Children's Books discussion
Banned Books: discussions, lists
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Discussion of censorship, equity, and other concerns.
Shreve Public Library (LA) now has their restricted library cards set up, per new state law, meaning any and all patrons under 18 need to have mommy or daddy come sign them up for a new card. That actually means thousands of young people will now have no access since this is one of the biggest hurdles to young people getting library cards. https://www.ksla.com/2024/05/29/shrev...
On this week's USA Today best seller lists are some familiar titles!It Ends with Us (Netflix tie-in)
A Court of Thorns and Roses series (also soon to be an adaptation)
Icebreaker (adult)
Verity
and also
The Rainbow Parade: A Celebration of LGBTQIA+ Identities and Allies which I am sure which has not been ordered by many libraries.
and books by Nora Roberts who has been a big supporter of libraries and the freedom to read.
Sigh. Book banning hits the UK. I have half a mind to ask my parents to buy these books for my nephews when they're on vacation! https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...
Libraries remove books including David McKee's Three Monsters and Fungus The Bogeyman by Raymond Briggs after a single complaint as experts warn of creeping censorship
Libraries have removed books including Fungus the Bogeyman and David McKee's Three Monsters after a single complaint.
Experts have warned of creeping censorship a number of books were removed following complaints about their content or because libraries considered them offensive.
The banned tales include Raymond Briggs' picture book Fungus the Bogeyman, Jules' Verne's Five Weeks in a Balloon, and Victor Appleton's Tom Swift series.
Louise Cooke, emeritus professor of information and knowledge management at Loughborough University, said the increasing tendency to remove anything that could offend someone is 'massively' dangerous.
At least 16 books have been removed from shelves in 11 councils after one objection from a customer, analysis from Freedom of Information requests sent by The Times showed.
some good newsFormer Hempfield [Penn.] School District librarian, 'fighter' for intellectual freedom, wins national award
https://lancasteronline.com/news/loca...
A former Hempfield School District librarian who helped lead opposition to more restrictive library book policies in the district is the recipient of the 2024 American Association of School Librarians’ Intellectual Freedom Award.
While the effort by Cathi Fuhrman, who is also a district resident, to block restrictions was not successful, she and others believe their opposition led to a policy that is less restrictive than would have been the case had they not made their points heard.
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“I’ve always upheld intellectual freedom as a school librarian – that’s just part of who we are, that’s part of our foundation,” said Fuhrman, who was a Hempfield School District librarian for 27 years before becoming the librarian at State College Area High School in 2021.
In the same region more good newsElizabethtown Area School District denies request to remove 'Me and Earl and the Dying Girl' from library
https://lancasteronline.com/news/loca...
Elizabethtown parent Tina Wilson filed a formal request to review and remove the coming of age novel April 13 arguing “there is very little of value in this book.”
The book by Pittsburgh-native Jesse Andrews was previously flagged because of its “use of multiple vulgarities, obscenities and content that is s--ual in nature,” according to a response to Wilson’s request from Assistant Superintendent Karen Nell and the committee.
The book remains on the district’s flagged book list, which allows parents to opt their student out of accessing material that is deemed by the administration as more mature or obscene.
District spokesperson Troy Portser shared the committee’s decision with LNP | LancasterOnline Thursday, saying Wilson could appeal to Superintendent Michele Bailiet, and again to the school board if she is not satisfied with Bailiet’s response.
So far, such an appeal has not been filed, Portser said. And, the district doesn’t have any other ongoing challenges to books in its curriculum or libraries.
For the time being, however, community members like Judi Grove are satisfied with the committee’s decision not to pull the book from library shelves. Grove is the founder of Freedom Readers, an Elizabethtown-based group opposed to the indiscriminate banning of books like “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.”
“I believe that whoever read it or whoever was on the first committee feels that there was value to the book,” said Grove. “The vulgar conversation really had nothing to do with the purpose of the book. The purpose of the book was that kids know or readers know about dealing with the death of a peer and how that age group handled it, or how they were able to process it.”
The review committee for curriculum challenges that denied Wilson’s request is composed of educators including guidance counselors, librarians, principals and teachers. The committee was tasked with reading the entire book, including the “vulgar conversation” that had first been brought to the district’s attention at a November school board meeting.
A man who identified himself as Dan Matthews, but whose identity and association with the district cannot be confirmed, read a passage of “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” describing (view spoiler) at the November school board meeting. Several lines from that passage were highlighted as particularly objectionable in Wilson’s challenge request.
Tuesday, Elizabethtown-based Common Sense 2.0, hosted a community discussion of the book at a coffee shop at Elizabethtown Public Library.
The grassroots organization formed in 2021 with the mission statement of ensuring “school policies come from a place of inclusiveness and understanding.” It is the parent organization of Freedom Readers.
Approximately 30 people – including Andrews’ parents, Roye Werner and Reid Andrews – filled the coffee shop to share their thoughts on the book. The coffee shop created a special drink – “Me and Earl Grey” – in honor of the event.
Werner and Andrews drove from their hometown in Pittsburgh to show their support for the group. The couple had learned of the challenge to their son’s book within the Elizabethtown Area School District and the Freedom Readers through an article published by LNP | LancasterOnline.
Werner, a retired librarian, said she has a Google alert to notify her when something comes out about her son’s book. While she and her husband had only recently learned of the Freedom Readers, they both expressed their appreciation for their group’s defense of “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.”
“I’m extremely in favor of the Freedom Readers,” Werner said. “We are very much in favor of the freedom to read in general.”
“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” landed on the American Library Association’s list of the top 10 most challenged books in 2021. Werner said the challenge to the book in the Elizabethtown Area School District is the only one she knows of aimed solely at her son’s book. Other challenges lumped the book into a list of dozens or sometimes hundreds of other books, she said.
“If a young person wants to read something, go at it,” Reid Andrews said. “The idea of barring them from reading is problematic. We should be happy for any book they want to read.”
Their sentiments weren’t vastly different from those of his son, who addressed a letter to the school board and shared it on his Twitter account @_jesse_andrews_ in April.
“Every ban creates one less opportunity for a child to find a book that speaks to them and makes them fall in love with reading,” Jesse Andrews wrote. “Then again, every ban creates one more book that kids become way, way more interested in getting their hands on. So maybe all of this is moot.”
Werner said her son likely won’t be able to make the trek to Lancaster County quite as easily as they did because he lives in California and is expecting a new child soon.
Most of the attendees Tuesday who had read the book were in favor of keeping it on the shelves, even if they didn’t particularly like the content.
“My favorite takeaway was a woman who said that she didn't enjoy the book,” said Common Sense 2.0 School Board Committee Chair Kristy Moore. “She didn't enjoy the language in it. But she also realized that the book was not written for her. … So, a lot of us came to this conclusion that it's OK to not enjoy a book and for it to still be a valuable part of a library.”
MarylandNone of this is necessary. Trust the librarians and educators!
Moms for Liberty supports Harford schools library committee, concerned with membership
https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/05/...
After two years of raising concerns over what they referred to as explicit content in school libraries, the Harford County chapter of Moms for Liberty says the school system’s new Library Materials Reconsideration Committee is a “step in the right direction.”
The newly formed committee will be tasked with evaluating library resources – primarily books – that parents and guardians of Harford school students have said should be removed from school libraries. Requests for reconsideration of materials will be accepted online.
“It is positive that they finally listened to the community that’s been coming for two years about this issue,” said Harford Moms for Liberty chapter Chair Suzie Scott. “We are going to do all that we can to get some of this stuff that is inappropriate in our school libraries out if we can.”
Jillian Lader, the system’s manager of communications, said Harford schools have not received any formal reconsideration requests within the past two years. However, Harford County Board of Education Vice President Melissa Han identified six books in county schools in September that she and other parents deemed inappropriate.
Lader said that despite the absence of formal requests, the committee was formed based on a recommendation from the American Library Association and to “streamline and standardize the process when library materials are up for reconsideration.”
The committee will recommend whether challenged materials should be removed or kept in the libraries. Material found by the committee to be inappropriate for schools will be presented to the system’s supervisor of innovation and learning. Within 30 days, Superintendent Sean Bulson will review and render a final decision on the material.
The 27-member committee will be split into three subcommittees of nine members. Each subcommittee — not specific to grade level, topic or medium — will consist of two parents of HCPS students, one community member, one teacher, one system administrator, one school librarian, two students grades eight through 12, and one HCPS curriculum specialist.
Scott pointed to the composition of the nine-member subcommittees as a potential issue.
“We will be there, but we might be outvoted because it is stacked with HCPS members,” Scott said. “So, we can go through this process that they have created, and we may not succeed but we are going to try anyway because children are so impressionable and aren’t developmentally mature enough to handle some of the content.”
Scott said Harford’s Moms for Liberty chapter does not have a list of books it plans to challenge, but that the group has started its own book committee to monitor materials in the school library for future reconsideration.
“The short answer is yes — Moms For Liberty is going to challenge books,” Scott said.
“There is only so much shelf space in a school library and [some schools] are getting rid of things like ‘Tom Sawyer’ and ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ so they can put in things about ‘Gender Queer’ and other stuff that isn’t appropriate,” Scott said. “This is about curating a library with appropriate materials for the population and in a children’s library, you wouldn’t want p___graphic material.”
Mod
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti......"
The morons who banned and removed Fungus the Bogeyman etc. should be publicly identified both on social media and in main stream media (radio, television etc.) as should ANYONE who makes complaints and challenges books.
Florida revises school library book removal training following public outcryhttps://www.tallahassee.com/story/new...
Florida is moving forward with a revised training program for local public school officials in charge of policing library and classroom bookshelves, including changes to language that free speech advocates said misrepresented state law and led to unnecessary book removals.
"Based on some stakeholder input, we'd like to provide some clarifying language," K-12 Chancellor Paul Burns said this week before the State Board of Education voted in approval.
That vote came after more than a half-year of questions and concerns from those groups and others, prompted by the Florida Department of Education's October memorandum instructing school leaders to remove any book that contained "sexual conduct." That's due to a Gov. Ron DeSantis-signed law.
Advocates like Stephana Ferrell, co-founder and director of research and insight for the Florida Freedom to Read Project, applauded the state's action but said there's still some issues in the training that could cue up more removals.
And she was disappointed that it took so long to make the change, believing action wasn't taken until another group, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, mentioned litigation.
FIRE, a First Amendment watchdog, said Florida's guidance ignored a carveout specifying that materials with s---al conduct must be removed "for any grade level or age group for which such use is inappropriate or unsuitable," an elevated evaluation expectation.
The organization also says the provision was meant for book challenges, not to require proactive removals of other titles. S---al conduct is a broad term in Florida law encompassing various s--al acts.
"Some books that reference s-x, including many classic works of literature, may be suitable for an 18-year-old high school senior but not for a ten-year-old fourth grader," FIRE wrote in a news release, adding its voice to the opposition a week before the vote when it learned the original proposed training contained similar language to the memorandum.
That proposal was amended to make the distinction clearer.
"We appreciate the adoption of the last minute amendment that resolves the confusing language and advises districts to conduct a thorough review of materials rather than permanently removing based on a single excerpt," the Florida Freedom to Read Project wrote in a statement released on social media. The group has been one of the loudest critics of the law and the state's guidance.
...
FIRE said it was "very pleased" to see the change. It had warned the state of a potential First Amendment lawsuit had that not happened.
"This change is a win for Florida's students," said Aaron Terr, its director of public advocacy, in an emailed statement. "It should help stop the rampant censorship in Florida school libraries, many of which have removed hundreds of classic and contemporary books without evaluating their suitability for students."
Burns said the changes "strengthen the learning environment by making sure we continue to have great materials."
But the Florida Freedom to Read Project still had issues with the confirmed training, not liking that it keeps in a slide warning educators to "err on the side of caution" with book removal decisions.
Ferrell, in a follow-up phone interview, added that she still doesn't think there's enough context in the training presentation slides that cite a preexisting criminal statute preventing the distribution of "harmful" materials to minors and warning about felonies if it's violated. The threshold to meet that standard is high, and any book that does so also couldn't be sold in a bookstore to a minor.
Ferrell said the training was also fine-tuned to make clear that laws focused on regulating "instructional material" doesn't apply to library books. Some counties, for example, have removed LGBTQ titles following the passage of a law restricting classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation.
But she recommended the state remove slides on "instructional materials" altogether to remove "all possibility of confusion or conflation and take out the completely irrelevant section in the training."
In addition, the revised training references 2024 legislation DeSantis called for and signed that limits how many books someone can challenge if they're not a student's parent or guardian.
Andrew Spar, president of the Florida Education Association, said he appreciated some of the changes, but added that confusion wasn't just caused by the training slides.
"When the training was first implemented, I heard from a lot of media specialists around the state with concerns not just about the presentation, but what was being said in those (training) meetings," he told the State Board of Education on Wednesday.
"And so I want to, again, encourage you all to come out into the schools to work with us and making sure that what the intent of the law is is what is clearly being communicated and that there's not so much confusion."
Manybooks wrote: "The morons who banned and removed Fungus the Bogeyman etc. should be publicly identified both on social media and in main stream media (radio, television etc.) as should ANYONE who makes complaints and challenges books..."
Hopefully someone can find out their names. In the U.S. people have to file a freedom of information act to get that info. Two of the books sound like they were cancelled by ultra zealous people who can't have their kids read anything written before 2020. Heaven forbid they teach their kids to think critically or understand the context of the time and place the books were written in.
I want the Bogeyman book for my nephews. It's probably too benign for the 12 year old but my cousins have small boys/boy to be born who might enjoy it when they're older.
Mod
Too bad that even in the Uk they are catering to the idiots …
Manybooks wrote: "Too bad that even in the Uk they are catering to the idiots …..."Everywhere in the English speaking world, sadly. In other countries the government just preempts bans by officially banning information they don't want people to know, like today was the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. Young people in China don't know that and the information is increasingly censored in Hong Kong where the next generation is trying to pick up the mantle for freedom and democracy. Ironic that certain states in the U.S. are trying to do the same thing!
Mod
Everywhere in the English speaking world, sadly. In other countries the government just preempts bans by officia..."
But it seems to be the worst in certain parts of the USA and that this book banning disease then affects areas in other English speaking countries where Stalinist like Social Conservatism is reigning (and will no longer be calling Social Conservatives Nazis or Fascists since that will sadly probably sound like an accolade to some if not many, but calling Social Conservatives politically Stalinist and like the former Iron Curtain will likely infuriate).
Some good news todayColorado Passes Anti-Book Ban Bill for Public Libraries
BookRiot's Kelly Jensen reports
"Colorado has officially banned books bans in public libraries across the state. Senate Bill 216, the Standards for Decisions Regarding Library Resources, was introduced April 24 by Lisa Cutter, Dafna Michaelson Jenet, Eliza Hamrick, and Junie Joseph. Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed it into law this week.
The bill emphasizes the role of professional knowledge and experience in creating public library collections. It acknowledges the growth of book removals based on ideology across the country and responds by requiring library boards to develop and follow written policies related to acquisition, retention, display, and use of library materials. The board is likewise required to develop a policy for materials reconsideration if citizens are allowed to challenge material in the collection and more, they must follow those policies throughout the reconsideration process.
Books that are challenged in libraries without a reconsideration policy cannot be removed, and books cannot be removed if the process to evaluate them is not followed. This ensures that there are policies and that those policies are unable to be manipulated before, during, or after a book is reviewed.
When a decision about a book’s future in the library is made, the board is responsible for making that information publicly available. This creates a record of books challenged, banned, restricted, and retained statewide–a huge step toward better understanding and quantifying one part of the ongoing book ban crisis.
The names of the individuals seeking to ban books in public libraries would be considered public record as well. This means that anyone can find out who is behind challenging books in public libraries...
Senate Bill 216 also puts protections on library workers. They cannot be retaliated against, disciplined for, or removed from their work for not relocating or removing books that have not gone through the established review process. They’re protected, too, when acquiring materials or making displays of materials. In other words, the state recognizes that library workers are professionals in the field and not subject to the whims of politicians or the demands of the public–the bill requires boards to take on the role of creating the avenues for that right to challenge.
Library workers would be able to continue to operate professionally when it comes to weeding/deaccessioning materials. Those titles would not need to go through a formal review process per policy. "
In other good newsThe public library in the city where I grew up and where my brother and family still live is hosting a number of Pride Month events for children and families! The storytime book of the month is A Family Is a Family Is a Family (not really an LGBTQ+ book but one that celebrates families of all types) and they have various Pride flag crafts all month long.
They're kind of off the radar. My city branch has just a small display of adult and YA/New Adult books in front of the New shelf. Nothing in the children's library so far. I didn't see anything advertised but they don't want Kirk Cameron and the Neo Nazis coming back.
Lots of news this week and not much of it is good.A Wichita pastor checked out LGBTQ books in protest. Librarians say the strategy could backfire.
https://www.kake.com/story/50871478/a...
A Wichita pastor recently encouraged members of his church to mark Pride Month by checking out mass amounts of gay- and transgender-themed books from their local library.
The goal? To keep children from accessing the material.
“One way you can love your neighbors and your community is to gather together some of the men in your church and go empty the local library of all their LGBTQ+ books,” pastor Kyle Lammott wrote in a recent post on Instagram. “Start with the kids’ books and work your way up.”
The post featured a photo of more than 100 books checked out of the Andover Public Library. The titles include dozens of young adult novels with LGBTQ characters or themes, books about the Black Lives Matter movement and an autobiography of tennis star Billie Jean King.
Lammott, lead pastor of Exodus Church in east Wichita, said in an email that he plans to return the books he checked out.
Tom Taylor, director of the Andover library, said efforts to rid libraries of controversial books are growing and changing.
“It used to be (that) most challenges … took place in school libraries. And now, public libraries have seen sort of an unparalleled increase in the last few years. So it is very concerning,” Taylor said.
The Andover library allows patrons to check out up to 50 books at a time and keep them for three weeks. After that, they must return the books or renew them for another three weeks. If they don’t, they are billed for the cost of the materials.
Taylor and other area librarians said the protest strategy likely would backfire because checkouts are an indication of demand for certain materials. Libraries track demand as they replenish their collections.
“When there’s a high demand and usage of books, those are the ones we want to keep and even replace if they get damaged or not returned,” Taylor said.
“If the strategy is to get them away from kids, in the short term it would work. But in the long run, we’d be more likely to buy those titles because of the usage.”
Wichita Public Library officials said they highlight LGBTQ books with special displays during Pride Month. They have not noticed an unusual uptick in checkouts at Wichita branches.
Jaime Nix, Wichita’s director of libraries, said it’s important that libraries offer diverse materials that reflect a wide array of people and experiences.
“For anyone’s identity, they need to be able to see themselves in literature,” Nix said. “Having access is just the most incredibly important thing.”
...
Taylor, the Andover librarian, said checking out mass quantities of books does not qualify as a formal complaint or challenge.
Nix, the Wichita librarian, said libraries will continue to advocate for collections that offer diverse stories and experiences.
“Books don’t hurt people. And ideas are important,” she said. “If you don’t like an idea or you believe that book is somehow hurting you, close it and return it.”
TexasFort Bend ISD trustees workshopping controversial book ban policy
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news...
paywalled
YET
Records reveal Fort Bend ISD board member is the only person pushing for library books to be removed
https://abc13.com/post/fort-bend-isd-...
The person who's challenging books is Fort Bend ISD board member David Hamilton. has asked the district to remove more than 30 books that he believes are graphic and better suited for (view spoiler)
At a board meeting earlier this year, a number of people took to the podium.
"I hope you don't sin, and start getting this junk out of our schools," one person said.
"If you keep it in here, you're complicit in the s--ualization of children," another person said. "It's got to stop!"
This summer, the school board plans to revisit the district's policy to remove books. Before it does, the district has had more than 30 books challenged this year - novels that will be read by a committee.
13 Investigates requested the documents to see who's challenged the books. We discovered it was only one person.
"Without knowing firsthand, my guess would be people on the extreme of one side or the other," Fort Bend ISD taxpayer Paul Cooper said.
It's a person who said in the documents they only read excerpts.
"If you want to exclude it, then certainly you ought to know everything about it," Fort Bend ISD taxpayer Fedell Price said. "If you want to exclude it, you have a more credible voice if you have read it."
The person who's challenging books is Fort Bend ISD board member David Hamilton.
"I found content that discusses s-- with Jesus and oral s-- with Jesus," Hamilton explained. "There's school library content about child p--n and child r---"
Hamilton said he learned about the books in January. He started to challenge them months later.
"I've tried to get other people to submit forms, and I think it's just the political reality right now that people are afraid to be called a book banner," Hamilton said.
Hamilton said he's not a banner but a concerned parent. If he's worried, we asked why not read the whole book.
"I think it's fair for somebody to ask that question, and if you're going to have that criticism of me, then you should have that criticism for a lot of these books getting into the campus libraries," Hamilton said.
After someone challenges a book, a five-person committee reads the literature. It can be removed, retained, or restricted.
The district created a website where you can see the books that are being reviewed by the committee. So far, eight of the books Hamilton wants gone have been removed.
Seven were kept. One of the books allowed to remain on high school shelves is "People Kill People." One committee wrote the book is beneficial to high school students, but Hamilton disagrees.
"The book's got a handgun on the cover, and the title is literally 'People Kill People'," Hamilton said.
It's a controversial cover, but committee members say the book allows students to see themselves and not feel alone.
The documents reveal that committee members fear the rubric isn't fair. They add that kids are more open-minded than adults.
A challenge could soon be less involved. Hamilton wants either a librarian or administrator to decide the fate of certain books.
"We should trust them to be educational experts when it comes to deciding which books to remove," Hamilton said.
It's a path education experts warn may not be inclusive.
"The reason you have a diverse group that should be reviewing when instructional material is challenged is because we all have very different perspectives," University of Houston assistant clinical professor Duncan Klussmann explained.
Klussmann is a former superintendent who now teaches at UH. He said book challenges aren't new.
When he was a district leader 10 years ago, books were challenged. He said these concerns were brought on by parents, never a school board member.
But he said the pandemic has caused some elected leaders to focus on libraries - an attention he said may not be a bad thing because the process of how districts buy books has changed.
"Once it became more online ordering and librarians could order directly, I feel like what happened in many cases, librarians used just the rating system," Klussmann said. "It's like you going on Amazon and saying, 'Oh, this book gets a good rating.' And there probably wasn't as strong of a review over the last 10 years of what those instruction materials or library books should be."
Last session, HB 900 passed that requires vendors to let districts know about graphic material.
The bill has been challenged in court. It's a 10-page bill Hamilton is aware of, although, like the books, he's only read some of it.
"I've read most of it," Hamilton said. "I haven't read word for word the entire thing."
An attorney who reviewed the bill told ABC13 there's nothing that references jail time. Hamilton said the district's attorney says it's unclear because the bill mentions a penal code where someone could be charged with a misdemeanor or felony.
More board members are set to weigh in soon. On Wednesday, there will be a special board workshop on the book challenge policy.
_________________________________
Klausman is incorrect! Librarians are educated and trained. They still look at professional review resources and buy books recommended. I asked and have this direct from the children's librarian at my city library. Book publishing has changed since 2020 and publishers are putting out more diverse resources that kids actually want to read.
Niece #2 went to Houston to visit her friend. I was tempted to send her with my box of banned books!
FloridaFlorida accused of bias against book ban-opposed parents
https://www.tallahassee.com/story/new...
New federal lawsuit says state of Florida discriminates against book ban-opposed parents
One of the plaintiffs is the co-founder and director of research and insight for the Florida Freedom to Read Project, one of Florida's most-outspoken book access organizations.
Parents of public school students are suing Florida's top education officials for allegedly discriminating against those opposed to the surge of book removals seen across the state.
A 2023 law and its "implementing regulations provide parents with a formal process, the State Review Process, to challenge before the Florida State Board of Education decisions by school boards to retain books and other materials, but not to challenge decisions by school boards to remove those materials," reads the suit, which was filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.
Those suing say that violates the First Amendment, penalizing them based on viewpoint. Viewpoint discrimination, including when the government restricts speech on a given subject matter, "is a form of content discrimination particularly disfavored by the courts," according to The Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University.
The plaintiffs, Anne Watts Tressler and Nancy Tray of St. Johns County and Stephana Ferrell of Orange County, oppose book removal decisions in their respective school districts.
Ferrell is also the co-founder and director of research and insight for the Florida Freedom to Read Project, one of Florida's most-outspoken book access organizations. Contesting a book removal decision, she attempted to request a special magistrate, as Florida allows parents to do for challenged books that local school boards decide to keep on the shelves. The state refused.
Tressler and Tray also want to request a state review, but "the State Department of Education has made clear that doing so would be futile," according to a lawsuit.
They are being represented by advocacy groups Democracy Forward, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and the Southern Poverty Law Center.
“Florida has become a national leader in book banning, garnering mass attention for the unprecedented number of books that have been removed from our public schools,” said Samantha Past, staff attorney for the ACLU of Florida, in a statement. “Denying parents an appropriate avenue to challenge censorship is undemocratic, and stifling viewpoints the state disagrees with is unlawful. Ultimately, these actions perpetuate the statewide attack on members of the Black, Brown, and LGBTQ+ communities in an attempt to erase them from our history books.”
Named as defendants are the State Board of Education, its members and Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr.
When asked for comment, Department of Education spokesperson Sydney Booker responded in an email, without addressing the lawsuit, "There are no books banned in Florida. However, s----lly explicit material and instruction are not suitable for classrooms."
That's in line with Gov. Ron DeSantis' March 2023 press conference, "Exposing the Book Ban Hoax," in which he slammed what he called the "mainstream media, unions and leftist activists’ hoax of empty library bookshelves and political theater...." He's made similar comments multiple times since.
Beyond creating the state review process, that new law (HB 1069) also laid out objection protocol for school and classroom libraries, requiring books to be yanked off shelves within five days of a challenge over alleged p----graphic or s--ual conduct content.
It is one of several measures signed by DeSantis that have prompted local school leaders across the state to pull books in wildly varying ways, fearing running afoul of state law.
The county and state argue that the removal of books, regardless of the reason, is protected government speech, which could have significant legal ramifications depending on the judge's eventual rulings. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor, an appointee of then-President Donald Trump.
Worth reading in fullHow algorithms, influencers, and users work together to spread misinformation
https://www.vox.com/technology/353958...
Elsewhere in TexasKelly Jensen from Book Riot reports
• Brownsville Independent School District (TX) just pulled 5 books for review, following complaints from a local pastor about dozens of inappropriate titles. Don’t worry, though. There are 600 other books the district is reviewing, too.
https://myrgv.com/local-news/2024/05/...
The Brownsville Independent School District has removed five books from its libraries after
Gov. Greg Abbott signed HB 900 into law in September, although there is uncertainty about its implementation, according to the Texas Library Association.
The law seeks to rid school libraries of inappropriate books by requiring book vendors to rate materials. For now, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has blocked the Texas Education Agency from enforcing portions of the law.
On May 16, a group associated with Pastor Luis Cabrera, national director of Latino Faith with the organization Remnant Alliance, met with BISD Superintendent Jesus H. Chavez.
In a Facebook post, Cabrera characterized the meeting as “another huge victory for our kids at BISD,” and said the district had started to remove inappropriate books from school libraries.
“It’s amazing to see God move and when a school district does the right thing for our kids,” the post stated.
BISD Chief Operations Officer Nellie Cantu said BISD was given a list of 24 books, five of which have been removed, and that only one of them had been checked out in the last 10 years.
“The remaining 19 are being evaluated as we speak by a committee of librarians to look at the language and so forth. We’re having reviews to make sure what we have in our libraries is appropriate for our children,” she said after a budget committee meeting on Wednesday.
On Facebook, Cabrera posted that BISD had already begun work of a list of some 600 books, although questions remain about the list’s origins.
“It’s a generic list that’s used,” the pastor’s office stated. “Some districts have some books, other districts have others. This is the smallest list. It doesn’t cover all the inappropriate books.”
https://www.krgv.com/videos/brownsvil...
In May the board removed 5 books.
"It's not so much focused on the theme of that, but it's explicit sexual language. That's what we don't want our students to be reading," Brownsville ISD Chief of Operations Dr. Nelly Cantu said.
Varying book genres from informational to young adult are up for review by the school district to see if they are appropriate for students. The list presented to the district currently has over 600 books up for review.
The list under review by a taskforce made up of Brownsville ISD employees. They will consider comment from community members as well.
"The taskforce, depending on the grade level, if it's high school, we do include our students, we have parents, we have an administrator, a librarian and an English teacher that sits in," Cantu said. "Is this book age appropriate? Does it have any explicit language that is inappropriate for children?"
The district says this is a large task, one that could take some time to complete.
Brownsville ISD says they take parent feedback seriously, both those for and against the removal of certain books.
AlaskaIn Mat-Su Schools (AK), seven books have officially been banned. Four more will be banned or retained in a meeting later this month as the district reviews several dozen that were challenged.
https://alaskawatchman.com/2024/05/31...
n the ongoing effort to protect Mat-Su children from obscene and sexually explicit books, the Mat-Su School Board has voted to remove seven titles from area schools with dozens more still under review.
So far, the school board has made final determinations on 35 out of 56 challenged books. In addition to the seven books that have been permanently removed, the board has voted to allow the school district administration to determine the age and location suitability of another 14 books. It has also remanded back to the district administration 14 other books for a final decision regarding obscenity status or restricted access.
Books that were removed were done so because the overwhelming majority of the school board believes they meet the state law definition for exposing minors to indecent material.
Before making determinations on any of the challenged books, the school board has waiting to hear formal recommendations from the Library Citizens Advisory Committee, an 11-member board that is tasked with reviewing all challenged books and recommending school board action. To date, the library committee has examined 35 books, with four more book reviews scheduled at its June 13 meeting.
Formed last spring, after many citizens raised concerns over s--ally charged books that were easily available to children in various school libraries, the library committee is comprised of seven community members appointed by the school board, along with four school district employees. The chair is the district’s Associate Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Justin Ainsworth.
The library committee’s main function is to “enable both citizens and educators to better understand the attitudes and opinions held in the school and community” and to examine library books to ensure schools are not disseminating s--ally explicit material to minors in violation of Alaska statute.
The creation of the library committee initially stirred considerable controversy with many public union Mat-Su educators and librarians expressing vehement opposition to removing controversial books – claiming any such effort is akin to censorship. ACLU of Alaska also filed a lawsuit to oppose the book removals.
Many parents, however, are deeply concerned about the challenged books, which contain detailed descriptions of (view spoiler) gender transitioning characters and more.
At the May 22 school board meeting, members voted 6-1 to remove two more books deemed obscene, bringing the total to seven. School Board Member Ted Swanson, who has been publicly opposed to the library committee’s work from the start, was the only board member to vote, “no.”
Very bad news for South Carolina studentsNew rules on ‘age-appropriate’ books in SC classrooms set for automatic approval
https://www.golaurens.com/news/new-ru...
A regulation on age-appropriate books in South Carolina’s schools that was widely assumed to be dead for the year will instead take effect in a month, unless a supermajority of legislators agree to block it.
The proposed rules governing what’s “age and developmentally appropriate” for K-12 classrooms and libraries never got a vote on either the House or Senate floor before the regular session ended May 9.
But they’re set for approval anyway on June 25 — 120 days after the State Board of Education submitted them for legislative review. By law, that’s when the window for legislators to weigh in — either to approve or reject them — will expire.
Yet the automatic approval caught even GOP legislative leaders by surprise. Some were incensed when they found out in the waning hours of the session — if only because the regulation slipped through by an apparent fluke.
Such a significant regulation skipping a legislative vetting is a problem, Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey told the SC Daily Gazette on Thursday.
“I would prefer they not go through. I would prefer that regulations of any type be vetted in the legislative branch before they go into effect,” said the Edgefield Republican. “That’s even more the case when you have significant and impactful regulations. We spend a lot of time in the Senate vetting regulations, most of which don’t matter that much.
“This one will matter,” he said.
The regulation bars books that describe “s---al conduct” and creates a statewide system for parents to challenge books they think violate the rules, with an appeals process that gives the State Board of Education final say. Parents must have a child in the district to complain and must first talk with school- or district-level staff for a potential resolution before escalating their concerns.
The problem, say teacher advocates, is that the definition of what’s inappropriate is so broad, even “The Scarlett Letter,” classics by William Shakespeare, and the Bible could be stricken from classrooms.
The regulation ties the definition to the state’s obscenity law, but only to a portion of the code that lists s--ual activities. Books and other classroom materials that describe or depict what’s on that list are barred.
During hearings in the House, the state Department of Education’s attorney said the rationale for the wording was to eliminate vagueness.
It actually does the opposite, creating “a vague, unworkable standard,” said Patrick Kelly, a lobbyist for the Palmetto State Teachers Association.
“The Bible makes references to two people becoming one flesh. That’s a description of intercourse,” he said.
He actually credits the State Board of Education for fixing most of his group’s issues with the proposed regulation before submitting it to the Legislature. But the vagueness of the definition could “bog down a local school board with frivolous challenges,” he said.
The regulation limits the number of complaints but still allows up to five a month per parent. That’s a lot for someone who might have a political agenda, he said.
“I worry about a chilling effect on teachers. If I’m a teacher considering whether to assign (Shakespeare’s) ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream,’ do I worry that it runs afoul of a vague ban?” asked Kelly, also a high school teacher of Advanced Placement government courses.
It’s an easy fix, he said: A possible solution would be to simply add the word “explicit” in the definition.
After all, that would match the stated goal of state Superintendent Ellen Weaver.
In an email to teachers in March, Weaver attempted to assuage teachers’ concerns.
“What I want to stress is that the heart and purpose behind this regulation is to create certainty by providing consistency and clarity for both parents and educators,” she wrote. “I am confident that this uniform process to remove the potential of s---ally explicit content being provided to children … will ultimately help lower the temperature and foster trust and partnerships between parents and our public schools.”
Kelly said he agrees with her goal, but “the problem is that the regulation doesn’t say ‘explicit.’
Senate Education Chairman Greg Hembree said he expected it would time out.
Hembree’s committee never took it up at all. He said he proposed sitting down in the off-session with Weaver and House Education Chairwoman Shannon Erickson to “try to put some polish” on the regulation before putting it before senators in January.
As initially filed, the regulation itself indicated legislators had until March 2025 to reject or approve it. It was assumed — wrongly, it turned out — that the normal 120-day window wouldn’t apply once the regular session ended.
And then someone — it’s not clear to the Gazette who — realized the language to stop that clock was missing from the legislation governing the session’s adjournment.
Teachers who are aware are worried, said Sherry East, president of the South Carolina Education Association.
“We’ve received calls from teachers asking how this will impact their instruction next year, and we don’t have an answer for them,” said East, who’s also a high school science teacher in Rock Hill. “We’re in a wait-and-see operation right now.”
Rep. Spencer Wetmore, a member of the House panel that held the only legislative hearing on the regulation, said she’s sure most people have no idea the regulation is set to go through: How could they?
It’s happening “in the most untransparent way something could possibly take effect,” said the Folly Beach Democrat.
The regulation was touted as something that won’t ban the average book, but if school boards must apply this “brightline rule” of what’s considered age-inappropriate, then classics like George Orwell’s “1984” (published in 1949) and Ayn Rand’s 1943 novel “The Fountainhead” “will and should be banned,” Wetmore said.
“I don’t know that Genesis and Leviticus will make the cut,” she said, referring to the Old Testament books of the Bible. “This is going to go in effect and people who are likely to challenge a book will know and librarians will not.”
There are a few possible ways the Legislature could still stop the regulation from automatically taking effect, all of which require supermajority approval before June 25. So, the chances of any of them happening could be slim.
The state Department of Education could also pull the regulation on its own and resubmit it in January. But an agency spokesperson confirmed Friday that’s not going to happen.
“I’m not going to stand in the way” of blocking the regulation’s approval date, if that’s what Senate Republicans want to do, Hembree said.
But that could be an uphill battle, an attempt he likened to throwing a hand grenade into the mix of what legislators still need to accomplish, primarily finalizing the state budget.
He said he’s confident the Department of Education will send guidance out over the summer answering questions and easing concerns.
And if the regulation does cause problems, he said, legislators will fix it when they return in January with a law that would override the agency’s regulation.
“If this has a fatal flaw that reveals itself between now and January, we’ll fix it,” Hembree said. “Instead of blowing stuff up and bringing more stress (to the coming weeks), let’s let it be.”
To teachers, he said, “I wouldn’t panic. I don’t think there’s anything you need to worry about.”
Knox County, TennesseeKnox Co. Schools discusses new Farragut elementary schools, removing materials depicting s-x from library shelves
https://www.wbir.com/article/news/edu...
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Knox County Board of Education met on June 3 with two major points of discussion — a proposal to specifically exclude materials that depict s-x from school library shelves...
Board member Susan Horn requested Knox County Schools consider changes to policies about library materials that would specifically exclude materials if they depict s---al activity. The changes follow controversies related to LGBTQ+ materials on high school shelves.
In April, Knox County Schools decided to create councils and committees to review materials in school libraries after an uproar over books like Gender Queer and Fun Home — both acclaimed titles. Following the controversy, KCS said it would establish School Library Councils and Sensitive Title Review Committees.
The councils are meant to give input about book decisions, while the committee would be tasked with evaluating books on sensitive topics like drugs, s-x and violence. The School Library Councils would be made up of some stakeholders from grades 5-7, such as librarians, principals, classroom teachers, counselors and parents.
There would be three committees across the school district — one for elementary schools, one for middle schools and one for high schools. The committees would be tasked with reading and evaluating "sensitive titles" following a schedule made by KCS Library Media Services.
The councils and committees emerged after emails and social media posts that said high school students could access materials with s---al content — specifically naming Fun Home and Gender Queer.
Currently, KCS has a process to evaluate books — the Collection Development Process. It includes four stages: a needs assessment, selection and acquisition, access and then evaluation. KCS also said books can already be challenged for a variety of reasons, such as if they're too frightening or explicit.
The policy changes proposed by Horn would say, "Any material containing images depicting a s-x act(s) or s---al activity shall be excluded" from any instructional materials other than textbooks. The same language would be included in the school district's policy on reconsidering instructional materials.
Hernando County, Florida School Board Meeting Results in Removal of 19 Books from School Librarieshttps://www.hernandosun.com/2024/05/3...
On May 7, 2024, the Hernando County School Board convened a special meeting to address a total of 23 challenges filed against 20 district library books by Julia Thomas, a member of Moms for Liberty. While such meetings usually take place in the evening, this one was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to keep from “running late into the evening,” according to district officials.
The books challenged had already undergone scrutiny by a Review Committee composed of school staff, community members, and parents, as per district procedure. The May 7 meeting agenda allowed for public comment before a final ruling by the School Board on whether to keep or remove the books from the school libraries.
Proponents of removing the books, such as Moms For Liberty Vice-Chair Monty Floyd and local pastor Jack Martin reminded the School Board members of the community moral values that they were responsible for safeguarding. Critics of the book removals, including parents like Kim Mulrooney, argue that such decisions limit access to diverse perspectives and educational content, particularly for families who may not have the means to visit public libraries regularly.
Public interest ran high, as other citizens on both sides of the issue lined up to speak, with public comments received on every book on the agenda. The entire meeting stretched to nearly five hours.
The meeting also saw significant, sometimes contentious, discussions among board members. Shannon Rodriguez was vocal about her stance, describing the content of the challenged books as “p---graphic.” Rodriguez also expressed her concerns that the Book Review Committees were “stacked” with some local school staff using the title of “parent” as committee members. Superintendent John Stratton raised questions about how the board defined p---graphy and emphasized the board’s role in interpreting state law criteria for book removals.
Various book review committees at Hernando County schools had recommended retaining 13 of the challenged books in school libraries. However, the final decision rested with the School Board, which ultimately voted to remove 19 of the 20 titles being considered at all school levels. The only book retained was “Spinning” by Tillie Walden, kept by a narrow 3-2 vote.
Julia Thomas, who filed the challenges, expressed satisfaction with the board’s decisions, describing the outcome as a “very big win” for Moms for Liberty. Responding to criticisms that Moms For Liberty is “banning books,” the organization emphasizes that they are simply removing age-inappropriate material from school libraries and classrooms, not “banning books.”
At least five of the books contested at the May 7 meeting were authored by Sarah Maas. PEN America, a writers’ advocacy group, listed Sarah Maas’ books among the “most banned in US schools” for the 2022-23 academic year, with 16 titles banned across 45 school districts.
Lots of news right now.How Alabama Library Supporters Took Action and You Can Too
https://bookriot.com/how-alabama-libr...
Then, in March, Prattville’s library director, Andrew Foster, and several other employees were fired by the board. They had refused to remove over 100 LGBTQ+ titles from the young adult section at the demand of the board, one of the factors believed to be related to their firing. In response to the firings, library staff members walked out and locked up the library in solidarity with their director.
... You need to vote, you need to show up to board meetings (and/or be involved on the board if possible), you have to get into your elected officials’ ears, you need to stay on top of the news, and then, choose one more thing if time and energy permit. One of those choice things might be getting involved with groups who can collaborate on a bigger mission than can be accomplished by an individual alone.
That way forward is most likely through legal and legislative actions.
Weeks after the unceremonious firing of Foster and other employees from the Prattville library, the library was hit with two lawsuits. The first came from Foster himself against the board. It was settled out of court in late May. The second lawsuit was filed in early May by Read Freely Alabama, who has been on the ground fighting against the censorship and destruction of Prattville Public Library. Read Freely Alabama is joined in the lawsuit by the Alabama Library Association — the state’s largest professional organization for library workers — and local community members who use the Prattville library.
The second lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, alleges that the policies created by the board in February violate First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Not only are the policies overly broad, they discriminate on the basis of content. This week, I talked with several plaintiffs bringing the case against the Autauga-Prattville Public Library Board of Trustees about what they hope comes of the work they’re doing and, equally important, how the work they’re doing can inform, inspire, and catalyze similar work across the country.
Read Freely Alabama is working towards change. They filed a lawsuit.
In [the lawsuit they] acknowledge that everyone agrees the library shouldn’t offer “obscene” materials, just like everyone agrees it makes sense to have a separate section for adults (which [the] library already has). But the Board’s new criteria for library books go way beyond that. They are overly broad and will gut the library’s collection of books that grownups and young adults have a constitutional right to read. The way these rules are written, To Kill a Mockingbird could be off-limits to kids even with [parental] permission. The classic works we grew up reading — Anne of Green Gables, Little Women — all fall under the Board’s ban. Not only do the rules hold 7-year-olds and 17-year-olds to the same standards, but they could also mean that an adult who wishes to check out a Young Adult book about an LGBTQ+ character for their own reading will no longer be able to.
Jessica Hayes adds that for the librarians representing the Alabama Library Association, they see hope in the fact they are even participating in this lawsuit. Too long have Alabama librarians, including the ALLA, been too quiet, timid, and subservient; to quote ALLA President Craig Scott, this time we are bringing out the “haymaker” and fighting back. As a parent, seeing the amount of support there is behind our movement gives me so much hope. Our children shouldn’t have to grow up in a world where they feel shame for what they or their families look like. Seeing the majority of people supporting our freedom to access material in the public library shows me that even though we may not align on all things, we do all have one thing in common. We all believe everyone deserves representation in our public library.
Lots of news right now.How Alabama Library Supporters Took Action and You Can Too
https://bookriot.com/how-alabama-libr...
Then, in March, Prattville’s library director, Andrew Foster, and several other employees were fired by the board. They had refused to remove over 100 LGBTQ+ titles from the young adult section at the demand of the board, one of the factors believed to be related to their firing. In response to the firings, library staff members walked out and locked up the library in solidarity with their director.
... You need to vote, you need to show up to board meetings (and/or be involved on the board if possible), you have to get into your elected officials’ ears, you need to stay on top of the news, and then, choose one more thing if time and energy permit. One of those choice things might be getting involved with groups who can collaborate on a bigger mission than can be accomplished by an individual alone.
That way forward is most likely through legal and legislative actions.
Weeks after the unceremonious firing of Foster and other employees from the Prattville library, the library was hit with two lawsuits. The first came from Foster himself against the board. It was settled out of court in late May. The second lawsuit was filed in early May by Read Freely Alabama, who has been on the ground fighting against the censorship and destruction of Prattville Public Library. Read Freely Alabama is joined in the lawsuit by the Alabama Library Association — the state’s largest professional organization for library workers — and local community members who use the Prattville library.
The second lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, alleges that the policies created by the board in February violate First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Not only are the policies overly broad, they discriminate on the basis of content. This week, I talked with several plaintiffs bringing the case against the Autauga-Prattville Public Library Board of Trustees about what they hope comes of the work they’re doing and, equally important, how the work they’re doing can inform, inspire, and catalyze similar work across the country.
Read Freely Alabama is working towards change. They filed a lawsuit.
In [the lawsuit they] acknowledge that everyone agrees the library shouldn’t offer “obscene” materials, just like everyone agrees it makes sense to have a separate section for adults (which [the] library already has). But the Board’s new criteria for library books go way beyond that. They are overly broad and will gut the library’s collection of books that grownups and young adults have a constitutional right to read. The way these rules are written, To Kill a Mockingbird could be off-limits to kids even with [parental] permission. The classic works we grew up reading — Anne of Green Gables, Little Women — all fall under the Board’s ban. Not only do the rules hold 7-year-olds and 17-year-olds to the same standards, but they could also mean that an adult who wishes to check out a Young Adult book about an LGBTQ+ character for their own reading will no longer be able to.
Jessica Hayes adds that for the librarians representing the Alabama Library Association, they see hope in the fact they are even participating in this lawsuit. Too long have Alabama librarians, including the ALLA, been too quiet, timid, and subservient; to quote ALLA President Craig Scott, this time we are bringing out the “haymaker” and fighting back. As a parent, seeing the amount of support there is behind our movement gives me so much hope. Our children shouldn’t have to grow up in a world where they feel shame for what they or their families look like. Seeing the majority of people supporting our freedom to access material in the public library shows me that even though we may not align on all things, we do all have one thing in common. We all believe everyone deserves representation in our public library.
Also in Texas - crazytown...https://dallasvoice.com/princeton-can...
"John Kusterbeck, founder of Princeton TX Diverse, said his city’s Pride event, originally scheduled for June 29, has been canceled for now because the venue they had intended to use has canceled the contract.
Pride was scheduled to return to Princeton ISD’s high school, but the school district canceled use of the venue for two reasons: the organization failed to include a disclaimer and it has been distributing banned books.
The ACLU has filed a complaint on behalf of the group based on the fact that the group has consistently included a disclaimer in promotional materials that the event is not sponsored by the school district and the fact there is no list of banned books.
Several hundred people attended last year’s Pride celebration that took place in a Princeton ISD school, organizers said.
Because the first Pride event was so successful, Kusterbeck reserved the school for this year’s Pride. But then he received a letter from Princeton ISD Superintendent Donald McIntyre canceling the agreement.
“Board policy,” McIntyre wrote, “clearly states that any and all communications with the public by the lessee shall clearly state the event is not sponsored by the district as well as identify the nature of the activity and sponsoring organization.”
Kusterbeck was careful to include a disclaimer on all information about Pride. However, in a Facebook post after the event thanking the board president for her support, no disclaimer was attached. The post was facetious since the board president had done everything she could to NOT support the group.
“Therefore, based on this information and the terms of the agreement that specifically provided that ‘violation(s) of rules and regulations for use of district facilities may result in permanent cancellation of the non-school user’s use of district facilities,’ you and Princeton TX Diverse are no longer able to rent and utilize district facilities,” McIntyre wrote.
In its complaint against the school district, the ACLU found that the policy has not affected the relationship between Princeton ISD and several churches that meet on school property.
In its complaint, the ACLU notes that it is not asking the school district to cancel use of its buildings by these churches. Instead, the ACLU simply wants Kusterbeck and Princeton TX Diverse to be treated equally.
In addition, the school district charged Kusterbeck and Lee with distributing “inappropriate material at a Lion’s Club event” that took place on school property.
“Specifically, it has come to my attention that you had a basket of ‘banned books’ with inappropriate reading materials for children under the Princeton ISD Board Policies and intended to award this basket to winners of the coloring contest,” McIntyre wrote in a separate letter.
Among the “banned books” were And Tango Makes Three, the true story of two male penguins who hatched an abandoned egg and raised the chick at the Central Park Zoo in New York.
So Kusterbeck filed a “Request for Information” form: “I would like a list of all books that have officially been banned from Princeton ISD libraries,” he requested under “Public information requested.”
In responding, Officer for Public Information Jean Ann Collins checked off a box that read, “The information you requested does not exist.”
Despite a banned book list not existing, McIntyre threatened to have Kusterbeck and Lee removed from any school property and charged with criminal trespass.
“The district’s letter fails to explain what board policies were violated, if any, by the distribution of so-called ‘banned books’ when no books are actually banned by the district,” the ACLU pointed out.
Kusterbeck noted that on the most extensive banned book lists circulating and being cited around the state, more than half of the books challenged have LGBTQ or racial content. However, the Bible is also included on the lists on the grounds that it includes violent and s--ual content. Yet at the city’s Onion Festival, which took place on school grounds, one vendor distributed Bibles.
In addition to asking for an apology, the ACLU requested that Princeton ISD “immediately reverse your decisions to terminate PTX Diverse, Mr. Kusterbeck’s and Ms.
Lee’s equal access to Princeton ISD facilities, including their ability to serve as vendors and to rent district property, in accordance with each of the neutral rules established by the district.”
They also request, “that you provide training to all district personnel on the First Amendment and on LGBTQIA+ cultural sensitivity.”
Velshi Banned Book Club (MSNBC)How ‘anti-liberty’ ultra-conservatives ‘want to ban books to make parental decisions for you’
https://www.msnbc.com/ali-velshi/watc...
Back to AlabamaTears, questions erupt as Shelby County library board is pushed out of office
Barnes, who joined the board in August 2018, lost his position Thursday due to a new law that strips the library – the only one in the state to directly elect its leadership – of its board members, and shifts it to an appointed model. Five elected positions will become appointed.
https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/20...
GOOD news in TexasTexas library must reinstate books with 'butts and farts,' court says
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in Texas ruled Friday that public schools and libraries can't just ban books they disagree with. The decision could stop some Houston-area schools in their tracks.
https://www.chron.com/news/article/te...
The case itself originated from parent complaints that books in the Llano County public library system showed "butts and farts," prompting local officials to instruct the library director to take the books off shelves. Officials then requested the director to cull books said to contain "p_____ic filth." The list of offending titles included a book about a farting leprechaun, a book about a transgender teen, two books about the history of racism in the United States and a book about puberty.
Seven library patrons sued to reinstate the books, claiming the censorship violated the First Amendment. After a district court sided with the patrons and Llano residents appealed, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an injunction to reinstate the offending titles, ordering the books should return to shelves within 24 hours.
"Librarians may consider books’ contents in making curation decisions," judges ruled. "Their discretion, however, must be balanced against patrons’ First Amendment rights... a book may not be removed for the sole—or a substantial— reason that the decisionmaker does not wish patrons to be able to access the book’s viewpoint or message."
Although the case focuses on public libraries, the ruling could have implications for future lawsuits against censorship in public school libraries. In the past year alone, school boards in Katy, Fort Bend, and Cy-Fair have moved to censor titles based on subjective beliefs. After some back-and-forth, the Katy Independent School District eventually backed down last year from a decision to remove titles including No, David! and Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret on grounds that they contained nudity and/or sexual themes.
In his majority opinion, Judge Jacques L. Wiener, Jr. did say that librarians could continue to remove titles based on existing criteria to weed out unpopular, damaged, or outdated books, regardless of content. Wiener also countered the dissenting opinion by Judge Kyle Duncan that called him and Judge Leslie Southwick "library police," referencing a short story by horror author Stephen King.
"King, a well-known free speech activist, would surely be horrified to see how his words are being twisted in service of censorship," Wiener wrote. "Per King: 'As a nation, we’ve been through too many fights to preserve our rights of free thought to let them go just because some prude with a highlighter doesn’t approve of them.' Defendants and their highlighters are the true library police."
South Africa bookshop accused of 'censorship' after children's book on Palestine pulledhttps://www.middleeasteye.net/trendin...
Exclusive Books pulled From the River to the Sea: A colouring book by South African author and illustrator Nathi Ngubane from its shelves just as the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) called for the "immediate cessation" of its publication on the grounds that it "indoctrinates children."
Scholastic is wishy-washy. They don't like books that call out racism or social justice issues but NOW they're offering LGBTQ+ resources.?!https://www.newschannel9.com/news/loc...
Book publisher Scholastic releases Read with Pride resource guide for teachers
Included in the guide is a glossary of terms including “allocishet,” “demiboy/demigirl” and “gender euphoria.” It notes “the terms in this glossary are widely accepted amongst LGBTQIA+ people at the time of this printing.”
Following this is a list of books separated by age group, which includes picture book recommendations for children aged 0-8.
The release coincides with Scholastic’s Read with Pride Books, a collection of featured titles including LGBT themes. Included on the list is “Be you, little monster,” a title intended for “babies and toddlers,” and “Heartstopper,” a book about a gay couple wanting “to take their relationship to the next level," according to descriptions.
What's the definition of book ban? Librarians, authors, others weigh inhttps://www.npr.org/2024/06/04/nx-s1-...
Why This Florida Mom Sued the Board of Education Over Book Banshttps://time.com/6986435/florida-mom-...
Three Florida parents sued Florida’s Board of Education on Thursday because they allege the board violates their rights by not having a process to object to the removal of books from school libraries and classrooms.
In the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, the plaintiffs say that Florida law H.B. 1069 violates their First Amendment rights and discriminates against parents who oppose book bans because it does not outline a formal process for individuals to challenge or overturn a decision when their school board removes a book. But the law does require school boards to adopt policies based on parent objections to books or material.
“The statute only provides a mechanism for a parent to object to the affirmative use of material; it does not provide a mechanism for a parent to object to the lack of use or discontinued use of material,” the lawsuit says.
..
Neither one of my children had classroom libraries because of the fear of being found out of compliance for a book on the shelf,” says Stephana Ferrell, 41, a parent of two kids in Orange County Public Schools and plaintiff in the case.
H.B. 1069 restricts classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity, defines sex an “immutable biological trait,” and prevents public school employees or contractors from sharing their preferred pronouns or titles to students if their identity differed from their sex assigned at birth.
Ferrell spoke to TIME by phone on June 6 about why she decided to sue the Board of Education.
https://time.com/6986435/florida-mom-...
https://time.com/6986435/florida-mom-...Why This Florida Mom Sued the Board of Education Over Book Bans
Three Florida parents sued Florida’s Board of Education on Thursday because they allege the board violates their rights by not having a process to object to the removal of books from school libraries and classrooms.
In the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, the plaintiffs say that Florida law H.B. 1069 violates their First Amendment rights and discriminates against parents who oppose book bans because it does not outline a formal process for individuals to challenge or overturn a decision when their school board removes a book. But the law does require school boards to adopt policies based on parent objections to books or material.
“The statute only provides a mechanism for a parent to object to the affirmative use of material; it does not provide a mechanism for a parent to object to the lack of use or discontinued use of material,” the lawsuit says.
“Neither one of my children had classroom libraries because of the fear of being found out of compliance for a book on the shelf,” says Stephana Ferrell, 41, a parent of two kids in Orange County Public Schools and plaintiff in the case.
H.B. 1069 restricts classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity, defines sex an “immutable biological trait,” and prevents public school employees or contractors from sharing their preferred pronouns or titles to students if their identity differed from their sex assigned at birth.
Ferrell spoke to TIME by phone on June 6 about why she decided to sue the Board of Education.
https://time.com/6986435/florida-mom-...
Back to Llano County, TexasA Texas county removed 17 books from its libraries. An appeals court says eight must be returned.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/t...
Eight books dealing with subjects including racism and transgender issues must be returned to library shelves in a rural Texas county that had removed them in an ongoing book banning controversy, a divided panel of three federal appeals court judges ruled Thursday.
It was a partial victory for seven library patrons who sued numerous officials with the Llano County library system and the county government after 17 books were removed. In Thursday's opinion from a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, one judge voted to uphold a lower court order that the books should be returned. Another largely agreed but said nine of the books could stay off the shelves as the appeal plays out.
A third dissented entirely, meaning a majority supported returning eight books.
In March 2023, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman ordered 17 books returned to Kingsland library shelves while a citizen lawsuit against book banning proceeded.
The ruling from Pitman, nominated to the federal court by former President Barack Obama, was on hold during the appeal. Thursday's ruling was a preliminary injunction, and more court proceedings are likely.
The main opinion was by Judge Jacques Wiener, nominated to the court by former President George H. W. Bush. Wiener said the books were clearly removed at the behest of county officials who disagreed with the books' messages.
“But a book may not be removed for the sole — or a substantial — reason that the decisionmaker does not wish patrons to be able to access the book’s viewpoint or message,” Wiener wrote.
Judge Leslie Southwick, a nominee of former President George W. Bush, agreed, partially. He argued that some of the removals might stand a court test as the case progresses, noting that some of the books dealt more with “juvenile, flatulent humor” than weightier subjects.
“I do not find those books were removed on the basis of a dislike for the ideas within them when it has not been shown the books contain any ideas with which to disagree,” Southwick wrote.
Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan, a nominee of former President Donald Trump, dissented fully. “The commission hanging in my office says ‘Judge,’ not ‘Librarian.’ ” Duncan wrote. “Imagine my surprise, then, to learn that my two esteemed colleagues have appointed themselves co-chairs of every public library board across the Fifth Circuit.”
The circuit covers federal courts in Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.
Mod
https://www.middleeasteye.net/trendin...
Exc..."
Wow how National Socialistic, how totally like Adolf Hitler et al (and I totally and utterly stand by that sentiment)!!
Anti-censorship fight in Floridaworth reading the comments from the panelists
https://newrepublic.com/post/182508/t...
Panelists at The New Republic’s Right to Read celebration in Miami Saturday evening seemed united in their diagnosis of the state of intellectual freedom in the United States: Censorship of books in schools across the country is exceedingly unpopular but nonetheless represents a grave threat to free expression.
“There are so many more of us,” said New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult. “We just have to be a little bit louder.”
They're baaacckk... Kirk Cameron and his publisher are pushing their Brave Books storytime for 2024.https://bookriot.com/see-you-at-the-l...
Kelly Jensen explains the controversy and how BraveBooks really just wants to sell books.
"What gets tricky and is worth emphasizing here is when the Freedom of Speech butts heads against Freedom of Religion and more, where both intersect with the Separation of Church and State. This is why libraries emphasize that groups are responsible for their events and why it is they cannot suggest the library is hosting, sponsoring, or in any way connected to it.
This year’s August 24 events being mass-coordinated by anyone who wishes to set up a story time at their local public library are once again a ripe opportunity for all of these elements to clash and for right-wing “activists” to proclaim they’re being discriminated against by a taxpayer institution. Brave Books has developed a resource kit for anyone wishing to put together one of these story times, and they have set up a map for people to drop pins for confirmed events. Doing this inevitably connects the public libraries with Brave Books, and given how few people know the actual intricacies behind library policy — and indeed, with people of this particular persuasion not wanting to care about them — the flames are about to grow hotter.
So far, almost a dozen libraries will be where Brave Books hosts their See You at the Library events in 2024. Among them are a branch of the El Paso Public Library (TX), Douglas County Libraries (CO), Huntsville-Madison County Public Library (AL), and a branch of the Dakota County Library (MN)."
Good news in IndianaCarmel Clay school board rejects attempt to remove book from high school library
https://fox59.com/news/carmel-clay-sc...
In a 3-2 vote, the Carmel Clay school board accepted a committee’s recommendation that George Johnson’s memoir, “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” be allowed to remain on the shelves of Carmel High School’s library.
The book was challenged by community member Cindy Black who said she was disturbed by what she read.
At Carmel Clay, when a book is repeatedly challenged it eventually ends up in front of a committee made up of district employees to be reviewed.
That committee recommended that the book stay on the shelves.
“We acknowledge that there are some very difficult s--ual scenes in the book, but do not feel that it meets the definition of obscene or harmful to minors,” the committee wrote in its report.
However, the school board was divided on the issue.
Kristin Kouka, Jennifer Nelson-Williams and Katie Browning voted to accept the recommendation and keep the book on the shelves. Louise Jackson and Greg Brown voted to reject that recommendation.
“[We’re] just disappointed,” Black said. “I believe that there’s a lot of support in the community for protecting the minors in this community.”
While it was a disappointing result for Black and her supporters, a majority of the public speakers at Monday’s meeting advocated for the book to stay.
“Most of your children are not queer, black boys, but this particular queer black boy had an experience that statistically many of our children and many of us have had and that is important,” parent Janine Zee-Cheng said.
Black as well as the board members who voted to remove the book took issue with the process of challenging a book. The board members made a motion to discuss that process in the future.
Indian River County, Florida school district is bonkers. This is the one that drew shorts on illustrations of a goblin's bare behind (and others).https://www.tallahassee.com/story/new...
Challenges our authority': School board in Florida bans book about book bans
School officials in Florida have banned a book about book banning.
The Indian River County School Board voted to remove "Ban This Book" by Alan Gratz from its shelves in a meeting last month, overruling its own district book-review committee's decision to keep it.
The children's novel follows a fictional fourth grader who creates a secret banned books locker library after her school board pulled a multitude of titles off the shelves.
Indian River County School Board members said they disliked how it referenced other books that had been removed from schools and accused it of "teaching rebellion of school board authority," as described in the formal motion to oust it.
The book, which had been in two Indian River County elementary schools and a middle school, was challenged by Jennifer Pippin. She's the head of the area's local chapter of Moms for Liberty, a national conservative group that has become one of the loudest advocates for removing books they deem inappropriate.
The book has also been challenged at least one other time in Florida, by someone in Clay County, but school officials there decided to keep it in circulation.
Gratz, its author, called the Indian River County decision "incredibly ironic."
"They banned the book because it talks about the books that they have banned and because it talks about book banning," he said in an interview with the USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida. "It feels like they know exactly what they're doing and they're somewhat ashamed of what they're doing and they don't want a book on the shelves that calls them out."
The school board voted to remove the book by a 3-2 vote, but that could've gone in the other direction months before.
Board members Jacqueline Rosario and Gene Posca, who voted in the majority, were backed by Moms for Liberty during their campaigns, according to Treasure Coast Newspapers. The third "yes" vote came from Kevin McDonald, who was recently appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
"We are elected — I was appointed, vote of one — we are here to represent the parent's decisions, and the school board is the final authority for our citizens," McDonald said at last month's meeting, explaining some of his disagreement with the book.
"The title itself and the theme challenges our authority. And it even goes so far as to not only to mention books that are deemed inappropriate by school boards, including ours, it not only mentions them but it lists them."
Florida Freedom to Read, one of the state's loudest book access advocates, called the removal "truly absurd" in a social media post, adding, "This is what happens when you lose a nonpartisan majority."
At the same time, BookLooks.org, a book-rating website that is tied to Moms for Liberty and is commonly cited by those challenging books in schools, only gives "Ban This Book" a mild "1" rating out of five for inappropriateness.
"This book encourages activism of young children," the rating said in its "summary of concerns." Regardless, Pippin's book challenge accused the book of containing s--al conduct.
School Board members opposed to the removal had a different opinion.
"It does not depict or describe s---al conduct, period. Maybe it refers to other books that do but it does not do that itself," said Teri Barenborg, the School Board chair. "It's a cute little book about a little girl that's trying to defy establishment. Does she go about it in the right way? No. Does she learn her lesson? Yes."
The main character, student Amy Anne, broke several school rules in the process of circumventing the board's decisions, like taking pulled books from the librarian's office to use in her own secret library.
McDonald accused the author of justifying such behavior because it was levied against the school board she disagrees with: "That lesson alone is at the heart of corruption in our society," he said.
Gratz, the author, said the criticism took things out of context "deliberately just to get a book off the shelf."
"Clearly, that's not the message of the book," Gratz said. "But they were making 'good trouble,' as John Lewis would say, and these kids know the difference between good trouble and bad trouble."
McDonald was referring to a scene on the last page, (view spoiler)
It was the school board in the book that set off the "good trouble," Gratz said, breaking their own rules in removing books outside of the usual review process.
While Indian River County School Board members are given the final say in library content decisions, he compared that plot point to how they decided to pull his book despite it going through a review process when it was purchased and after it was challenged. Reviewers included both parents and school officials.
That also irked Barenborg.
"We've had several eyes on this book before it came to us," she said. "Yet we're going to be the five people that determine that we know all those people who determined the book was OK before it got to us. I have a hard time with that."
Another criticism about "Ban This Book," from School Board member Posca: "This book is really just a liberal Marxist propaganda piece."
"I am liberal, guilty as charged," Gratz rebutted, laughing. "I'm not a Marxist by any stretch. I think this is just the case of someone using hot-button political words to try and score points with supporters."
"It doesn't teach rebellion against the school board; it teaches civic engagement," Gratz said. "If that means opposing what your school board is doing, that means opposing what your school board is doing."
As previously reported by the USA TODAY NETWORK, Florida controversially twice picked Pippin, a public school student parent herself, to partake in a group to develop a state-sponsored training program on book removals for school librarians and media specialists.
Other removed books that she challenged include classics like "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison, "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut and "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini.
She also got “Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation” pulled from a high school. And, in response to her objection to a children's book that showed the bare behind of a goblin, the school district drew clothes over it.
...
But Gratz said the "heart of the problem" is that those trying to remove books aren't trying to protect children.
"They don't want these books to exist," he said. Especially, he added, books by and about communities of color and the LGBTQ community. "Now they don't want my book on the shelf because it would tell kids that these books exist: The books they can't even get in the library."
Iowa schools removed 'Maus,' 'Slaughterhouse-Five' under book ban lawPaywalled story
Google excerpt
Seventeen school districts removed "Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death." Much of author Kurt Vonnegut's anti-war novel focuses on the World War II bombing of Dresden by British and American forces.
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/sto....
NEARLY 3,400 BOOKS WERE BANNED IN IOWA
https://pen.org/books-banned-in-iowa/
Methodology
https://www.aol.com/des-moines-regist...
Got it from AOL:
Several Iowa school districts have removed books on the Holocaust and World War II in their efforts to comply with a sweeping education law that bans books depicting sex acts from public schools and requires library materials to be "age-appropriate," a Des Moines Register analysis found.
The 2023 law, Senate File 496, also limits instruction on LGBTQ+ issues through sixth grade.
The finding comes as Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law last month new requirements for the state's social studies curriculum, including lessons on the government's structure, civics and "exemplary figures and important events in Western civilization, the United States and the state of Iowa." Also known as House File 2545, the law specifies teaching "the crimes against humanity that have occurred under communist regimes since 1917," in addition to World War II and the Holocaust.
Instruction on other wars such as the Civil War, the Vietnam, the War on Terrorism, as well as the founding fathers and the "history of ancient Israel," also is listed as key to curriculum standards.
Because of the law:
Seventeen school districts removed "Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death." Much of author Kurt Vonnegut's anti-war novel focuses on the World War II bombing of Dresden by British and American forces. Four of 17 school districts have since placed the book back on the shelves following a federal judge's injunction in two pending lawsuits that blocks the state from enforcing the ban.
Two school districts pulled author and illustrator Art Spiegelman's graphic novel "Maus: A Survivor's Tale," which recounts the experiences of Spiegelman's father as a Holocaust survivor. One of districts so far has reshelved its copy of the book.
Two school districts removed and later reshelved the nonfiction book "The Freedom Writers Diary." Published in 1999, the book pairs together journal entries from a group of high school students and narrative text from teacher Erin Gruwell, who used Anne Frank's diary to teach how to combat hate and intolerance.
One school district took the DVD of "Schindler's List" off its library shelf. The award-winning 1993 film directed by Steven Spielberg tells the true story of German businessman and former member of the Nazi Party Oskar Schindler, who is credited with saving more than 1,000 Jews from the Holocaust by employing them in his factories during World War II. [WHAT?!?!]
One school district removed the 1979 novel "Sophie's Choice" by William Styron, which includes the portrayal of main character Sophie Zawistowska, a Polish immigrant who survived Auschwitz.
One school district pulled Bette Greene's 1973 book, "Summer of My German Soldier," which centers on the friendship between a Jewish-American girl and a German prisoner of war. [WHAT WHAT? SERIOUSLY? That's a classic! ]
The Register reached out to a number of school districts, most of which declined to comment on Senate File 496's impact on books such as "Slaughterhouse-Five," "Maus" and other stories based on defining historical events and long been considered as key reading for students.
Jarad Bernstein and Allan Ross, each of whom leads an Iowa chapter of the Jewish Federations of North America, said they were among the many who advocated for schools to teach about the Holocaust — a mandate, Ross adds, that was already issued in neighboring states such as Illinois and Missouri.
They said they recognize the inconsistencies between the two laws, with Bernstein noting the importance of providing students of all ages with proper resources that illustrate historical events accurately and appropriately.
"It is important that these resources are available to tell the story because if you don't tell the full story, students come away saying: 'Oh, that was maybe a bad time in history' but don't grasp the enormity of it," said Bernstein, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines.
On the books that were removed, Bernstein said: "I think parents should have the ability to determine what their children read, but at the same time, those parents shouldn't be able to make those decisions for other students."
Bernstein said he knows the Holocaust — the persecution and murder of 6 million European Jews during World War II — is an "uncomfortable" part of history, but "it is history." And, he says, there are reliable tools and resources such as the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum that provide free, detailed lesson plans for various grade levels. The lessons come with worksheets, videos and discussion points and cover a range of topics, including eugenics, racism, propaganda used by the German Nazi Party and the history of antisemitism.
Data collected by the Register also shows four of the seven school districts that first removed copies of "The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II" by Iris Chang have reshelved them after the injunction was issued in late December. Chang's book discusses the slaughter, rape and torture of more than 200,000 Chinese civilians by Japanese soldiers in the capital of Nanjing in 1937.
One school district also banned Joseph Heller's satirical novel "Catch-22," which is set during World War II, and two more got rid of "Roots: The Saga of an American Family," in which author Alex Haley tells the story of Kunta Kinte, an African teen sold into slavery in the U.S., and his descendants. [Um yes it's fiction but still...SERIOUSLY?!]
Rep. Jeff Shipley, R-Birmingham, said he believes educators are taking the law too far, misinterpreting its intention. Senate File 496 "does not ban a single book" but instead promotes age-appropriate standards for school districts, he said, adding it's "100% on" school districts if they choose to remove Holocaust memoirs.
"What is so ironic about this is that when educators are overzealously applying these laws and roping in titles like '1984' or 'To Kill A Mockingbird,' they're the ones who are in fact book banners," Shipley said.
Educators who don't remove books that violate the law could risk a suspended license or other punishment. That enforcement is halted while the injunction is in place.
Mark Kende, a Drake University law professor, called Senate File 496 "scary" and said it is a step toward censorship and an infringement on the First Amendment. Kende, director of the Drake Constitutional Law Center, is among six law professors who filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in the cases against Senate File 496. He said the new law is "incredibly broad," discriminates against particular views and content and limits people's access to information.
Under Senate File 496, hundreds of books from school libraries including "nonfiction history books, classic works of fiction, Pulitzer Prize winning contemporary novels, books that regularly appear on Advanced Placement exams, and even books designed to help students avoid being victimized by sexual assault" have been removed, the brief states. The Register's investigation revealed nearly 3,400 books have removed from Iowa's public schools; about 1,300 have been reshelved since the injunction took effect.
Follow-up to that story in Iowahttps://www.aol.com/state-asks-federa...
An attorney representing Iowa argued before a federal appeals court Tuesday that an injunction against the state's book ban law should be lifted, a decision that would affect the fate of thousands of books in public school libraries and what can be taught to many Iowa students.
Attorney Eric H. Wessan, representing the state, argued before Judges James B. Loken, Ralph R. Erickson and L. Steven Grasz in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in St. Paul, Minnesota, against an injunction from two lawsuits against Iowa Senate File 496. The injunction, issued in late December, halted enforcement of the 2023 law, which bans books that depict s-x acts from Iowa public schools and prohibits instruction and curriculum about gender identity and sexual orientation through sixth grade.
“This law was done by the Iowa Legislature with the intent of helping support Iowa’s youth and in helping to curate the way that Iowa students learn,” Wessan said. The injunction “has stymied that," he said.
...
Two separate lawsuits are challenging the law. Attorneys representing the plaintiffs, which include LGBTQ students and their families, educators, publishers and authors whose books are banned, argued that the law is unconstitutional.
“The question before this court is whether this overbroad and vague statute is constitutional, and it’s not," said Frederick J. Sperling, who represents the plaintiffs in the case brought by publisher Penguin Random House.
Sperling argued that districts have removed books without consideration of their merits, and that's meant books that are not considered obscene under the law have been removed from shelves.
Thomas Story, who represents plaintiffs in the case brought by American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa and Lambda Legal, argued there's no way to define the limits of the law because of how broadly it's written.
"No two schools seem to agree" what the provisions of the law mean, Story said in a news conference with reporters after the hearing.
The court gave no indication when it may rule on the appeal. But one judge on Tuesday acknowledged the importance of the cases in Iowa and beyond.
“We’ll take both cases under advisement and do our best with them," the judge said.
In late November, the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa and Lambda Legal filed their lawsuit against the state in federal court on behalf of eight Iowa students and their families and the nonprofit Iowa Safe Schools.
The lawsuit seeks to block parts of the law pertaining to teaching about gender identity and sexual orientation, the removal of books depicting sex acts and the requirement to inform parents if a student wants to use a different pronoun at school.
The plaintiffs argued the law discriminates against LGBTQ students and violates their rights to free speech, free association, equal protection and due process in violation of the U.S. Constitution's First and 14th amendments.
Penguin Random House, the Iowa State Education Association, authors whose books were banned as a result of the law, several educators and one parent filed a second lawsuit in federal court over the book ban. Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster and Sourcebooks joined them in the legal fight in April.
The plaintiffs in that suit argued that the book ban portion of the law is unconstitutional and violates the First and 14th amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
At least one judge on the appeals court was hesitant about the merits of challenging the constitutionality of the entire law — what's known as a facial challenge, which says a law is always unconstitutional as written.
Another judge said school districts are probably applying the law more broadly than is written, which could open a path for suing individual school districts instead of the state.
"Those are all specific ideas that could have been litigated," the judge said of books with artistic merit that may have been inappropriately removed.
But Christy Hickman, chief legal counsel for the Iowa State Education Association and a lawyer involved in the Penguin lawsuit, said in a news conference after the hearing that suing individual districts would take considerable resources.
...
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said in a statement after the hearing that the law would ensure age-appropriate materials are in school libraries and "inappropriate lessons out of schools’ curriculums."
“Inappropriate books do not belong in the hands of schoolchildren. As a mom, I know how important it is for parents to have a say in what books and materials their kids have access to," Bird said. "Today, we made the case in court to defend Iowa’s law that protects kids, families, and parental rights. It is common sense.”
Banned Together: Our Fight for Readers' Rightsa new anthology for teens
https://bookriot.com/banned-together-...
This bold collection of fiction, memoir, poetry, graphic narratives, essays, and other genres explores book bans through various lenses, and empowers teens to fight back. From moving personal accounts to clever comebacks aimed at censorship, fifteen legendary YA authors and illustrators confront the high-stakes question of what is lost when books are kept from teens.
Contributors include Elana K. Arnold, Nikki Grimes, Ellen Hopkins, Kelly Jensen, Brendan Kiely, Maia Kobabe, Bill Konigsberg, Kyle Lukoff, MariNaomi, Trung Lê Nguyễn, Ashley Hope Pérez, Isabel Quintero, Traci Sorell, Robin Stevenson, and Padma Venkatraman; the collection is a star-studded must-read that packs strength and power into every last word.
Striking illustrations from Ignatz-nominated artist Debbie Fong pair perfectly with the searing, impactful narrative. Resources include tips from the Vandegrift Banned Book Club and other teen activists, as well as extensive recommended book lists, a How to Start Your Own Little Free Library flier, and more.
Manybooks wrote: "Wow how National Socialistic, how totally like Adolf Hitler et al (and I totally and utterly stand by that sentiment)!!
."
Critics are saying its ironic that SOUTH AFRICA of all places is banning a book about settler colonialism They say the book is available to order but people claim it's not. It's been pulled.
South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) called for the "immediate cessation" of its publication on the grounds that it "indoctrinates children."
In an online post on 30 May, the SAJBD said that "it is repugnant that this publication promoting the obliteration of Jews from our historical and rightful homeland, Israel, can be published and targeted at young minds.
"While we are saddened by the ongoing conflict, campaigns like this only perpetuate animosity and prolong the cycle of hatred. We urgently call for the immediate cessation of this extremely irresponsible publication."
Following what the author described as a campaign of hate, the colouring books were pulled from the shelves and removed from its online store, sparking a wave of protest online. Some customers took to social media to say that Exclusive Books was cancelling orders of the colouring book.
The author, Ngubane, said that her book was created with the aim of educating children about the history and culture of Palestine.
"I am concerned about this. It seems like my freedom of expression is being violated. I believe that Palestinian content should have a place on our bookshelves," the author told MEE.
"We urge bookstores to stand on the right side of history. We may not all agree on everything, but we must all reject censorship of any kind."
Responding to the move by the national bookselling chain, Social Bandit Media, the independent media collective behind the book, released a statement urging stores "to stand on the right side of history and use this opportunity to feature more books on Palestine.
"It is also extraordinary that these pressures have been exerted as the South African government takes Israel to the International Court of Justice on the charge of genocide," the statement continued.
"It is not enough that more than 36,000 Palestinians have been murdered since October, now Zionists want to burn South African children’s books too."
On 7 June, Exclusive Books released a statement in response to the backlash, saying the company is a chain of independent book stores.
"As a company, we do not censor or approve books for sale in our stores. Each store independently selects and stocks the books they wish to sell, as we do not have a central purchasing function," the statement said.
Social media users responded in anger at the pulling of the book from the popular South African chain, with many describing it as censorship of Palestinian solidarity.
"From the River to the Sea is an anti apartheid call for democracy, who could disagree with that, especially in South Africa? This is an educational colouring in children's book calling for #FREEPALESTİNE,” posted SA Jews for a Free Palestine on X.
https://x.com/pen_southafrica/status/...
Removing DEI leads to removing books, removing books leads to increased bullying and intolerance.__________________
Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson made a rare appearance at the North Carolina Legislative Building on Wednesday to speak to the conservative group Moms for Liberty, telling them he wants to replace DEI. DEI stands for diversity, equity and inclusion, and has been targeted by Republicans so far in the UNC System, which is eliminating DEI programs. Robinson wants more such eliminations. “These agendas need to be removed from our schools,” Robinson told the Moms for Liberty members. “They need to be removed from our government. We need to get back to back to doing what we do best.” Robinson, who is now the lieutenant governor, said that DEI standing for diversity, equity and inclusion “sounds nice, but we all know, it’s wrecking systems all across the nation, all across the state.”
...
Robinson is running this fall against Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein. “Our teachers deserve our respect and appreciation,” Morgan Hopkins, a spokesperson for Stein’s campaign, said in a statement. “Mark Robinson calls them ‘wicked people’ and ‘demons.’
Speaking to Moms for Liberty, Robinson said, “Well, I’ve got a plan to replace DEI with something I call DEI. “My version of DEI is not diversity, equity and inclusion. My version of DEI is something ... this nation, this state, our institutions need to bring back.. ... It’s what we used to search for in this country: ... discipline, excellence and intelligence.” He was met with cheers from the crowd. Robinson praised Moms for Liberty for “standing up for what is right.”
Jessica Lewis, a parent of two children in the Wake County school system, is vice chair of the Wake County chapter of Moms for Liberty. She told The News & Observer that she liked Robinson’s speech because he “stands for parental rights. Everything that we believe in the school systems, getting the indoctrination away from the kids and gender ideologies. He’s a strong lieutenant governor right now, and I hope he is our next governor.” She claimed that DEI “is hurting our kids” and said she plans to fight the Wake County School Board “until they get the basics of reading and writing and math for my kids, and get DEI and CRT, social-emotional learning, out of the equation.”
...
As he has in previous speeches, Robinson talked about “certain subjects and certain things that have no place” in schools. Though he was not specific in this speech beyond DEI, in the past he has accused teachers of indoctrinating students to support LGBTQ+ people and previously was behind anti-Critical Race Theory legislation that would regulate how race is taught in schools. Robinson is the first Black lieutenant governor and would be the state’s first Black governor if he wins this fall. “Children are not supposed to be learning about adult topics. In our schools, they’re supposed to be taught to read and write and do mathematics,” Robinson said. “We are supposed to be teaching them about civics and real history and financial literacy and getting them career ready.”
Read more at: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/pol...
Other evil extremists who want to ban people
Charlie Misseijer, national director of policy and legislative affairs for Moms for Liberty. “
Brooke Weiss, the Mecklenburg County chapter chair of Moms for Liberty
Read more at: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/pol...
A bit of good news in Alaskahttps://mustreadalaska.com/matsu-retu...
Mat-Su returns some controversial books to school libraries.
“With respect to each of the remanded titles above, the School District conducted an internal review and has concluded that none of the works would meet the criminal obscenity standard set forth under Alaska Law. The School District instructed its library staff to return the remanded titles to circulation in both middle schools and high schools,” a memo to parents at one school said.
...
The American Civil Liberties Union and Northern Justice Project sued the district in November for removing the books, even though the district had set forth a procedure for review.
Savannah Fletcher, an attorney for the Northern Justice Project and candidate for Alaska Senate, represented the plaintiffs and said the district has no right to remove any books from shelves, even temporarily for review.
Out of 600,000 books, just 56 had been removed for review, but it was enough to draw a lawsuit.
Lots of news this week as the school year comes to a close.First up we have Utah's new draconian law and "legally disposing" of "obscene" books.
https://www.sltrib.com/news/education...
Here’s how Utah plans to enforce statewide book ban retroactively
A list of the first-ever books to be banned from every public school in Utah will be released in two months.
Before school begins this fall, Utah officials will send a list of books to all public schools, ordering their “disposal.” Among those titles could be works by renowned authors like Toni Morrison, Judy Blume and Margaret Atwood — titles that some districts and public charters have already banned.
That’s because, under a new law that takes effect July 1, a book can be removed from all schools across the state if at least three school districts (or at least two school districts and five charter schools) specifically determine it amounts to “objective sensitive material” — with p___graphic or otherwise indecent content, as defined by Utah code.
The law, which Gov. Spencer Cox signed in March, applies retroactively to all books banned before July 1. Over the last few months, the Utah State Board of Education has been grappling with how to retroactively enforce the law.
The challenge was that, until now, a statewide “objective” sensitive material standard has never existed and districts were not required to use that terminology when making removal determinations.
But on Friday, the state school board solidified that process, taking a step toward determining which titles will be among the first to be banned from every public school in Utah.
The new law asks local education leaders to evaluate whether a challenged book amounts to “objective” sensitive material or “subjective” sensitive material. “Subjective” material may not meet the state’s definition of p____graphy or “indecent public displays,” but would otherwise be considered “harmful” to youth.
In that case, the book could still be removed from local shelves, but the statewide book ban threshold only applies to “objective” sensitive material.
The administrative rule ... directs schools to report the removal of any materials for which they possess “sufficient information” to justify removal under the new “objective” criteria.
To help districts maneuver the process, the state board also created an “Instructional Materials Guidance Document,” which is not legally binding. It recommends that schools conduct an “initial review” of all previous determinations to decide whether the material qualifies as “objective” or “subjective” sensitive material. The guidance document suggests that two local employees could be responsible for that initial determination.
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School districts and charters have only 30 days after July 1 to make their determinations and report them to USBE, according to the rule.
USBE will then compile those determinations and communicate to schools by Aug. 5 which titles have met the statewide removal threshold, the rule states.
Districts also have until Sept. 1 to rewrite their sensitive materials policies to comply with the new law and administrative rule.
Once the statewide ban list is provided to schools, they must “legally dispose” of those materials and notify parents, according to the administrative rule.
The state board on Friday had considered requiring schools to physically “destroy” objective sensitive material, concerned that children would still find a way to access it.
“I don’t care if it’s shredded, burned, it has to be destroyed one way or another,” board member Brent Strate said, causing some board members to laugh.
But board member Emily Green took offense.
“The work we’re doing here today falls into a level of seriousness that beyond the puns of book burning and book banning, we are, in essence, protecting children from being distributed explicit materials funded under the taxpayer dollar through our public education system,” Green said.
Carol Lear pushed back on Green, arguing that her “jovial attitude” was justified.
“I find it amusing that we’re going to ban books, and we’re going to burn books, and we’re going to cart them beyond the dumpster at the school because kids are so desperate to get a hold of information that they, apparently, aren’t getting from parents,” Lear said. “I have a hard time taking this seriously. And frankly, I hope this is so bad that someone sues.”
Out of concern that requiring schools to physically destroy banned books would leave them open to litigation over the destruction of government property, the board decided the language “legally dispose of” would suffice. Schools are also prohibited from selling or distributing material determined to be “objectively” sensitive, according to the rule.
Even if enough school districts or charter schools determine a book is “objectively” sensitive, USBE still has the ability to intervene before a statewide book ban goes into effect.
To do so, the state school board needs to hold a hearing within 60 days of the threshold being met, according to the law.
But under the new rule, “three or more” USBE leaders only have 30 days from the time of notification to “request the material be placed on a board agenda for a vote to overturn the statewide removal requirement.”
If no hearing is held, the statewide removal stands.
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This is so expensive and going to cost so much money! Not to mention the money spent on the books in the first place! It's also going to make more work for librarians and educators who are already over worked and underpaid. SO let me guess who is going to do the dirty work... PARENTS who are not trained in selecting literature for young people and want to push their political agenda on everyone else, turn around and point fingers at the "leftist liberal agenda" forcing them to do this thing.
A preview of coming attractions if the extremists have their way. Actually we're already seeing some of this play out here in the USA. A reminder in case you forgot... a picture book was banned because the author's last name was Gay! School visits have been cancelled due to author's social media posts or for being members of the LGBTQ+ community. Experts are being shut out of the process of reviewing books. https://www.rferl.org/a/belarus-books...
How The Belarus Regime Is Destroying The Books It Doesn't Like
Ever since Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka was returned to power in a disputed presidential election in August 2020, rights activists, democracy campaigners, and media reporters have all come under mounting pressure as the country’s civil society bears the brunt of a vicious crackdown on potential dissent.
Now, undesirable books and other published materials have also found themselves increasingly in the authoritarian regime’s crosshairs.
The Belarusian Information Ministry currently maintains a list of “extremist” items that consists of more than 2,750 books, CDs, websites, Telegram channels, and other messaging platforms. The list is some 1,100 pages long and is updated almost daily.
However, whereas special expert commissions were previously entrusted with deciding what could be designated as “extremist,” a lot of this work now seems to be done by district courts, and they don’t appear to be particularly fussy or discerning about what they prohibit.
"We see how…Telegram channels with three subscribers are banned simply because someone doesn't like the name,” says Paval Barkouski, a professor at the Polish Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Philosophy and Sociology who formerly taught at the Belarusian State University
“It is clear that we are not talking about any qualified expertise,” he adds. “We are talking about the repression of everything that does not agree with the policy of the current authorities. Why do they need expertise? It will simply interfere with the process.”
The lengths the authorities are going to in their efforts were highlighted recently when a man in the western town of Kobryn was detained for 10 days on a charge of “spreading extremism.” The authorities censured him for the “public display” in a bookcase in his apartment of a collection of historical novels by the prizewinning Belarusian writer Uladzimer Arlou.
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After arresting thousands and pushing most opposition figures out of the country, the authorities now seem to be spreading their net even wider, going after libraries and bookstores across the country to make sure they are not stocking anything that makes the regime uncomfortable.
Bestselling authors whose books were sold at state bookstores until recently, including Alherd Bakharevich, Uladzimer Nyaklyayeu, Vatslau Lastouski, Ales Petrashkevich, and even the Nobel laureate Joseph Brodsky, are among those who appear to have been targeted.
Staff at other outlets say they have also been subjected to spot-checks. One sales clerk at a secondhand bookshop in Minsk told RFE/RL about how two people in civilian clothes arrived at the premises in May and had a long conversation with the manager.
“They rummaged through the shelves themselves,” she said, adding that they found a number of books objectionable, including two from the Knihazbor series, which focuses on Belarusian history and classic literature.
“This ‘commission’ took the books with them,” she said, and the store manager was forced “to write them off.”
The former library head at a secondary school in the western city of Brest says inspectors also paid her a visit in 2023. She told RFE/RL that they were especially interested in books on history, foreign languages, and literature on academic research, even showing her an image on a smartphone of the kind of items they were looking for.
“Well, they found textbooks and books from the 1990s,” she said. “‘These should not be in the library. Write them off as a matter of urgency,’ they shouted. There was such a hysterical reaction to the books -- as if they were explosives!”
Although school textbooks are routinely written off every five years or so, the librarian says some old course books had been retained, as they dealt with certain topics better than newer publications. Now, she says, they have all been pulped, something which undermines the library’s important role as a repository of knowledge.
“One copy must be kept in the library,” says the librarian. “This is what I was taught at the library faculty. I told the director and the commission about it. No one heard my objections..."
Besides schools, prison libraries also seem to have been scoured by officials looking to remove anything deemed objectionable. One former political prisoner, who was recently released from a penal colony in Navopolatsk where more than 100 political prisoners are serving their sentences, told RFE/RL that there used to be a very decent library there, with many books, magazines, and periodicals in the embattled Belarusian language, but these “were all confiscated,” along with textbooks on foreign languages.
.... Personal books were also confiscated. We asked what will be done with them. The guard cynically replied that they would burn.”
Well, some slightly good news from Oklahoma.Oklahoma City: State Supreme Court strikes down book ban at district schools
https://www.koco.com/article/ryan-wal...
State Superintendent Ryan Walters spoke out Wednesday after the State Supreme Court denied his agency’s ability to ban books in school districts.
“I’m very disappointed in their decision, I think it’s ridiculous, I think it’s outrageous, I think it flies in the face of what parents have asked for,” Walters said.
The court ruled that the State Department of Education does not have the authority to dictate what books school districts, such as Edmond Public Schools, can have in their libraries.
Walters claims he has the parents of Edmond, and parents across the state on his side.
“I completely destroyed my opponent in the primary, I destroyed my opponent in the runoff, and I destroyed my opponent in the general. It was a clear message I heard from Oklahomans: get this garbage out of our schools,” he said.
Edmond Public Schools applauded the decision.
Walters, meanwhile, claims to have more plans in the works.
“We’re going to continue to pursue all available options, but I will guarantee you this: We will get p---graphy out of schools. I will be announcing our next steps soon,” Walters said.
Walters is also calling on the legislature to pass a bill that would put school board elections on the same day as the general election, saying it would bring more voter participation.
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Book activists” in Canada — eager to ban some books they don’t like — had their mics cut off because they misrepresented what they came to complain about.
https://windsorstar.com/news/local-ne...
Book activists cut off at Windsor public school board meeting
Two presenters set to speak against some books available at local schools at last week’s public school board meeting were abruptly cut off by trustee chair Gale Hatfield.
Salena Hamilton and Jeremy Palko of the Windsor chapter of Action4Canada — an activist group known for seeking the removal of what it calls overtly s----lized books from school libraries — has been accepted to speak at the May 21 public board meeting about Ontario’s Education Act.
But both had the microphones cut and were shut down after their presentations were deemed to be off topic by Hatfield.
As seen in a video of the meeting on the board’s website, Hamilton’s presentation was shut down first. Palko’s address was cut off next, with Hatfield summoning security, recessing the meeting and asking trustees to move to a different area.
“My understanding is they were already planning to cut our (microphones),” Palko told the Windsor Star later. “That’s my perception of it.”
Before Hamilton spoke, Hatfield cautioned her to keep her remarks focused on the legislation, and not speak to the work of the trustees or the operations of the school board.
Hamilton told the board she wanted to speak to Section 169.1 of Ontario’s Education Act.
That section promotes student achievement and, among other things, addresses the well-being of students, prevention of bullying and acceptance of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.
Hamilton read from the legislation then turned her comments to the school board.
“Like most institutions, the Greater Essex County District School Board is professing a goal of peace and safety within school halls,” she said. “How is this being achieved?
“Current strategy seems to be that everyone must go along to get along. No one may have a difference of opinion. No moral values carry weight past the front door.
“An assault has been made on the identity and biology of children and no one can protest,” Hamilton said, after which Hatfield cautioned her to restrict her comments to the Education Act.
Saying she would address bullying, Hamilton said, “school libraries are filled with crossdressing, flexible pronoun transgender books written for kindergarten to grade …”
That’s when her microphone was cut off and Hatfield again cautioned Hamilton to focus her comments on the Education Act.
“The system has become a bully and the minority have become tyrants,” Hamilton continued.
Noting that the Ontario Human Rights Code stresses that every person has the right to equal treatment, she said “I have yet to see the Christian flag on a school flagpole.”
A few moments later, Hatfield shut down Hamilton’s address. “I’m not going to allow you to continue because you’ve defied me several times now on what you signed up to speak about,” Hatfield said.
Trustee Linda Qin challenged Hatfield’s decision, but no trustee would second her challenge.
Jeremy Palko, a former candidate in Essex for the Christian Heritage Party of Canada, was then given the same warning by Hatfield to speak about the Education Act, the topic approved for his address.
Palko described himself as a Christian, father, engineer, advocate and Sunday school teacher, which offers him a glimpse into the “privileges and challenges of teaching and upholding the public trust.
“When a sensitive subject arises that I’m not sure is age appropriate, who do you think I defer to …”
That’s as far as Palko got. His microphone was shut down and Hatfield summoned security. She requested a recess and asked the trustees to relocate.
Palko said Thursday the board “doesn’t like criticism.
“It’s not their job to decide whether or not we can express ourselves freely,” he told the Star. “It’s their job to listen to the feedback from the public. We’re respectfully disagreeing with them.”
Hamilton was speaking in a “composed, gentle and polite manner, but it was direct,” he said. “It was a disagreement. It was criticism, but she was doing so as professionally as I think anyone could.
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“It was just a real jerk move what they did, and it was premeditated.”
In an email to the Windsor Star, Hamilton said trustees “fail to understand that they are our representatives and their job is to hear our concerns.
“They simply choose to invest more time suppressing rather than solving.”
Hatfield said in an email to the Star this week that speakers must stick to the topic they indicated they wanted to speak to.
“When individuals apply to present as a speaker at a public board meeting they must state clearly the topic they wish to address and they are apprised of the rules of order which they are expected to follow,” she said.
“All speakers are reminded at the meeting that they need to speak to the topic they indicated when signing up. Under board bylaws the chair has the responsibility to counsel speakers who stray off their stated topic.
“Failure to remain on topic may result in the speaker not being allowed to continue.”
Palko said all trustees, as well as Vicki Houston, director of education, and Clara Howitt, the board’s superintendent of education — justice, inclusion, equity and diversity, were sent “notices of liability” from Action4Canada in April by certified mail, “that they are promoting and supporting child p_____aphy in the schools. They are breaking the Criminal Code of Canada.”