to work at public libraries, novels are curated by trained librarians and identified for appropriate age groups.
“An individual has their rights to read whatever they want,” Ms. Kiner said. “Now if we’re talking about young children then it is the responsibility of their parents to check.”
Panelists also stressed the importance of offering students varying perspectives with the goal of teaching “each other to have open dialogue and not demonize people because of the open dialogue,” Ms. Jimmerson said.
Sakura Okuri, who has a child in the Hempfield Area School District, attended the event in hopes of bringing to light “disingenuous motives” behind the movement to ban books.
“It’s the next generation and the culture of our country that’s at stake with book banning and what the wider implications of that are,” Mr. Okuri said.
Aileen Cunningham, who lives in Youngstown, added that she attended the event because “books have always been a very important part of my life and it does concern me that in our community people are trying to ban books and they haven’t even read the books. I’m hoping that I can find a way to help that.”
But for Ms. Jimmerson, the movement is a way for parents and schools to focus on filling students with knowledge that will make them into well-rounded adults rather than protecting them from what they will experience later in life.
“It’s OK to be uncomfortable,” Ms. Jimmerson said. “We don’t have to wrap our young people into cocoons. Life is pits and valleys and highs and lows. We have to armor them in order to be successful.”
I Need a New Butt!Former Hinds County assistant principal fired over children's book, fights for his job [still?!]
https://www.wapt.com/article/former-h...
Not much going on over the weekend and many schools are on break this week. I did pick up a few stories to share.There have been bomb threats - yes BOMB THREATS- at public libraries and bookstores over Drag Queen story hour. Seriously? How is that protecting children? How is that "all lives matter"? It's voluntary. If you don't like it, don't go.
Provo, Utah bookstore
https://www.abc4.com/news/wasatch-fro...
A bomb threat, which has since been cleared, was issued toward a Provo bookstore Saturday morning, according to Provo Police.
Shortly after 9 a.m., police received a report of a bomb threat toward the Mosaics Community Bookstore & Venue, located at 1500 North State St. in Provo.
Police said the threat was made in an email that was sent to the KSL news desk. The email reportedly stated “bombs will go off” and appeared to be regarding events held at the bookstore, including “all ages drag story hour.”
and Durham County Main Library, North Carolina
https://www.wral.com/story/trying-to-...
A local group that aims to create safe spaces for LGBTQIA+ and gender diverse kids and families is speaking out after a bomb threat triggered an evacuation at a Durham library ahead of a family story time this weekend.
The Rainbow Collective for Change has been hosting monthly story times for around two years. On Saturday morning, kids and families were alarmed when Durham police responded to the Durham County Main Library because of a reported bomb threat. The library was evacuated.
According to a post on Facebook, Rainbow Collective wasn't informed that the threat was explicitly made against their story hour, but found out later through a news article the threat was targeting their event specifically.
DPD officers and the Durham County Sheriff’s Office’s bomb dog searched the building after the evacuation and later gave the all clear. The Durham County Main Library remained closed the rest of the day, and reopened Monday.
DPD said the case has been referred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation due to the increase in bomb threats at public institutions and buildings nationwide.
Tammy Baggett, Library Director, [stated she was] "Very disappointed, devastated, hurt, just to know that an institution like the library that is here for all, that someone would extend a threat of that nature and just disrupt something as simple as simple programs for kids and adults."
"People are trying to scare us and people are scared," wrote Rainbow Collective. "But people are also organizing, monitoring, and planning. As an LGBTQIA+ community, we’ve dealt with hate, violence, and discrimination for decades. We know how to organize and work together as a community to keep us safe."
Baggett said she's grateful for the Durham Police Department, first responders and security teams who responded quickly and gracefully to keep kids and families safe.
The Rainbow Collective for Change shared their own gratitude for the Durham County Library.
Although they are concerned these threats could grow worse as the election grows closer, the Rainbow Collective for Change says they remain steadfast in their mission to build safe and equitable spaces for LGBTQIA+ kids and families
The Rainbow Collective says they don't anticipate this being the end of threats of violence against their organization or the LGBTQIA+ community.
"Nationwide, LGBTQIA+ youth, LGBTQIA+ and anti-racist organizations, and libraries are under attack," they wrote. "Black transgender people are being murdered."
They said they believe the upcoming presidential election in November could see an increase in these kinds of threats.
Gender Queer author Maia Kobabe responds as memoir about life in Sonoma County tops list of banned books againhttps://www.pressdemocrat.com/article...
In an email to The Press Democrat Tuesday, Kobabe said “The freedom to read, the freedom to access information, and the freedom to learn are some of the most vital rights in this country.
“Removing books from schools and public libraries cuts off people’s access to knowledge about the wider world and about their own lives within it. This is especially true when the books being removed are about minority identities, or topics less commonly portrayed in popular culture. A book that might seem pointless to one reader might be lifesaving to another.”
Instead of using gendered identifiers such as “she,” “them,” or “their,” Kobabe has embraced nonbinary options “e,” “em,” and “eir.” This article will use nonbinary neopronouns.
Having grown up mostly outside Petaluma, Kobabe — who uses nonbinary neopronouns “e,” “em,” and “eir” — told The Press Democrat in 2021 that e had “a very relaxed and natural childhood” until e got eir first period at age 11 and became unhappy and confused by societal expectations and norms. Kobabe withdrew and turned to reading and sketching to cope with feelings of depression and dysmorphia.
The book chronicles Kobabe’s transition from adolescence to adulthood, including coming out, crushes and how hard it was being nonbinary in a world that largely sees gender as limited to man and woman.
PEN America has released their annual book ban report.Double The Book Bans in Half The Time: PEN America's Latest Report
• In the first six months of the 2023-2024 school year—July through December 2023—there have been twice as many book bans in public schools than there were in the whole of the 2022-2023 school year.
• Ban here represents books that were removed from shelves where they once were, regardless of whether or not the title has undergone any formal review process.
• Over 4,000 books were banned in that time frame, compared to 1,841 in the last semester of the 2022-2023 school year alone.
• This massive growth in book bans is thanks to increased legislation of books and schools which have removed books by the hundreds or thousands during the "review" process.
• PEN's report confirms that book bans are happening nationwide. The state's political leanings don't matter: 42 states, both red and blue, reported book bans in public schools over the three years of PEN's record keeping. This includes 23 states and 52 districts in the July-December 2023 time frame alone.
The top states for book bans in the first half of this school year are:
• Florida, with 3,135 in 11 school districts. 1,600 of those bans happened in Escambia County alone. [ETA: Driven by teacher Vicki Blodgett and one other parent]
• Wisconsin, with 481 bans in three districts. Elkhorn Area School District alone reported 444 of those from a single parental complaint.
• Iowa, with 142 bans in three districts.
• Texas ranks fourth in the country on book bans during this time period, with 141 book bans in four districts.
• Kentucky and Virginia each reported over 100 book bans each in the first half of the school year as well.
• [There was] increased censorship of books that explore sexual violence. Those books pulled in districts like West Ada in Idaho, Collier County in Florida, and in Kentucky, as well as the specific books under fire in those schools, including Nowhere Girls, Milk & Honey, and the nonfiction title Defining Sexual Consent.
Despite sexual violence being a crucial theme and topic for young readers, book banners continue to point to obscenity laws to get the books removed.
As the report explains:
Like in West Ada, many have attempted to add a legal justification for their bans by characterizing specific works in schools and libraries as “obscene,” a category of speech which is not protected under the First Amendment. These claims are not supported. The legal threshold for obscenity was decided by the Supreme Court in Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973), which created a three-pronged test for obscenity: the so-called Miller test. To satisfy the test, a work must be “taken as a whole” and found to lack “serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.” However, to circumvent these actual legal requirements, states and districts have increasingly introduced new terms or manipulated other existing statutes, instead.
• Other themes through the report related to book bans include both the continued hostility toward LGBTQ+ books—something readily seen in the weekly roundups of book banning news and in the ongoing slates of "most banned books" from both PEN and the American Library Association.
• Trans books which have become even further under fire by censors. "Gender ideology" is a key phrase related to the attacks on these books, and they're part of a longer and larger organized effort to suppress and disappear trans people more broadly. In 2024 so far, over 540 bills across the country specifically target trans people and their rights. Again, one read through the book ban news will showcase not only the increased presence of books by or about trans people but, looking a bit deeper, will show those attacks are concurrent with attacks on other trans rights in schools, including access and participation in sports, bathroom regulation, pronoun usage, and more (for example: not only did Iowa legislation try to pass SF 496 to ban books last year, with specific targets on the titles by or about queer people, but within that very bill is legislation that does not allow students to go by preferred names or pronouns at school without explicit parental/guardian permission).
• "Critical Race Theory" continues to be a key theme among book banners, either. Books by or about people of color continue to top the list of most banned works—even though that in and of itself does not constitute "Critical Race Theory," invoking that phrase is a dog whistle for right-wing political attacks.
From the report:
This school year, in September 2023, seventeen books were also removed from school libraries in nearby Lexington School District Two after a local group called Parents Advocating for Children’s Education (PACE) challenged their presence in local schools. PACE members challenged books for allegedly teaching children that they need to defeat their “inner white demon” and for containing topics like white privilege and “racially and politically divisive material.” In total, PACE challenged 30 books, resulting in 17 being removed and 3 being restricted to high school shelves. The group referred to the process as a “detox.”
• PEN's report notes that small and vocal groups, such as the above-named PACE and dozens of others, are disempowering the majority of parental voices. The "parental rights" movement and groups like Moms For Liberty are shouting over other parents and unduly influencing boards across the country—particularly when they've worked to install members of their own group onto these "nonpartisan" boards.
• PEN ends with examples of where and how there is resistance and push back to the bans across the country.
• However, "[T]he crisis is not over. Every day, librarians are laid off and public libraries thrown into disarray, their already precarious funding further threatened. Educators are left unsure of their job security and physical safety, undermining their ability to do their jobs."
https://pen.org/report/narrating-the-...
And this week's mid-week book ban news Jason Rapert demands removal of books he dislikes from Arkansas libraries
https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/20...
Jason Rapert, an evangelical preacher and former state senator who now serves on the State Library Board, can add aspiring book banner to his resume.
In a post on social media Monday, Rapert discussed results of a survey of public library systems over books he finds offensive. The Conway Republican inaccurately proclaimed, “
The survey did not, however, ask libraries to report “any books” with obscene, p----graphic or objectionable content available to minors. What it asked, per Rapert’s own request, was whether the libraries have or have had any of 30 specific titles in print, digital or audio format accessible to readers under age 18.
Appointed to the library board by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders late last year, Rapert tried in February to halt funding to library systems that are suing the state over a new law that targets librarians. His motion failed without a second.
n March, at Rapert’s insistence, the head of the Arkansas State Library emailed library systems around the state about whether they had any of the 30 titles in their collections. Here’s a summary of the survey results from a state-created chart obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request. Not all libraries responded to the voluntary survey.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Rapert, who has declared himself “the conscience of the Arkansas State Library Board,” did not say where he got the list of titles. He also has not said whether he has read the books, though he has hinted that he may target more.
“I call upon all library boards and librarians to IMMEDIATELY remove these books and secure them out of reach of minor children,” he wrote. “It is ludicrous that anyone would think it’s ok for little kids to have access to books containing obscene sexual material in them.”
Rapert went on to urge “the good people of Arkansas” to “take action” and “stop this mess.”
“I have already requested further action and want Arkansas people to know the truth,” he wrote.
Rapert ended his sermon on Facebook and Twitter with this bit of his personal theology, in all capital letters: “No one who thinks it is okay to give little kids access to books with sexually explicit material should be serving as a librarian, library staff, member of the board of a public entity, or serve in publicly elected office.”
DeSantis has changed his tune slightly. "Don't say gay" is Unconstitutional but there's still "Stop WOKE".__________________
DeSantis signs bill limiting Florida book challenges
https://apnews.com/article/florida-ro...
DeSantis tweaks Florida book challenge law, blames liberal activist who wanted Bible out of schools
DeSantis backtracked on the 2022 law on Tuesday when he signed a bill narrowing its focus. He blamed liberal activists for abusing the law, not the citizens whose objections to certain books account for the majority of book removals from school libraries and classrooms.
“The idea that someone can use the parents rights and the curriculum transparency to start objecting to every single book to try to make a mockery of this is just wrong,” DeSantis said the day before the bill signing. “That’s performative. That’s political.”
The original law allowed any person — parent or not, district resident or not — to challenge books as often as they wanted. Once challenged, a book has to be pulled from shelves until the school district resolves the complaint. The new law limits people who don’t have students in a school district to one challenge per month.
“It’s just a big mess that DeSantis created and now he’s trying to disown it, but I don’t know if he’ll be able to distance himself from this because he campaigned on it so hard,” said House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell.
It’s not the only example of the tough-talking governor having to make adjustments to ideology he championed while seeking the White House.
The Associated Press asked DeSantis’ office for examples of liberal activists abusing the law and it provided one: Chaz Stevens, a South Florida resident who has often lampooned government. Stevens raised challenges in dozens of school districts over the Bible, dictionaries and thesauruses.
The change to the law “ensures that book challenges are limited for individuals, like Chaz, who do not have children with access to the school district’s materials,” DeSantis spokeswoman Julia Friedland said in an email. She didn’t reply to follow-up emails requesting more examples.
Stevens, who 11 years ago made national news when he installed a Festivus pole made out of beer cans across from a nativity scene displayed in the Capitol, was delighted DeSantis’ office singled him out.
“When they need to make stupid stupider, they send me up. I’m part comedian, I’m part activist, I’m part artist. I just want a better society,” Stevens said. “I’m an idiot, but a smart guy at the same time.”
DeSantis was warned there would be problems when the book ban law passed in 2022.
“We told him so. The Florida House Democrats on the floor — in our debate, in our questioning — pointed out the vagueness in the original law and how it could be subject to abuse,” she said. “Chaz is not the problem. It’s the folks who are taking liberties with the law who are the problem.”
The Wall Street Journal: Exclusive | Suit Challenging Iowa's Book Ban Is Backed by Every Major Publisherhttps://www.wsj.com/business/media/su...
HarperCollins, Hachette, Simon & Schuster and others join legal action started by Penguin Random House last fall
paywalled for me
Newsweek story by a Black librarian"I'm a Black Librarian. We're Being Threatened"
https://www.newsweek.com/i-am-black-l...
Palmer council asks Alaska AG whether list of challenged books violates state obscenity laws - Anchorage Daily News[The answer is no so go away and stop wasting tax payer dollars and everyone's time.]
https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/mat-s...
Palmer’s city council is asking Alaska’s attorney general to determine whether certain books violate state obscenity laws — and whether city librarians could be arrested for letting minors check out those books.
The request was sent Tuesday to Attorney General Treg Taylor in a letter signed by Palmer Mayor Steve Carrington and approved by the city council last month.
The letter comes after City Attorney Sarah Heath in late February advised the council to ask for direction rather than remove challenged books from city library shelves, a step she warned could open the city to a civil rights lawsuit. Officials said they also hope to provide support to city librarians following a call last year for their arrest.
The city council’s letter asks Taylor to clarify guidance he sent to school and public library officials statewide in November, in which he warned that allowing children to access books with s--ual content could violate state criminal law and lead to prosecution.
The city asks Taylor to determine whether individual titles on a list of 56 books are “harmful to minors” and criminally obscene under state law and whether the librarians who check out those books to minors should be arrested and charged with a crime.
The list of 56 questioned books includes titles widely considered classics. The same list is under consideration by a Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District citizens’ advisory board empaneled last year to review challenged books.
Officers with the Palmer Police Department visited the Palmer Library last year in response to a complaint from a Palmer-area resident that librarians were distributing books in violation of state law, Palmer City Manager John Moosey said in an interview. No further action was taken by police at that time, he said.
That police response has created an unfair working environment for the city’s librarians, Moosey said.
“You have people who are built to be librarians and are there to help, not to be accused of all these dastardly things,” he said.
At the borough level, a new citizen committee will take over the review of challenged books in borough library collections after a prior committee was suspended amid chaotic public hearings. It is modeled after a similar 11-member school district committee that has made recommendations on 31 books.
Lancaster, Penn.Parents confront Warwick school board over secret meeting with lawyer who has helped schools ban books
https://lancasteronline.com/news/loca...
Two Warwick school directors met last Thursday with the lawyer at the center of divisive school district policies around Pennsylvania, prompting criticism from parents at a school board meeting last night.
A photo taken by Warwick Township resident Kellye Martin showed Warwick School Board President Emily Zimmerman and Vice President Scott Landis meeting with Independence Law Center Chief Counsel Randall Wenger outside the district office.
Martin, a Warwick graduate with two children in the high school, said she was at the district for a 2 p.m. meeting when she saw the two board members. Around 3 p.m., after she left her meeting, she saw them escort Wenger outside.
. Last April, three board members — Jim Koelsch, Dan Wooley and Scott Landis — admitted to having separately met with the lawyer.
The meetings did not lead to the district enlisting Wenger’s firm. However, the historically Republican-dominated school district has seen a major reshaping since then.
The 2023 election brought five new people onto the board: Angie Lingo, Amy Martin, Reggie Weaver, Bill Breault and Mike Brown. Many ran on hard-right positions and were aligned with the local Moms for Liberty chapter. All were endorsed by the Warwick Area Republican Committee.
Kellye Martin said she wanted to let people know what she saw because she is concerned that the board may enlist the law firm in developing school policies that have divided communities and wasted taxpayer dollars elsewhere in Pennsylvania.
Though the law firm offers its services for free, Martin noted its policies have cost districts thousands. Perhaps the most expensive example: Central Bucks School District in Bucks County last year was charged $1.75 million to address lawsuits alleging discrimination against LGBTQ+ students.
“The Independence Law Center has sown chaos with every school district that they have touched,” Martin said.
Wenger, in a statement, said it's "simply untrue" that ILC-developed policies have cost school districts.
"No lawsuit has been filed challenging ILC policies at any school anywhere. The expenditure at Central Bucks was for an investigation into bullying, not ILC policies. And that investigation revealed that the school responded appropriately," Wenger said.
School boards must follow Pennsylvania Sunshine Law, which requires that the public be made aware of most meetings. However, because only two board members met with Wenger, rather than three, this appears to be within the rules, said right-to-know law expert Craig Staudenmaier, a Harrisburg-based lawyer.
At a packed meeting Tuesday night, resident Rachael Haverstick said the board was “carefully dancing” around the Sunshine law.
Lititz Borough resident Arielle Miller, whose children attend Lititz Elementary School, said the Independence Law Center’s stances on LGBTQ+ issues went against the school’s board policy 833 that defines equity, giving every student access to educational resources.
“While the ILC’s ‘pro bono’ services might feel like they are appealing to this board, it is essential to consider the hidden costs that are associated with partnering with them,” Miller said.
Not all who spoke opposed the board’s discussions with Wenger. District resident Mark Mueller said the public complaints were akin to “the old Crockett charge,” explaining how the 19th century folk hero Davy Crockett conducted raids on Native Americans by tricking them into thinking his attacking party was larger than it was. Mueller said many people support the board and encouraged them to “keep your eyes on the target.”
“Sometimes what’s best for the student is not necessarily what’s best for the taxpayer’s pocketbook,” Mueller said. “And sometimes you have to stand for what is right, right in your heart, and not be bullied.”
Los Angeles-Newport Beach library trustees vote to relocate one book, uphold decision on another in appeal hearings
https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-p...
The Newport Beach Board of Library Trustees, after considering appeals of residents who objected to the library director’s placement of two controversial children’s books, ruled Monday evening one of the titles should be moved to the teen section, while the other could remain in place.
The books up for review were “Melissa,” which was previously published as “George,” by Alex Gino, and “Prince & Knight,” by Daniel Haack.
City library services director Melissa Hartson rejected requests for the removal of these titles from the childrens’ section in November. Her decisions on both titles were appealed to the Newport Beach Board of Library Trustees, who formalized an appeals application and process in January of this year after patrons inquired about what that process looked like.
Appellants Haley Jenkins, Debra Klein and Sydni Webb on Monday presented the case for moving “Melissa” to the library’s teen section, instead of placing it on shelves with books for younger children. They read excerpts from the book, wherein the titular character peed and “tried not to think about what was between her legs” while bathing in two separate scenes.
The book is designated for children between the ages of 8 and 12.
“How deep are you willing to go for little children? In the past, has this library given out reading materials to children with medical advice like [how to obtain] hormones and surgeries?” Jenkins said. “Viewpoint discrimination cannot be an argument when there are over 100 children and teen books in the LGBTQ category in the catalog and many of those are not as vulgar as this. If age appropriate only means mindlessly placing on shelves whatever books ... book review sites tell you were good, then using the term ‘age appropriate’ in your policy is meaningless.”
Klein asserted her perception that book reviewers do not examine review conservative books and that many review sites are skewed to the left. Webb said she would have been liable for sexual harassment if she discussed “female or male genitalia, surgically manipulating children’s bodies, pornography and looking up girls’ skirts” at work and so questioned the inclusion of a book that included those references in the children’s section.
Public comments on the appeal of “Melissa” on Monday largely called on the trustees to uphold Hartson’s decision. Nearly 40 individuals spoke at the hearing.
Irvine parent Foz Meadows, who is trans, said he wasn’t planning on speaking at the hearing on “Melissa” but decided to speak up on the basis of what was being said.
“The fact is that when challenges of this nature come out towards these books, it’s not about the books themselves. It’s about the people they represent,” said Meadows, the parent of an 11-year-old child. “I suspect [to the applicants] ... I would be deemed inappropriate to be around [their children] by virtue of my existence.
“The other trans parents I know would be deemed inappropriate to be parents to their own children and that is absurd. It is absurd and bigoted,” Meadows continued. “There’s no other word for it. The concern that people have [for] these books, this material, is pornographic is nonsensical. It’s like calling a biology lesson pornographic because it uses the word ‘p---is.’ You can discuss things that relate to bodies that relate to gender and relate to sexuality, yes, even to children without it being p---graphic.”
Many expressed their trust and faith in librarians while others said that the mere mention of genitalia wasn’t inherently s--ual, arguing that the relocation of the book only made it more difficult for children to access who may have recognized themselves in the character Melissa.
Those supportive of moving the title to the teen section reiterated similar refrains as the three appellants, describing the book as inappropriate because of its in-text references to gen---lia, p----graphy and hormone therapy.
Board chair Paul Watkins said they received more than 140 emails speaking to both sides of the argument for both books appealed Monday night and he ultimately voted, alongside trustees Antonella Castro and Chase Rief, to relocate the book to the teens’ section.
By comparison, the appeal filed by Bill Dunlap over where to shelve “Prince & Knight” was less contentious, though close to 20 people still commented on the matter, including former Councilwoman Joy Brenner.
Dunlap, in his remarks, said it was not his intention to suggest the banning or removal of books but its relocation.
“It’s for ages 4 to 8, so we’re talking about basically pre-K and second-grade. Comprehending the difference between hetero and homosexuality should not be discussed at this early age. At a time when the child is closer to adolescence, we believe a parent or guardian has the right to share with their 4- to 8-year-old the material they deem appropriate,” Dunlap said. “However, we do not agree that a public library should offer this book to 4- to 8-year-olds without parental consent. This, we believe, is an ... informal way of grooming.”
The majority of speakers, as was the case with the first hearing, were against the appeal, noting there was nothing in the book that was s--ual in nature.
Trustees agreed that the book was not explicit and unanimously voted to uphold Hartson’s decision to keep the book in the childrens’ section in the library.
Twelve applications have been received by the city on eight different titles, according to the city. The next three books up for review are “It Feels Good to be Yourself,” by Teresa Thorn; “Who Are You?” by Brook Pessin-Whedbee; and “Not My Idea” by Anastasia Higginbotham, at the board of library trustees’ meeting in May.
And finally, one piece of good news out of TexasCourt won't reconsider blocking Texas public school book rating law
https://www.reuters.com/legal/governm...
A divided federal appeals court on Tuesday declined to disturb a ruling that blocked Texas from enforcing part of a law banning s---ally explicit books from public school libraries.
The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on a 9-8 vote declined to reconsider, opens new tab a three-judge panel's January decision that the law violated the U.S. Constitution by requiring booksellers to review and rate books for se---al content before they can sell them to primary and secondary schools.
While the state had not asked the 5th Circuit to reconsider the matter, an unnamed judge had requested a poll of the court's members on whether to do so, which many of the court's conservative members favored.
U.S. Circuit Judge James Ho, an appointee of Republican former President Donald Trump, in a dissenting opinion Tuesday said states have a "profound interest in protecting the innocence of children from various adult activities."
"We also shield them from s---ally explicit materials," he wrote. "Nothing in the First Amendment prevents states from taking steps to shield children from such content."
His dissent was joined by four of the seven judges who favored rehearing the case, all of whom were appointed by Republican presidents. They were outnumbered by five Democratic appointees and four Republican-picked judges.
Laura Prather, a lawyer at Haynes and Boone for two bookstores and industry groups including the American Booksellers Association and Association of American Publishers that challenged the law, welcomed the ruling.
Spokespeople for Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton did not respond to a request for comment.
The law, signed by Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott last June, would have required booksellers to rate books based on their references to s-x and empowered the Texas Education Agency to review those ratings. Any books rated explicit could not be sold to public schools and had to be recalled from school libraries.
In September, U.S. District Judge Alan Albright in Austin blocked the rating provision, agreeing with the plaintiffs that it amounted to compelled speech that violated the U.S. Constitution's 1st Amendment.
Albright's ruling did not apply to separate provisions of the law barring school libraries from offering materials that are s---ally explicit or otherwise unsuitable for students.
On appeal, the state argued that the rating requirements required booksellers to disclose factual information, similar to warning labels on consumer products. The three-judge 5th Circuit panel said the requirement was too subjective.
The case is Book People Inc v. Wong, 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 23-50668.
More book banning newsThe Truth as Told by Mason Buttle was removed from Lakeland Middle School (ID) after a parent complained about perceieved homosexual content. A special meeting was held to discuss the book and after much debate, the censors won.
https://www.khq.com/news/controversia...
https://cdapress.com/news/2024/apr/06...
Board Chair Michelle Thompson
Assistant Superintendent Lynn Paslay
Thompson stated the order of events concerning the book stemmed back to March 12 with a parent email on behalf of three families with students in sixth grade teacher Susan Chatterton’s class at Lakeland Middle School.
“They were given this book, ‘The Truth As Told by Mason Buttle,’ but none of the parents had approved it; it wasn't on their syllabus,” Thompson said.
The book by Leslie Connor focuses on childhood grief as Mason Buttle, a boy with dyslexia, mourns the loss of his best friend in the Buttle family’s orchard. Buttle is bullied and a police officer believes he was involved in the death of his friend.
Thompson's email to Paslay indicated parents believed there to be “homosexual content” with no opt-out alternative being provided.
Since Paslay was in charge of the supplemental curriculum, Thompson asked her to find out when the book was approved and added to the supplemental curriculum.
There was no assertion of power by me saying ‘pull that book,’” Thompson said.
Since it wasn’t an item for the March board meeting, Thompson added it to the April agenda.
A phone call March 13 which Thompson called a “collaborative conversation” resulted in both Thompson and Paslay believing the other initiated the notion of pulling the book.
“Is the primary basis of the complaint about this two dad thing?” Trustee Bob Jones asked, adding that the concept was “harmless.”
“Let me tell you something, I had two dads,” Jones said.
“Me, too,” Board member Randi Bain said.
“I had two fathers, does that make me a bad person?” Jones continued.
“I think a lot of people had two dads,” board member Ramona Grissom said.
“I had a father and I had a stepfather and I had a relationship with both of them at the same time and this paragraph is talking about two dads, one who lives somewhere and one who lives somewhere else, which could have been exactly the same situation that I grew up with, so I'm not sure why that's to be complained about,” Jones said.
In UtahBomb threat made against Mosaics bookstore in Provo; no device found
https://www.heraldextra.com/news/loca...
A Provo bookstore known for its support of the LGBTQ+ community was the target of a bomb threat Saturday morning, prompting a search by police with bomb-sniffing dogs, though no explosives ultimately were discovered.
According to a press release from Provo police, the KSL news desk reported the threat just after 9 a.m. The Daily Herald also received the threat, which came in an email, and reported it to law enforcement.
The profane email was sent with the subject line “We will blow up the bookstore” and was directed at Mosaics Community Bookstore & Venue. The message called operators of the bookstore [hateful names] (view spoiler)
“We will not stand idly by as the next generation of children are preyed upon and corrupted, we will stop you and we will kill you,” the message continued, concluding with a statement that “bombs will go off” at Mosaics, then listing the business’s address.
Mosaics has been in operation since September 2023. On its website, the business is referred to as a bookstore, gathering place and “safe space.” A mission statement says Mosaics aims “to cultivate a culture of acceptance, creativity, and authentic self-expression for marginalized communities in Utah … by being a visible queer owned and operated business in a part of the state that currently does not have many.”
The bookstore regularly hosts events such as drag story hour and “Gayme Night.”
Tara Lipsyncki, a transgender drag queen activist, and her husband own Mosaics.
Another one in New Yorkhttps://www.14850.com/041536268-books...
A bomb threat that forced officials to evacuate the Dewitt Mall last Sunday afternoon was directed against Buffalo Street Books and “five individuals associated with the bookstore,” according to a message Monday from the store’s general manager, Lisa Swayze, to the co-op’s owners and customers.
The Ithaca Police Department said last Sunday that the threat “specifically identified the DeWitt Mall, and several individuals as targets. IPD and TCSO initiated a joint investigation into the threat,” and determined “there is not any evidence that the threat received was credible.
As further information has been gathered, it seems fairly clear that this threat was directed at the bookstore’s efforts to welcome and include the LGBTQIA+ community, including our Drag Story Hour,” Swayze’s message said.
“As you can imagine, this has left us feeling a bit shaky,” she continued. “But let us assure you that we do not feel in danger at this time. The threat was made by anonymous email and delivered to a news agency in another part of the state. Local and national law enforcement are involved, and we’ve reached out to the American Booksellers Association for support. We already take precautions to make our events as safe as possible, and in the wake of this threat we are reviewing those procedures, as well as recommendations from other bookstores’ best practices around events.”
“If anything, the threat only increases our resolve to continue to do the things that we believe improve lives and spread love through books in our community, including Drag Story Hour,” Swayze says. “We are grateful to our Drag Queens who volunteer their time to spread literacy and joy so kids can be confident in themselves and become changemakers in their communities. We remain committed to inclusion and equity and to the bookstore being a safe community space for all.”
Very upsetting news in Idaho.Idaho libraries must move materials deemed harmful to children, or face lawsuits, under new law
Gov. Brad Little’s office received over 7,000 emails and calls in opposition to House Bill 710, and about 4,250 in favor of the legislation
https://idahocapitalsun.com/2024/04/1...
“I share the cosponsors’ desire to keep truly inappropriate library materials out of the hands of minors. That said, I still believe a greater harm confronts our children — content accessible to them on their phones and devices,” Little wrote in a letter to lawmakers Wednesday after he signed the bill.
Little wrote that he will be watching the implementation and outcomes of the law “very closely.”
The Idaho Family Policy Center, a conservative Christian group that has spearheaded library-related legislation, said in a news release Wednesday that the bill “largely utilizes model language that was drafted by Idaho Family Policy Center last year.” The center said it is “directly responsible for mobilizing” more than 3,000 Idahans to contact Little’s office in support of the legislation over the past week.
The Idaho Library Association, which represents more than 260 librarians statewide, said it was “so disappointed.”
“We will continue our efforts in supporting all libraries and their communities moving forward. Please check on your librarians,” the group said in its post on X.
House Bill 710 lets children or their parents 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 60 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 law.
Some librarians have called the bill unneeded, telling lawmakers in a House committee this year that local library relocation policies handle community complaints, while others worried it would strain libraries.
The law takes effect July 1.
The Idaho Senate passed the bill in a 24-11 vote last week. The Idaho House, after a tense debate, passed the original version of House Bill 710 in March. The Idaho House passed the amended bill on a 45-24 vote last week.
The Senate late last month amended the bill to extend the deadline to move materials from 30 to 60 days, and require libraries to have a relocation policy.
House Bill 710 relies on Idaho’s existing definition of materials harmful to minors, which includes “any act of … homosexuality” under its definition of sexual conduct.
The bill also amends Idaho’s legal definition of materials harmful to minors. One of those amendments adds a definition of schools that includes “any public and private school” that provides K-12 instruction.
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 requires 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.
GeorgiaBartow County parents, community members ask for ‘s--ually explicit’ books to be removed from schools
https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024...
Censors:
Linda Stratten, who went to school in Bartow County.
Dr. David McKalib, who started the Bartow Freedom Coalition, a group that has been identifying books they say are “s---ually explicit.”
Andrew Blawat, a Bartow County resident who spoke during the meeting but does not have children in the school district.
Dr. David McKalib lives in Bartow County. He doesn’t have children in the school system but he’s made it his mission to get books he’s deemed inappropriate out of school libraries and classrooms.
“They’ve removed dozens of them, thank the lord. I came up with about 56 books so far and that’s all I could find right away and they removed a bunch on their own as a school system,” said Dr. McKalib.
“Taxpayers’ money is being used to buy these books. Some say they’re trying to ban books. This, that and the other. No, no. You can go and buy these books. I’m just complaining about the school system furnishing these books,” said Blawat.
Not all parents who spoke during public comment were on the same side.
“I would like to speak tonight to support the board on continuing a thorough examination and process and not act in a knee-jerk fashion simply because some people say some books need to be removed,” said Brian Johnston, whose daughter will be going to high school in the district. “I’m all for keeping kids engaged and reading at the appropriate reading level.”
School board members responded to the influx of public comment about book removal, despite it not being on Monday’s agenda.
“I’m totally opposed to s---ally explicit books being in libraries. I want them out. I cannot walk into that library as a board member and remove one,” said Darla Williams, District One’s School Board member. “We get so bogged down in rules and regulations that we can’t get things done.”
“We have a policy in place, any parent has any objections, they can apply for those books to be removed. That’s what’s getting books out of here,” said Tony Ross, School Board Member for District 2.
Only 2 parents have actually gone through the formal challenge process this year.
GeorgiaBartow County parents, community members ask for ‘s--ually explicit’ books to be removed from schools
https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024...
Censors:
Linda Stratten, who went to school in Bartow County.
Dr. David McKalib, who started the Bartow Freedom Coalition, a group that has been identifying books they say are “s---ually explicit.”
Andrew Blawat, a Bartow County resident who spoke during the meeting but does not have children in the school district.
Dr. David McKalib lives in Bartow County. He doesn’t have children in the school system but he’s made it his mission to get books he’s deemed inappropriate out of school libraries and classrooms.
“They’ve removed dozens of them, thank the lord. I came up with about 56 books so far and that’s all I could find right away and they removed a bunch on their own as a school system,” said Dr. McKalib.
“Taxpayers’ money is being used to buy these books. Some say they’re trying to ban books. This, that and the other. No, no. You can go and buy these books. I’m just complaining about the school system furnishing these books,” said Blawat.
Not all parents who spoke during public comment were on the same side.
“I would like to speak tonight to support the board on continuing a thorough examination and process and not act in a knee-jerk fashion simply because some people say some books need to be removed,” said Brian Johnston, whose daughter will be going to high school in the district. “I’m all for keeping kids engaged and reading at the appropriate reading level.”
School board members responded to the influx of public comment about book removal, despite it not being on Monday’s agenda.
“I’m totally opposed to s---ally explicit books being in libraries. I want them out. I cannot walk into that library as a board member and remove one,” said Darla Williams, District One’s School Board member. “We get so bogged down in rules and regulations that we can’t get things done.”
“We have a policy in place, any parent has any objections, they can apply for those books to be removed. That’s what’s getting books out of here,” said Tony Ross, School Board Member for District 2.
Only 2 parents have actually gone through the formal challenge process this year.
Very scary news in WyomingFremont County Threatens Takeover Of Library Board Amid S-x Books Controversy
The Fremont County Commission is threatening to take over the local library board by May 1 if the board doesn't update its policies on s--ually graphic literature in the teens’ section of the library.
https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/04/...
The Fremont County Commission says it will take over the local library board May 1 if the library system doesn’t address its policies on s---ally graphic literature in the teens’ section, book challenges and internet filters for kids’ computers.
“If we don’t see the issues listed above addressed by the end of the May library board meeting, we will be forced to remove the chair and place Commissioner Mike Jones on the library board for a few months to ensure these policies and concerns are addressed,” says a strongly worded letter sent Tuesday to the Fremont County Library Board.
All five Fremont County commissioners voted in favor of sending the letter, and all five signed it.
It follows months of turmoil over library leaders labeling board candidates by their political affiliation, as well as a protracted discussion about whether to put internet filters on the kids’ computers in county libraries, and challenges and controversy over s---ally graphic books in the young-adult section.
The library board at its Wednesday meeting scheduled an extra special meeting for April 17 to address the commission’s concerns and demands.
The commissioners’ letter also encourages the board to tweak its book review policy so that both challengers and board members will have to read challenged books before the board takes final action on them.
Karen Wetzel, who challenged a pair of Ellen Hopkins books in recent months, admitted to the board that she had not read both books in their entirety. She said she had read portions of them but could not handle the entire text because she suffered trauma in her childhood similar to the books’ content.
Some community members derided this and said the board should require people to read the books before challenging them.
But when the two books, “Smoke” and “Tricks” went to the board for an appeal, not all board members had read them completely.
Board members Kristen McClelland and Marta Mossburg said they had read them both, and they voted against keeping the books in the young-adult section.
Vice-Chair Perry Cook said she had not read "Tricks" entirely; Board Treasurer John Angst did not read both books because he’s been battling a serious illness, he noted.
Board Chair Carrie Johnson, Cook and Angst voted to defer to Marple’s decision to keep “Smoke” in the young-adult section and to keep “Tricks” — the more graphic of the two — in the library and possibly in the young-adult section.
Marple has since decided to keep “Tricks” in the young-adult section as well, she told Cowboy State Daily in a Wednesday email.
The commissioners’ letter urges the board to tweak its review policy to account for “age appropriateness” of materials.
Relying on “the catch all phrase of ‘p____graphy’” is not enough to weed books out of kids’ sections, the letter says, indicating that 13-year-olds are not as mature as 18-year-olds.
“We would like you to review age brackets when determining where materials belong,” says the letter.
Fremont County is divided over one main issue with respect to the library, Jones said. That is, whether the library should be independent of community influence or should defer to it.
“We have a majority of the board members that say the director should make the (curation) decision, and a minority of two who say no,” said Jones.
Public commenters on the Riverton side of Fremont County tend to favor book challenges and library reform, while people on the Lander side tend to support Marple’s authority and keeping the challenged books, Jones noted.
Retired Riverton library director Shari Haskins urged the board Wednesday to rely on Jones less.
“I feel like this board ... asks your liaison way too many questions. You have to trust your director, you have to trust yourself that you’ve read your bylaws and your policies and everything else,” said Haskins. “You have to stay separated somehow and believe what your board stands for, and what you stand for, in protecting this institution.”
Jones disagreed, telling Cowboy State Daily that the community a library serves, and the elected officials who represent that community, should help to shape the library
Marple had approached the Fremont County Commission on Tuesday to discuss personnel arrangements and budgeting for the library.
Commissioner Clarence Thomas made a motion to suspend those decisions until the library addresses its ongoing issues.
Thomas said the Riverton Branch Library has safety issues — he referenced the frequent and known vagrant sightings there — and said Marple should be doing more to make sure books are placed in age-appropriate sections.
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...
Black-owned children's bookstore in Raleigh moving after threats, owner says
Liberation Station Bookstore, North Carolina's first Black-owned children's bookstore, is moving out of downtown Raleigh less than a year after it opened.
https://www.wral.com/story/black-owne...
Liberation Station Bookstore, North Carolina's first Black-owned children's bookstore, is moving out of downtown Raleigh less than a year after it opened.
Liberation Station opened on Juneteenth 2023 at 208 Fayetteville St. on the second floor of the Efird's building. The bright, intimate space hosts events and sells children’s books written and illustrated by Black and underrepresented authors and illustrators.
"Unfortunately, we live in a country that has given permission to the nameless and faceless people to make threats and cause harm, emotional harm," owner Victoria Scott-Miller said.
On Monday, Scott-Miller posted on Instagram that the bookstore will leave its space on April 30 after receiving "numerous threats." Scott-Miller is a mother of two boys and said one concerning phone call mentioned her eldest son.
"Since September, we’ve faced numerous threats following the opening of our store," Scott-Miller wrote. "Some we brushed off, while others included a disturbing phone call detailing what our son Langston wore when he was at the shop alone."