Children's Books discussion
Banned Books: discussions, lists
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Discussion of censorship, equity, and other concerns.
Californiawow just wow!
Oh and they don't even know which chromosomes belong to which sex. XX =Female and XY=male, they list it the other way around! Wow! And they say this is fact and science based?
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...
East County school district scrubbed mention of LGBTQ people from its sex-ed curriculum, violating the law, state says
One trustee pushed for the change 'in order to make it more palatable and proper for our community'
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...
A state investigation has found that Cajon Valley Union School District’s sexual health curriculum discriminates against LGBTQ+ people because it leaves out legally required instruction about LGBTQ+ and gender topics.
The district’s curriculum also doesn’t address LGBTQ+ people or issues at all.
Advocates for those changes have said parents should control what their children are taught or not taught about gender and sexuality. Meanwhile LGBTQ+ advocates and allies have called such moves a coordinated discrimination effort under the guise of parents’ rights.
East County’s Cajon Valley school district, which serves about 15,600 students in grades TK-8, teaches sexual health to seventh- and eighth-graders during the spring.
It used to have a curriculum that discussed LGBTQ+ identities and topics, including anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination and mental health.
Then last year some board members objected to the curriculum materials about LGBTQ+ topics. Some trustees suggested the materials were factually inaccurate.
At the time, board President Jim Miller said some materials should be scrubbed “in order to make it more palatable and proper for our community.”
So the board had the district create its own curriculum, which debuted this spring.
The new curriculum violates state law because it leaves out several required components for public schools’ sexual health curriculum, the California Department of Education said in a report released last week. It does not affirmatively recognize that people have different sexual orientations, it does not mention same-sex relationships when discussing examples of relationships and it does not discuss the harms of gender stereotypes.
District leaders told The San Diego Union-Tribune that they believed their curriculum meets state law requirements. But Karen Minshew, its assistant superintendent of educational services, said she and other district leaders will review the curriculum; she said she will also talk with the state to get more clarity on how to become compliant and to review potential curriculum revisions.
The state department’s investigation was prompted by a complaint filed by Mark Reagles [<---hero of the story] , a district mechanic and president of Cajon Valley’s classified employees union.
Reagles said the board’s move to replace its previous sexual health curriculum is one of many examples of anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination in the district in the past two years. He pointed to the district’s abandonment of its mental health services contract with San Diego Youth Services, its removal of “safe space” posters from classrooms and other incidents.
“I felt I had to do something,” Reagles said about his decision to file the curriculum complaint. “It’s so important to speak up, because if we don’t, then history’s bound to repeat itself.”
...
In 2023, the district provided only a piecemeal sexual health education because the school board decided on short notice to abandon the curriculum that Cajon Valley had been using since 2017, without approving a replacement.
The district had been using Positive Prevention Plus, which Cajon Valley has said is a state-approved sexual health curriculum.
At a board meeting in March of last year, at least three board members took issue with some content in that curriculum that discussed LGBTQ+ topics.
Trustee Anthony Carnevale took issue with the fact that the student workbook included external links to websites. Among them were a Human Rights Campaign webpage for information on gender, the Genders & Sexualities Alliances Network website for LGBTQ youth resources and the website of the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, or GLSEN, for national survey data about LGBTQ+ youths facing discrimination.
Carnevale objected to messages on those websites, including one saying state legislators are attacking LGBTQ+ youth rights and another with a form asking students for their pronouns.
“Most of these external website links, the impression I get is, ‘We’re under attack, we’re trying to recruit you.’ It’s not really in keeping with the curriculum,” he said.
Carnevale, who joined the board last year, has repeatedly objected to organizations that he believes have LGBTQ+ affiliations, and he has pushed Cajon Valley and other East County school districts to cut ties with them.
For example, last year both Cajon Valley and Grossmont Union High School District, where Carnevale is a parent, abandoned their contracts for student mental health services with San Diego Youth Services after he objected to the nonprofit’s separate services for LGBTQ+ youths overall in the county.
Trustee Jo Alegria, who has since resigned from the board, also took issue with parts of the Positive Prevention Plus student workbook. She referenced a graphic in the curriculum titled “The Many Dimensions of Human Sexuality” that identified gender identity (represented by a brain), sexual orientation (represented by a heart) and biological sex (represented by male and female symbols) as all being under the umbrella of gender expression.
Alegria thought the graphic “has no scientific basis,” she said. “It’s just, it’s very contradictory, is what I think it is.”
Miller, the board president, asked Minshew whether the district could selectively implement only parts of the curriculum — “in other words, scrubbing things or, you know, lineating things that we disagree with, either philosophically or politically or however we want to phrase it, in order to make it more palatable and proper for our community and our kids out here, versus some other city that would love to dive head first into this.”
Minshew said the district couldn’t cut out a lesson or change the curriculum because of copyright issues.
The board voted to table approval of the Positive Prevention Plus teacher training, despite Minshew’s warning that would likely mean the district would fail to provide that sexual health education for students that year.
“My intention is to try to provide our students with the best opportunity for something that’s not politically charged,” Miller said. “Science, statistics that are formed and based in actual study — alright. Try and tell me that there are 25 different genders … not gonna buy that. I’m not putting that on a third-grader someplace, or a seventh-grader.”
Dennis Nicely, co-chair of GLSEN San Diego, said in an interview he worries a sexual health curriculum that says nothing about LGBTQ+ people will especially hurt Cajon Valley students who are part of the LGBTQ+ community and need such information for the sake of their health.
“They’re not talking about East County values, because East County values are broader than them,” Nicely said of the trustees.
Because the board declined to approve teacher training that would have been needed to implement a curriculum, Minshew looked for a last-minute substitute that teachers could use to teach at least some sexual health education last year.
She ended up pulling some lessons from the district’s 2007 Holt general science curriculum, which she acknowledged were outdated, incomplete and not compliant with state requirements for sexual health education.
“I just went into a science book and looked at the most applicable lessons that might match up with some of the topics. It was not a sexual health curriculum,” Minshew told the Union-Tribune.
At a board meeting about a month later, Carnevale announced that a committee would be formed to write a new sexual health curriculum to replace Positive Prevention Plus.
The committee consisted of more than a dozen members, including teachers, parents, school counselors and Trustees Carnevale and Alegria, Minshew said. A consultant, Kirk Melkonian of Educators Cooperative, helped oversee the process. Minshew said no medical professionals were consulted.
The committee met over the course of seven months and provided feedback on the district’s proposed lessons for the new curriculum.
The old Positive Prevention Plus curriculum was 400 pages long and was written by Kim Clark, a retired public health professor at California State University San Bernardino, and Christine Ridley, a registered nurse with a master’s degree in education.
The new district curriculum is about half that long and consists of PowerPoint slides, each with one to a few sentences of instructions for teachers.
The board unanimously approved the new curriculum on March 12. Parents and teachers who led the committee praised the new curriculum, saying it was “based in scientific fact,” aligned with state standards and developed by a collaborative effort.
“The idea here when we’re developing this curriculum is that we’re not replacing parental instruction, we’re not replacing cultural values or expectations about sexual relationships and behavior,” Melkonian said at the March meeting. “There’s a lot of programs … out there on the market, but they’re not designed with the needs of the community first. This was driven by your parents and by your staff to create something that’s really appropriate and acceptable for this group, this community and for the kids that we’re serving.”
The Positive Prevention Plus curriculum had contained an 18-page lesson on gender and sexual orientation that defined several LGBTQ+ terms, including intersex, gender non-conformity and gender binary.
The lesson discussed anti-LGBTQ+ bias and discrimination and their effects. The lesson also said students should learn that it’s just as normal for girls to be assertive and good at sports as it is for boys to be nurses and express emotion, and that there is no one way to express gender roles.
Meanwhile, no part of Cajon Valley’s current sexual education curriculum — including its teacher guides, student handouts and slide presentations — defines, discusses or mentions the terms lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer, or any related terms or topics.
The one place where it suggests the existence of different sexual orientations is a PowerPoint slide that states nobody should feel unsafe or excluded because of their gender, gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation, as well as religion, race or ethnicity, nationality and disability.
...
The state also reprimanded Cajon Valley because there is no evidence that the district’s actual instruction, beyond its written curriculum, teaches about gender, gender identity and gender expression.
Cajon Valley’s current curriculum defines “gender” as “a person’s biological sex, male (XX chromosomes), and female (XY chromosomes).” Minshew said the XX and XY were mismatched due to typographical errors.
Cajon Valley’s equation of gender with “biological sex” differs from the definition agreed upon by major health and medical associations and language authorities, such as the Merriam-Webster dictionary, World Health Organization, National Institutes of Health, American Psychological Association and Associated Press Stylebook. Gender is generally defined as the cultural, social and behavioral constructs and norms typically associated with one sex.
The curriculum materials do not discuss negative gender stereotypes and do not mention same-sex relationships.
Idaho'We are not getting rid of books’: How libraries across Idaho are implementing new materials law
Following House Bill 710, some libraries leave policies largely untouched, while others move to restrict access amid confusion on new law
https://idahocapitalsun.com/2024/07/1...
Donnelly Public Library, a rural library known for being a community hub, once a safe space for children to wait for their parents or stay warm in winter and cool in summer, is now transitioning to adults only thanks to House Bill 710. Under the new rules, library staff won’t let kids in unless a parent is present with them at all times, a parent signs paperwork allowing their child to enter only for programming, or a parent waives their rights under the new law and lets their child check out materials without a parent present.
“This change is painful, and not what we had hoped for at all,” library staff wrote in a letter posted on Facebook.
That’s if libraries don’t move materials within 60 days of receiving a request to relocate the material “to a section designated for adults only.”
“I can assure you that there is no book banning, and there’s no book burning and there’s no book removal anywhere in this legislation,” bill sponsor Rep. Jaron Crane, R-Nampa, said in a committee hearing.
Libraries across Idaho are reworking policies to comply with the new law that some call vague. But many are waiting to see if there’d be a formal challenge to books in their collections — which they said community members have rarely filed before the law.
Some libraries planned and then canceled new policies limiting access.
At the Idaho Falls Public Library, minors couldn’t access public computers for a few days. The library soon rolled the policy back. And in rural eastern Idaho, the Preston library scrapped renovation plans for a monitored adult section.
Each time Scheline has testified in opposition to library restriction bills before the Legislature, she has said the same thing.
“Don’t make laws that disproportionately impact small and rural libraries,” she told the Idaho Capital Sun.
Scheline said the library is not getting rid of any books. But, all materials are now considered adult material because the one-room library does not have enough room to separate the material.
“A few things will change,” she said. “(Youth) won’t be coming into the library, but I will never turn away a child who needs food. I will never turn away a child who is cold. I will never turn away a child who needs reading material and will make sure that we have free books available for them just to take.”
So where will the children go if they can’t go inside the building? In the two teepees outside where there are no books, Scheline said. She said she hopes the library will one day expand.
Like the Donnelly library, the Buhl Public Library is also a small, one-room library.
Maegan Hanson, the Buhl library director, said her library has not made significant changes to its policies since children already cannot have their own cards until they turn 18 and are on their parents’ or guardians’ account until then.
However, she said the new law has taken a toll on the morale of her and her staff.
“Librarians are still expected to continue to perform and to do everything that we’ve been expected to do with less funds, less support, quadrupling the workload, and the mental load of how do we get ahead of this as much as possible? Can we get ahead of this?” Hanson told the Sun.
Hanson said she is waiting to get more clarification because the law was “so vaguely written.”
In rural eastern Idaho, the Larsen-Sant Public Library in Preston initially planned to temporarily close for construction of a staff-monitored adults-only section in response to the new law.
But after consulting with an attorney, the library backed out of construction plans, Director Laura Wheatley told the Sun.
The one-room library has a wall separating the children’s section — with stuffed animals lining the bookshelves — from its adults section. To renovate for the new law, library staff planned to move a stack of books to the wall to close off one entrance to its adult section. One staff member would monitor who came and went.
“I thought that’s how, as I read the bill, what we were going to have to do,” Wheatley told the Sun.
The attorney had told them that she didn’t feel the library had materials that would meet the legal test to be determined “harmful to minors,” Wheatley said, and advised against building an adults-only section or moving materials.
“We’re just going to be open how we are. And we’ll find out with time if (what our attorney) told us stands, or whether we’re going to be in trouble,” Wheatley said.
Each year, Wheatley estimates about two or three books prompt a parent to reach out to Preston library staff. But Wheatley said no patrons filed formal complaints over materials in Preston’s library in the over a decade since she’s served as library director.
“Maybe we’re going to have to have some lawsuits against us. I don’t know,” Wheatley said. “But I’m a mother. I’m a grandmother. I care about kids. I don’t want children to be harmed. But I don’t feel a book helping someone understand why some families have two moms or two dads is a harmful thing because it’s a reality of what their child has seen.”
About an hour away, the public library in Soda Springs is 4,300 square feet. Children’s bookshelves line the walls on the main level. Tucked behind the library’s front office is the adult fiction section.
That’s not to comply with legislation, Director Cindy Erickson told the Sun. It’s because adult fiction is the Soda Springs Public Library’s most frequently checked out genre, she said.
The library has updated its book challenge form to comply with the new law. But Erickson said patrons hadn’t filed a formal complaint about library content in the 23 years that she has directed the library.
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“We will just have, as we always have had, all eyes and ears on all of the sections of our library. And I hope that’s enough. It may be. It may not be. I do not know. I think we’re in new territory here,” Erickson said. “It makes me very sad.”
For a few days this month, people under age 18 couldn’t use public computers anymore at the Idaho Falls Public Library, library director Robert Wright told the Sun.
The library first adopted the policy because it couldn’t filter for the new law’s definitions, Wright said. But the library soon rolled the policy back, as staff saw how much it “interrupted library operations for disadvantaged and marginalized patrons,” Wright said.
“We just felt like it would be better for the community to allow it until someone complains,” Wright said.
A year ago, in response to parent complaints about materials, the Idaho Falls library rolled out tiered library cards. Those let parents decide what kinds of library materials their kids can access, from the children section on the first floor to the adult and young adult sections on the library’s third floor.
Now, to comply with the new law, the library is adding a stop-sign-like sign to its third floor.
Until last year, challenges to books at Idaho Falls Public Library were largely informal, Wright told the Sun. In his 20 years at the library, he said there were maybe two each year, and only one requested to remove a book from the library.
But last year, the Idaho Falls library got 21 complaints from a group called Parents Against Bad Books. Most of the books the group requested for “reconsideration” dealt with LGBTQ+ or race issues, Wright told the Sun.
The debate over library materials has weighed on some of Wright’s staff, who have been called “purveyors of p----graphy,” “groomers” and “child molesters.”
“That’s very hurtful,” he said.
Wright said his young adult librarian worries about children and teenagers who are already struggling — from rough homelives, sexual abuse or toxic relationships.
Books can help show them situations they’re in, and provide a way out, Wright said.
“If they’re in a bad family domestic situation, they’re not going to be allowed to read that. Because whoever is abusing them doesn’t want them to learn how to get out of that,” Wright said.
But some Idaho libraries in more populated areas have not significantly changed policy.
The Coeur d’Alene Public Library updated its material review policy, material selection policy and relocation request form to comply with the new law, but its director said the changes are minor.
...
Mary DeWalt, director of the Ada County Community Library and vice president of the Idaho Library Association, said her library updated its reconsideration policies to align with House Bill 710, but the library’s operations are not changing.
The biggest challenge with the law is knowing if they are implementing it correctly, she said.
“There’s so much vague language in the law that no one really knows exactly how to interpret it,” she said.
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The law relies on Idaho’s existing definition of materials harmful to minors, which includes “any act of … homosexuality” under its definition of sexual conduct.
To Wright, that isn’t well defined.
“Is it two men holding hands? Is it two women holding hands? Is it a woman kissing another woman on the cheek?” Wright asked.
“We’re going to just ignore that part and see if we get complaints. We’re going to continue to serve our entire community. And we’ll see how that falls out,” Wright said.
Erickson says she interprets that line in the law to mean “we are not crossing over a line as we operate now.”
For smaller libraries, without a lot of funds, it’s easy to “overreact,” Wright said. The law allows $250 statutory damages for suing patrons. But that isn’t the sticking point for libraries, he said.
“It’s the attorney fees that are going to kill you, right?” Wright said.
A conservative Christian advocacy group, the Idaho Family Policy Center, has led efforts to restrict library material access to Idaho youth in recent years. This year, the group celebrated the passage of House Bill 710.
In written comments to the Idaho Capital Sun, the center’s policy analyst, Grace Howat, pushed back on claims that the law is vague.
“While there are many ways a library can comply, one easy and inexpensive solution is to place p____graphic books in a small, locked bookshelf behind the main desk,” Howat said. “This allows librarians to effectively prevent children from accessing these materials.”
The organization drafted most of the bill’s language, and trained some legislators who sponsored the bill, Howat told the Sun. The policy center also helped connect about 10,000 Idahoans with legislators and the governor asking them to support the bill through alerts over email, text and robocalls, she said.
Librarians in Idaho have consistently told lawmakers that they do not carry p---n.
And rural librarians testified the bill would strain their already limited spaces if they had to move materials to “a section designated for adults only,” as required in the law to avoid lawsuits.
The Idaho Family Policy Center disagrees.
“There is simply no requirement that they separate adult and children’s sections or take any other unreasonable measures,” she said.
Howat said the policy center is “disappointed” in the Donnelly Public Library’s new policy, calling it a way to use “children as pawns in its political games.”
“The law, which codifies obscenity tests used by the Supreme Court for more than 50 years, is both clear and understandable,” she told the Sun. “There’s simply no rational reason why they would need to restrict children’s access to the entire library.”
Bill co-sponsor Sen. Cindy Carlson, R-Riggins, told the Sun there are no plans to address what librarians say is “vague” language in the law.
Good news today. Of a sort anyway. This does relate to book banning. The divisive concepts rule applies to not just textbooks but teacher libraries as well. The list from Central York, PA, the Essential Voices lists and the Northampton, PA lists will give you an idea of what is NOT allowed in the classroom because it would be "divisive."Delaware
Milford School District Tables Controversial Classroom Policy
https://www.wboc.com/news/milford-sch...
After more than two hours of public comment, the Milford School Board has decided to postpone a final decision on a policy regarding the handling of controversial or sensitive topics in classrooms.
Prior to Monday night's meeting, parents, teachers, and students from the district displayed signs advocating for free speech and opposing classroom censorship. They voiced opposition to the proposed policy, which seeks to regulate discussions on contentious issues within school settings.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ALCU) of Delaware has been a vocal critic of the policy since its initial drafting last month.
"We are very concerned about this," stated Mike Brickner, Executive Director of ACLU Delaware, criticizing the policy's broad restrictions on ideological and political statements, as well as its mandate to present multiple viewpoints on controversial topics. "There are numerous subjects, including evolution, the Holocaust, LGBTQ rights, and civil rights, where opposing perspectives may not have a good place being taught in the curriculum."
The Milford School Board provided context for the introduction of the policy at the start of Monday's meeting, citing a complaint from parents of a Jewish student. Allegedly, the student felt threatened and unsupported due to the presence of a Black Lives Matter flag in their classroom. According to the complaint, the student referenced statements by some BLM members supporting Hamas attacks on Israel as justified "self-defense."
Board members say they intend to reintroduce the policy for a vote once a group of board members, teachers, and community members have thoroughly discussed and reached a consensus on its details.
Librarian criticized book bans and faced a barrage of hate. She wrote a book about ithttps://www.kansascity.com/news/local...
An organization called Citizens for a New Louisiana had successfully stopped voters in a neighboring town from renewing one of three property taxes, costing that library system $3.5 million per year.
“It’s politicians coming in with fake controversies, so that they can have a platform of saying they’re going to save the children, and they’re going to fix these problems that don’t exist,” Jones says. “It all boils down to the basic trend of what you see in stuff like the Project 2025 is that they’re trying to defund public libraries and public schools.” In fact, she says, it all seems frighteningly similar to Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which plays out the institution of a sweeping, Sharia-law-level censorship in the United States. Atwood will speak at the Kansas City Public Library on Sept. 24.
Read more at: https://www.kansascity.com/news/local...
Now for the horrific news. Alabama of courseBill to arrest librarians filed for 2025 session
https://www.alreporter.com/2024/07/10...
I can't even...
Mod
Bill to arrest librarians filed for 2025 session
https://www.alreporter.com/2024/07/10...
I can't even..."
Maybe we should allow Alabama librarians to migrate to Canada as refugees (and publicly celebrate them while at the same time majorly shaming Alabama politicians) and at the same time also not allow ANY Alabama politicians, lawmakers, police "officers" etc. as well as their families to cross the border into Canada.
Manybooks wrote"Maybe we should allow Alabama librarians to migrate to Canada as refugees.".."They need to get in line after Idaho librarians! Then Indiana, Iowa, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Florida, Utah, South Carolina, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Georgia, maybe West Virginia, Kansas, North Carolina and all the red states. This is an election year! Governor seats will change over and hopefully democracy will prevail.
https://www.everylibrary.org/billtrac...
Mod
They need to get in line after Idaho librarians! Then Indiana, Iowa, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Flor..."
Maybe they will also prevent librarians from voting in the election, sigh ...
I think I missed this but it's heartbreaking and upsetting for the students in St. Paul. My town had 3 elementary schools. We shared one librarian for all three schools. The library was in what was probably built as a closet later on when they expanded the 1 room schoolhouse. I still have fond memories of library time before the new consolidated school was built with one big library staffed by one librarian and parent volunteers. Minneapolis schools prioritized librarians. St. Paul is cutting them at the elementary level.
Both school districts say their library book circulation is up, and St. Paul will keep librarians in upper grades, but elementary libraries will be staffed by teaching assistants.
https://www.startribune.com/minneapol...
A year after Minneapolis Public Schools banked on the successful return of school librarians, St. Paul is headed into the coming year without licensed media specialists at the elementary level.
Librarians were among dozens of expert staffers to be cut as the state's second-largest district wrestled with a projected $100 million-plus budget deficit in 2024-25.
The shift comes amid a statewide push to improve student literacy, and after the other urban district in the Twin Cities saw a sizable jump in library book circulation once it added librarians.
In St. Paul, the loss may hit hardest at Crossroads Elementary, which never in its 25-year history has been without a licensed media specialist to stock its shelves and help instill in students a love for reading.
"We have been extremely lucky," said librarian Sarah Bober, whose 11-year run ends in August. "Crossroads has always had one of the biggest book-purchasing budgets."
District officials point to a shift in strategy favoring the placement of librarians at the secondary level and the need, when times are tight, to have all district libraries be open and accessible, plus consistently staffed — in this case, with teaching assistants (TAs) or educational assistants in grades pre-K-5. The district will continue placing librarians in grades K-8 schools.
Last month, school board members voted 6-1, to let the proposed 2024-25 budget cuts stand, with Carlo Franco opposed — partly over the librarians issue.
"Yes, we're still replacing (the specialists) with some TA positions," he said. "But what is that impact?"
Minneapolis, for one, can tout the benefits.
A year ago, Minneapolis bucked national trends by bringing back professional librarians to an extent that it now has at least one half-time media specialist in each of its 60-plus schools.
The purpose, the district said, is to help students meet literacy goals and become readers for life, and when the time came to resolve a $100 million-plus budget gap of its own, the district left the positions in place.
"We find that our media specialists collaborate with teachers, and curate books and other materials that reflect the diversity of our students," officials said in a statement this week. "That's increased interest in reading among children of all backgrounds and the number of books being checked out."
Asked if St. Paul would prefer to have librarians if it could afford it, Andrew Collins, the district's executive chief of schools and learning, said this week: "I would love to have lots of supplementary positions in our elementary schools, and a media specialist would be one of many."
He said that placing people in each of the elementary libraries — even those who aren't licensed — is one way of creating a "print-rich environment" in the schools. The district also has invested about $700,000 in texts to distribute to teachers, some of whom have some "pretty amazing classroom libraries," Collins said.
Book circulation is up in both the St. Paul and Minneapolis school districts, but the two differ in their approach to having librarians in the element
ALEX KORMANN, STAR TRIBUNE
Book circulation is up in both the St. Paul and Minneapolis school districts, but the two differ in their approach to having librarians in the elementary schools. St. Paul is shifting to teaching assistants while Minneapolis stands firm with librarians heading into 2024-25.
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A year after Minneapolis Public Schools banked on the successful return of school librarians, St. Paul is headed into the coming year without licensed media specialists at the elementary level.
Librarians were among dozens of expert staffers to be cut as the state's second-largest district wrestled with a projected $100 million-plus budget deficit in 2024-25.
The shift comes amid a statewide push to improve student literacy, and after the other urban district in the Twin Cities saw a sizable jump in library book circulation once it added librarians.
In St. Paul, the loss may hit hardest at Crossroads Elementary, which never in its 25-year history has been without a licensed media specialist to stock its shelves and help instill in students a love for reading.
"We have been extremely lucky," said librarian Sarah Bober, whose 11-year run ends in August. "Crossroads has always had one of the biggest book-purchasing budgets."
District officials point to a shift in strategy favoring the placement of librarians at the secondary level and the need, when times are tight, to have all district libraries be open and accessible, plus consistently staffed — in this case, with teaching assistants (TAs) or educational assistants in grades pre-K-5. The district will continue placing librarians in grades K-8 schools.
Elementary schools have a limited amount of discretionary funds that they can use to invest in librarians, the officials say, but only four schools chose to do so in 2023-24. Now, there are none.
Last month, school board members voted 6-1, to let the proposed 2024-25 budget cuts stand, with Carlo Franco opposed — partly over the librarians issue.
"Yes, we're still replacing (the specialists) with some TA positions," he said. "But what is that impact?"
Minneapolis, for one, can tout the benefits.
A year ago, Minneapolis bucked national trends by bringing back professional librarians to an extent that it now has at least one half-time media specialist in each of its 60-plus schools.
The purpose, the district said, is to help students meet literacy goals and become readers for life, and when the time came to resolve a $100 million-plus budget gap of its own, the district left the positions in place.
"We find that our media specialists collaborate with teachers, and curate books and other materials that reflect the diversity of our students," officials said in a statement this week. "That's increased interest in reading among children of all backgrounds and the number of books being checked out."
Asked if St. Paul would prefer to have librarians if it could afford it, Andrew Collins, the district's executive chief of schools and learning, said this week: "I would love to have lots of supplementary positions in our elementary schools, and a media specialist would be one of many."
He said that placing people in each of the elementary libraries — even those who aren't licensed — is one way of creating a "print-rich environment" in the schools. The district also has invested about $700,000 in texts to distribute to teachers, some of whom have some "pretty amazing classroom libraries," Collins said.
Lessons from librarians
St. Paul's elementary library book circulation is up districtwide, nearly to a pre-pandemic high in 2015-16, according to figures covering the past nine years.
But a shift away from librarians to TAs will leave many teachers and secondary school librarians having to pick up some of the slack.
Bober wrote in a June 18 email to school board members that plans call for librarians at the secondary sites to provide about an hour per week of support to TAs at the elementary schools — extra work for people who "already have full-time jobs supporting their own schools," she wrote.
In an interview, Bober added that because TAs cannot order new books on their own, the secondary librarians may have a hand in helping make such choices "without knowing the school community, without knowing the students and without knowing what's in the collection."
Classroom teachers also may be called upon to deliver the digital literacy lessons previously taught by librarians, the district said. That is because the TAs — unlike Bober who taught four classes a day complete with lesson plans that she pulled together — are not licensed instructors.
Good news from Wisconsin -part of it anyway.Northwest Wisconsin bucks trend on public school library book challenges
A quarter of the state’s districts have faced challenges to books in school libraries, but not in northwest Wisconsin
https://www.wpr.org/education/northwe...
It was often members of organized conservative groups that facilitated removal requests. The largest groups involved were Moms for Liberty, No Left Turn in Education, Wisconsin MassResistance and Parents Rights in Education.
Good news Montana
https://helenair.com/news/local/educa...
The Clancy Elementary School Board approved a committee's recommendation to keep the book "Jack, Not Jackie" in the school's library, but faced harsh criticism for "not protecting children."
Compromise for the sake of "a resident" is ridiculously stupid.North Dakota
Grand Forks Public Library creates new section in response to book challenges
https://www.grandforksherald.com/news...
Three books dealing with sex education and puberty for younger audiences will be housed in a young adult nonfiction section going forward.
GRAND FORKS – Grand Forks Public Library board members elected to move three books addressing sex education and human anatomy to a new library section in response to a resident’s complaint.
The seven-member board approved a committee’s recommendation to create a new section for young adult nonfiction and, on a split vote, to move three books – “Sex is a Funny Word,” “What’s Going on Down There?” and “Puberty is Gross but Also Really Awesome” – to the new section.
Board President Brad Sherwood said the committee hoped the decision would keep the book accessible while also assuaging the complainant’s concerns.
“The first conversation in library world is whether moving a book is censorship,” Sherwood said. “We’re hoping that circulation will increase (for the book).”
The book challenge came from Emily Frelich, who’d previously filed challenges against “Sex is a Funny Word” and “What’s Going on Down There?”
Frelich requested two of the books be moved out of the children’s section and “What’s Going on Down There” be removed outright, appealing Library Director Wendy Wendt's initial decision to keep them in place.
"I'm very appreciative they were able to set up a committee to look up the books and come to the conclusion those books shouldn't be in the kids section," Frelich said.
Proponents of creating the young adult nonfiction section, which the library operated previously but shuttered due to low circulation, would make the books more accessible to an age-appropriate audience.
Wendt said the suggested age range for the books ranged from 8-12 to 9-12.
The three books are currently the only books classified as young adult nonfiction.
Detractors asked about the added burden to librarians and whether the move could constitute censorship.
“I’m seeing a huge can of worms being opened that would require a lot more diligence,” board member Paul Sum said.
Three board members – City Councilmember Tricia Lunski, Becky Ronkowski and Paul Traynor – voted against moving the books to the new section. Two members, Ronkowski and Lunski, also abstained from the vote on the new section.
Last year, Frelich was among a group of residents who filed complaints about nine books in the children’s section. Three were ultimately moved to adult nonfiction by Wendt.
All of the challenged books discussed human anatomy or sex education. Most complainants did not actually read the books in their entirety, according to the requests for reconsideration submitted to Wendt.
Sara Ellenwood, another resident who challenged nine books last year, wrote in a text message she was “very pleased” with the committee’s recommendation ahead of the the board’s decision.
Last year, Gov. Doug Burgum signed into law a bill removing “explicit se--al material” from the children’s section of public libraries across the state.
Hooray Knoxville, Tenn.!Students, parents march in downtown Knoxville to defend banned books
https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/l...
Young scholars, parents and staff from the East Tennessee Freedom Schools program marched in downtown Knoxville July 17 to protest literary censorship in public schools and libraries across the country.
The march - part of Children’s Defense Fund’s (CDF) National Day of Social Action - began at the intersection of Gay Street and Union Avenue and proceeded to Market Square. Participants shared their perspectives on censorship and read excerpts from banned books at the event.
Recent legislation in Tennessee has fueled concerns about literary censorship. In May, Governor Bill Lee signed into law an expansion of the “Age-Appropriate Materials Act.”
Opponents fear the new law might exclude the perspectives of marginalized groups in educational materials. The Knox County Schools Board recently revised its library policy to align with the new state law, further fueling debate.
Last year, the East Tennessee Freedom Schools program ignited a heated school board debate that ranged across an array of mostly national partisan issues when the program’s future was in question.
Denise Dean, executive director of East Tennessee Freedom Schools, emphasized the importance of understanding history to avoid repeating its mistakes.
(The East Tennessee Freedom Schools program has been running in Knoxville for more than six years and offers culturally relevant literacy education to elementary and middle school students at school sites in Knoxville and Maryville. The free six-week summer enrichment initiative is designed to enhance reading, comprehension and critical thinking skills in children from underserved families.
Freedom Schools is a program of the Children's Defense Fund, founded in 1973 by Marian Edelman, the first Black woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar.)
This week's news roundup. I expect a lot more now that the election season has ramped up.MISSOURI
Francis Howell school board considers updated book policies
https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/fra...
There’s more debate over books in the Francis Howell School District. The district’s board of education met Thursday night and was again greeted by protestors who called one of their latest proposals a ‘book ban.’
A representative from Francis Howell School District says that the policy proposals have nothing to do with a book ban. They are about the purchase of instructional media materials and procedures to challenge a learning resource.
The board proposed new procedures for employees and residents to formally challenge materials in school libraries, along with guidelines for library books and greater transparency regarding book purchases and donations. Those in favor of the proposal say it’s about keeping books age-appropriate. Opponents fear it limits different perspectives and disproportionately affects LGBTQ and minority students.
After meeting with the community last week, the board made several changes to its proposal, which critics called ‘a step in the right direction.’ The changes would give teachers and administrators a larger role in the book-approval process.
Kelly Jensen from Book Riot summarizes the quiet censoring of Pride.At least one branch of the Arapahoe Public Library (CO) reported books being checked out en masse from a display with a “Hide the Pride” letter signed and left behind. The display was quickly refilled, as the system not only had plenty of LGBTQ+ titles to add but also had experienced this display clearing last June.
But where the previous two years of “Hide the Pride” have resulted in several news stories and outspoken voices from libraries sharing that their collections were hit, this year, both CatholicVotes and libraries more broadly have reported far fewer instances.
We saw a pastor in Wichita, Kansas, engage with and encourage his congregation to take part, to which librarians responded that mass borrowing of LGBTQ+ books may actually result in the purchase of more of that content thanks to clear interest in the material.
Three branches of the Omaha Public Library (NE) saw their displays targeted by “Hide the Pride,” and at least one branch also heard complaints from patrons claiming such displays were “detrimental” to the children of the community.
A Chicago-area library was also hit, per a report on Reddit from a librarian.
As of writing mid-July, even CatholicVotes has not yet posted about their “successes” in this year’s campaign; last year, they put their roundup together before June even concluded.
Other libraries reported challenges to their Pride displays outside of the coordinated “Hide the Pride,” too. Richmond Hill Public Library in Bryan County, Georgia, saw protests over an LGBTQ+ display in the library, which led to its removal.
Marysville Public Library (OH) drew criticism for their display from a group that also targeted other local Pride events in June.
Elsewhere in Ohio, Steubenville Public Library saw less pushback for its Pride display this year than in the past, though at least one patron took it upon themselves to try to dismantle it.
In Orem Public Library (UT), Pride displays have been among the issues that library workers have dealt with now for several years running. They were among the first public libraries seeing open hostility and censorship in this current wave, back in summer 2021. This year, though, such “heritage” displays were once again permitted–whether or not they were created is not yet clear.
As for other libraries, the response to Pride displays played out on social media. Take a moment to look through the hundreds of comments on a simple Pride display shared by the Safety Harbor Public Library in Florida. They are a reminder of what libraries and library workers are dealing with nationwide
Among the libraries that received bomb threats tied to Pride programming this year were the Woodstock Public Library in New York, the Seward Public Library in Alaska, and Montclair Public Library in New Jersey.
Although they did not receive threats of violence, a well-coordinated intimidation campaign against a drag story time in Sonoma County Libraries (CA) happened during Pride month for the second year in a row. It’s noteworthy that in this library system, a drag story hour event like this happens quarterly, but it is only during Pride when they are targeted by agitators.
Bookstores experienced similar threats. Books, Inc. in the Bay Area (CA) received a bomb threat that led to the cancelation of a drag story time, while a Newton art center outside Boston, Massachusetts, was threatened for hosting a similar event. In Portland, Oregon, Dark Star Magick had their store window broken and their Pride display burned
Pride flags themselves became targets in public libraries. A juvenile shot a Pride flag at the Newberg Public Library in Oregon and Pincher Creek Library in Alberta, Canada, had their flag targeted for the second year in a row.
Authors reported significant loss of income and fewer speaking engagements.
Dozens of library workers and educators from across the U.S. shared their stories from Pride month as well. A common theme of fear or worry of retaliation — either internally or from outside agitators — threaded through many of the stories and experiences.
This is the most shocking
• Florida, Public Library: “Three masked people came in and said we were going against the culture. I was at the door, they sprayed black ink on my face. They also tore the Pride Flag that stood at the entrance and then went on to burn it
what on earth?
• California, Public Library: “One of the picture books in our Pride Display was vandalized; someone stuck a sanitary napkin to the pages.”
• Indiana, Public Library: “Both our teen and children’s Pride displays were actively targeted by religion pamphlets/cards/promotions. These would be put into the books (especially in the teen section) while workers had their backs turned. We had to check our displays every day, multiple times a day, and discovered dozens of the pamphlets.”
• Oregon, Community College: “During the entire month of June. when we had our pride cube display up, one of the employees was turning around or hiding the Happy Pride Month sign located on top of the cube. They didn’t go inside the cube and ruin anything. They also kept taking down our posters for the Drag Show that was happening May 31st. They probably threw away at least 10 of them. (They are also targeting Black History books by removing them from displays, they removed a poster for a tribal daycare center open to all families, they removed women’s non-partisan voting pamphlets, etc)”
Holy smokes! PUBLIC Library!
• Maryland, Public Library: “A customer sent the branch an online customer comment form that said, ‘I walked into the library yesterday and saw a Pride display. Since when does our library support specific agendas? I am extremely upset by this and am requesting that the display be taken down. Or you could put up another display explaining that God created the rainbow after the flood as a promise never again to destroy the entire earth by a flood again. And explain that He made people and animals male and female and that Satan is trying to throw people into confusion about how God made them, and they won’t be happy or content unless they embrace who they really are instead of trying to become someone they are not. How about putting that up for a display?'”
Oh now this is just a sad example of right-wing indoctrination. Let me guess-BookTok?
• Maryland, Public Library: “A 14-year-old paper-clipped notes to two LGBTQ+ books that were displayed face out on bookshelves: Gender Rebels by Katherine Locke and I’m in Love with the Villainess by Inori. One note said ‘Trash Propaganda,’ and the other said ‘Kill Yourself Now.’ Security camera footage caught the teen in the act, and staff were able to talk with him and his mother. He was embarrassed and apologized.”
Best news of Pride Month! So sweet!
‘A little boy, around 9 or 10 years old, saw me switching out the Pride display for the Juneteenth display. He asked me, ‘Are you taking down the Pride display?’ I answered yes, and told him that the display had been up for a few weeks, so we are switching out in time for Juneteenth. He said, ‘Well, I love both. My heart is in both of them. I love Pride. I love Juneteenth!’ It made him so happy to see himself and his community on our displays!'”
TennesseeKnox County Board of Education votes on book banning policy
The policy bans “explicit” books from Knox County School Libraries
https://www.wvlt.tv/2024/07/12/knox-c...
The board approved a first reading of the policy.
The vote comes after the Age-Appropriate Materials Act went into effect on July 1. The Tennessee law requires schools to restrict books deemed too explicit for students.
Specifically, policy would ban books that (view spoiler)
“The intent is really just to make sure we are in compliance with state law and to make sure the our schools and staff and parents are aware of that and the easiest way to do that is making sure our polices match the state,” board member Susan Horn said.
Legislators in Tennessee’s capitol claim the law is giving rights back to parents, allowing them more power to opt their children out of instruction that isn’t in line with their values.
Existing policies across the state allow parents to make requests and changes to what materials their children are exposed to in the classroom.
On the other side of the issue, book ban policies have been accused of limiting the voices of marginalized groups, like the LGBTQ+ community.
Under Knox County’s policy, schools would be required to remove the explicit content from both school-wide and classroom libraries.
Also included in the policy, the Knox County School system would be required to establish a system for parents or school employees to file complaints about what books are stocked in libraries, then decide whether or not to remove it.
Alabama as usual• Anti-LGBTQ+ threats and sentiments in Mobile, Alabama, have canceled a children's author event over fear of what might happen.
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/07/a...
At least one participant and two venues received threats for helping promote Josh Coleman's book 'Finding My Rainbow.'
A Mobile, Alabama event celebrating an LGBTQ+-themed children’s book has been canceled due to what the book’s author described as “continued and escalating threats” against participants and multiple host venues.
The reading and book signing for author, speaker, and Central Alabama Pride president Josh Coleman’s picture book Finding My Rainbow was originally scheduled for this Friday, July 12 at Mobile brewery Oyster City Brewing Company. The event also promised an appearance by social media influencer Ophelia Nichols, better known as “Mama Tot”, and a portion of beer sales benefiting AIDS Alabama.
Coleman’s book is described on Facebook as “a poignant and uplifting tale set in a small town in Alabama. It follows young Josh as he navigates the complexities of growing up, discovering his identity, and seeking acceptance.”
According to Alabama Political Reporter, the children’s book contains “no sexual content whatsoever” and does not even contain discussion of kissing. But that did not stop what Coleman has described as “MAGA Republicans and ultra-conservative Christian groups” from viciously attacking the event on social media.
Coleman, who also serves as the LGBTQ+ liaison for the City of Birmingham, wrote in a social media post Tuesday that he had anticipated backlash when he wrote Finding My Rainbow.
“Each book event has faced scrutiny,” he noted, “but the public attacks over the last few days have been especially intense.”
Earlier this week, Nichols pulled out of the event due to what Coleman described as “severe personal threats” to the influencer and her family.
Nichols was to be replaced by drag performer Colombia Taylor. But on Wednesday, Oyster City canceled the event amid continued threats, citing “the safety of our employees and customers” in a Facebook post.
[The Venue] doesn't “abide hate” and would be donating $1 from every beer sale on Friday to AIDS Alabama.
In a Wednesday post, Coleman wrote that he was “deeply thankful” for Oyster City’s initial support, and announced that the event would be moved to a Mobile Books-A-Million store. “I don’t care if I sell one book,” he wrote. “This is about principle. We will not let anyone turn us away or silence our voices.”
But on Thursday, Coleman once again took to social media with news that the reading and book signing had been indefinitely postponed due to “continued and escalating threats now directed at” the Books-A-Million location.
In his Wednesday post, Coleman claimed that “The leader of the protests against our event is a MAGA Proud Boy who participated in the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6th.”
While Coleman did not name the individual, according to Alabama Political Reporter, Mobile resident Darren Sweeney had planned to protest the event...
[claims not to be an extremist but is definitely homophobic/transphobic, hateful, hurtful]
In his Thursday statement, however, Coleman wrote that “This extremist has organized a campaign to silence us, but they have only strengthened our resolve.”
He went on to promise that he was already planning to reschedule Friday’s event. “We will return to Mobile with the same format, including a Drag Queen Story Time, to celebrate our community and share our stories,” Coleman wrote.
Corpus Christi, TexasWithin a two-month period this year, three of the four books requested by residents to be either relocated, restricted or removed have been those featuring a main character portraying the LGBTQIA-plus community or focused on LGBTQIA-plus subject matter.
https://www.caller.com/story/news/loc....
https://www.caller.com/story/news/loc...
Paywalled stories
Unpaywalled
Corpus Christi community voice concerns about book censorship
On Tuesday, dozens of people packed out the Corpus Christi Library Subcommittee meeting as the topic on book censorship filled the room.
During public comment, many community members voiced their concerns about the potential ban on certain books, while others supported the need for the subcommittee.
“I would love to see myself in books and stories and I want to make sure that youth can find themselves in books as well," Director of Coastal Bend Pride Center Robert Kymes said.
Others mentioned that they believed parents should choose what their children are exposed to, rather than the children's decision.
The city’s Library Board created the subcommittee nearly a month ago to provide advice for the library collection development policy.
in Corpus Christi, many community members believe that without a variety of topics in libraries, people, especially children, will not learn about certain cultures, diverse groups, religions or feel properly represented.
“We need resources that our minority children, teens and adults read and see themselves represented," one community member said during the meeting. "We need to ensure that the offerings that are available on our shelves meet the wide range of all our citizens.”
In particular, some people posted their concerns on social media about banning books of the LGBTQIA community, minority history, diversity, equity or inclusion.
Their referencing focused on pioneers like Dr. Hector P. Garcia, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Sylvia Rivera and more.
Teenagers were in attendance and emphasized the need to keep books that drive representation.
Some even believe the board’s subcommittee should be eliminated completely. But there are others who also think that content within libraries should be monitored, particularly when certain literature is over s---alized.
“We have to protect the kids," Carol Nash, a supporter of the Corpus Christi Library Board subcommittee said. "Let the children be children. But do we really need to involve s-x in everything because that’s basically what it is. They want to have books that are more like them [the LGBTQIA community], but what about the children that are confused and need something to help them look at the other side to see if this is really what they want. It seems like they only want the one side.”
Sadly, libraries are becoming burned out amidst all this censorship drama.https://sampan.org/2024/arts/libraria...
‘Librarian Burnout’ Rises as More Censorship Requests Flood System
Great news, two censors in the Sunol Glen Unified School District school board in California just officially got recalled and removed from their positionshttps://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/07/s...
Ryan Jergensen and Linda Hurley, members of the Sunol Glen Unified School District, lost in a recall election after passing a policy last year that forbade the display of all other flags in district schools.
• The director of the Alpena Public Library (MI) just resigned from her position after being there only a year. The reasons are personal, as well as related to an unsupportive library board that is very eager to ban books they don’t like.https://www.thealpenanews.com/news/lo...
The library and its board have for months been embroiled in controversy over a handful of books in the children’s and teens’ sections of the library that some residents deem overly s----al and others deem important tools for talking to young people about s-x.
Commissioners on the county board, which appoints library board members, have called the books obscene and have pushed the library board to move the books to adult sections of the library or place them behind the counter so only adults can check them out. The county board has discussed removing library board members if they don’t comply.
The library on Aug. 6 will ask voters to renew the property tax that funds library operations and maintenance. Some residents have called on the community to vote down the tax unless the library does something about the controversial books. Others have urged support for the tax because of the numerous programs the library offers the community.
Library officials have said the library would have to severely curtail programs and could close if the tax fails.
Whatever happens, the search [for a new director] likely won’t begin in earnest until after the Aug. 6 election.
• Lodi School District (CA) is implementing an opt-out policy for book access this year. Don’t call their book removals book banning, though, because removing books isn’t banning them ...https://stocktonia.org/news/education...
Mistaken votes by an opaque advisory committee in June about three specific books spurred accusations of book banning, but Schools Superintendent Neil Young later said they overstepped their authority.
Book advocates say they will address student access and district procedure again at the July 16 school board meeting.
“There is this opt out, okay, but that still doesn’t go back to solving the issue about the board rule and this challenge committee,” said Lisa Lennon Wilkins, who heads the district’s teachers union.
For the upcoming school year, district officials had already determined that parents would be able to elect whether or not their children have access to “young adult (14+) and adult level books that may contain mature topics, graphic violence, vulgar language, and/or s---al content.”
Tensions came to a head publicly in June after the district convened the advisory committee to review 10 books, including “Push” by Sapphire, “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson, and “This is Kind of an Epic Love Story” by Kacen Callender. The seven-member committee included teachers, administrators, and parents, including one who had filed a formal complaint against “This is Kind of an Epic Love Story.”
According to district records requested by Stocktonia, the committee took three votes in the hours-long June 4 meeting, electing unanimously to keep available “Speak,” 6–1 to remove “Push”, and deadlocking 3–3 on “This is Kind of an Epic Love Story.” Some community members told the school board, meeting later that night, that it seemed the district had banned the books.
The district received at least 20 formal complaints regarding “Push” in February and March, with many objecting to the book’s s---al content or raising concerns about morality and family values using similar wording, according to copies obtained by Stocktonia. Only district staff, residents, or parents may file formal complaints.
Complaints against all three books received by the district included attachments from BookLooks.org.
On June 10, nearly a week after the committee’s meeting, Young, the superintendent, wrote in a message to community members that the committee had no decision-making power, and that the votes had been taken in error. He then announced the district’s new opt-out policy, which had been decided prior to the review committee meeting.
Young told Stocktonia that district librarians would be responsible for determining which books fell under the policy, and added that the feedback he’s heard from parents has so far been positive.
“What I am hearing from multiple families is that … they feel as though that is a great opportunity for each family to be responsible for their own family, and not another family’s children,” he said.
But the new policy hasn’t closed the issue for some. Although he doesn’t have children in the district, David Diskin is a Lodi resident working with parents and staff to push for clarification of district policies around the review committee.
“There was no open call, there was no nomination process. It certainly wasn’t public,” Diskin said of the committee’s formation.
Young said that Associate Superintendent Robert Sahli made the decision to convene the committee and selected the members. Sahli, who retired from the district at the end of the school year, did not respond to requests for comment.
The committee consists of middle school teachers Laurie Johnson and Madeline Mettler, instructional coach Sean Campbell, principals Joe Ward and You Lor, and parents Esiteli Hafoka and Becky Harper. Harper filed a formal complaint against “This is Kind of an Epic Love Story” in November 2023 after the book was an option in her daughter’s ninth grade English class. She had spoken about her objections to the book at a school board meeting last summer.
Other details about the committee, which did not take minutes during its meeting, remain unclear. Young said he had “no information” on whether it would reconvene.
Diskin and others have asked the school board to consider clarifying policies for convening a review committee, voting on complaints, and deciding if and how instructional resources are removed.
Existing district rules allow the superintendent or another designated official to convene a temporary committee — composed of two teachers, two administrators, two parents, a coach, and a librarian serving in an advisory role — to review formal complaints made against books and instructional resources. Officially, the committee’s role is to determine the age and educational appropriateness of materials and their usefulness in school curriculum; it has no authority to remove books from shelves.
However, Lodi Unified overhauled the makeup of the committee last year, when it altered the role of the librarian to an advisory position and increased the number of parents and administrators. A provision for a high school student member was also removed.
The committee’s June 4 agenda included 10 books for consideration; some, like “Internment” by Samira Ahmed, discuss race and religion in America, while others like Gabby Rivera’s “Juliet Takes a Breath” deal with LGBTQ+ youth. Other titles included “A Court of Silver Flames” by Sarah J. Maas, “Tricks” by Ellen Hopkins, “Looking for Alaska” by John Green, “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson, and “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” by Jesse Andrews — all books that have been challenged or banned in other districts in the country.
A California law instituted last fall prohibits school districts from banning books that deal with race, gender, or sexual orientation, and allows the state to fine offending districts, but some districts in California have engaged with the issue.
https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/n...Books by Bill O'Reilly, Ayn Rand, Dean Koontz challenged at Park Vista High. Here's why
The challenges have been denied three times at various levels, but will be heard by Palm Beach County's school board on Wednesday.
A Boynton Beach man has challenged three books he says contain s---al content that is unsuitable for students at Park Vista High School.
Kenneth Derrick, who is not a parent of a child at Park Vista, is not pushing for the books to be removed from the library. Instead, he suggests the school district affix a label to the books that calls out authors who support book challenges but include s---al content in their own novels.”
He called the works hypocritical because two of the books were written by authors who have either publicly supported Florida's legislation allowing challenges to books in schools or who have supported Republican candidates in favor of the law.
The books in question include "The O'Reilly Factor for Kids: A Survival Guide for America's Families" by Bill O'Reilly, "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand and "The Taking" by Dean Koontz.
His challenges to the three books have been denied by Park Vista's school materials review committee, its principal and Superintendent Mike Burke. The denials cited the committee's finding that the books are age-appropriate and that the school district does not typically add warning labels to books.
Palm Beach County's school board will consider the challenges at Wednesday's school board meeting.
Few books have been challenged in Palm Beach County, and even fewer have been removed from school libraries or classrooms for any amount of time.
Last year, a parent unsuccessfully challenged the Bible at Olympic Heights High.
Derrick suggests a label be placed on the book that highlights the book's author supported Florida's laws "restricting the content of books in school classrooms and libraries, but he became angry when his books were removed for inappropriate content."
Bill O'Reilly, a conservative television commentator and former Fox News host, reportedly became "furious" in January after two of his books were removed by Escambia County's school district. He previously supported the book challenge laws in Florida, which he said were necessary to "protect children" from a far-left agenda.
Derrick argues that Dean Koontz has "donated money to politicians who support laws restricting the content of books in school classrooms and libraries."
Campaign finance records show that Dean Koontz has donated to several Republican candidates for Congress in California over the past four years. None of those candidates appears to be connected to Florida.
• The Bartholomew Consolidated School District (IN) is considering a ban on Push. Read this editorial about it, Kelly Jensen says t’s a great model for what you can do when you see challenges in your community. This book was already through the review process and retained; this is an appeal of that decision.
https://www.therepublic.com/2024/07/1...
The request for review of the book was submitted by local resident Mark Niemoeller.
The board will have 60 days to consider the committee’s report and ultimately decide whether the book should remain in the library. Board President Nikki Wheeldon, District 7, said the vote on whether to uphold the committee’s decision will take place during the Sept. 9 school board meeting.
...
Niemoeller spent a large amount of his three-minute allotted time referring to letters to the editor on The Republic’s opinion page by writers who advocated for the book to stay in the library.
“I’d like to point out that both articles were devoid of many of the book’s obscene text. Of course, the reason for these omissions is obvious — The Republic newspaper does not consider that kind of language appropriate for this community and will not publish it, yet some school officials want to retain “Push” in the school library for minors to read freely,” he said.
The newspaper cannot reprint a book’s text without permission from the author and publisher and doing so without that approval would be a violation of copyright law.
Niemoeller disputed Indiana’s Code’s definition for what is obscene and harmful to minors, calling it a “minimum legal standard” that violates “local community standards,” although it’s unclear what set of local community standards he was referring to.
“It looks like we have a bizarre situation where particular content is deemed to be obscene for adults in public, but okay for minors in public school. Somehow, BCSC is reasoning that community standards for adults, as represented by the local newspaper, don’t apply to our community’s children.”
Following Niemoeller, a few individuals came up, all supporting the committee’s decision that the book stay in the library.
Richard Safford, who described himself as previously being a caseworker’s for a children’s home, psychiatric social worker and a Presbyterian minister, encouraged board members to listen to the committee and “those who have actually read these books, this one in particular, an award-winning book, from beginning to end.”
“Children that I’ve counseled, did not need a sanitized description, or sanitized reality, to understand what had happened to them,” Safford told the board. “This book is difficult — it’s intentionally difficult. Because children need to know that they’re not the only ones that this has happened to.”
Another community member, Bob Schoumacher, a retired pediatrician and professor of pediatrics, said he only heard about the appeal a few hours before the meeting. He noted he had not read the book, but said “Push” should not be removed.
“There is almost nothing that would ever be in a school library, that would not be worthy of a good discussion between a parent and a child,” Schoumacher said. “But to not have it be there, is the ultimate, ultimate censorship.”
Grace Patchett said she had read “Push,” realizing later in life that the events it describes were a lot more common than she initially thought when she first read the book. She also discussed being able to turn to a “trusted librarian” while in school, “who helped me learn the things that my ultra-conservative parents would not allow me to learn.”
“I don’t know have too much more to say other than I think it’s incredibly important to remember the words of our own Hoosier-native author Kurt Vonnegut that he hates to see that Americans are taught to fear some books and some ideas as though they are diseases,” Patchett told the board.
https://www.therepublic.com/2024/07/1...
• The City Councilor in Seaside, Oregon, who has been trying to get books banned in the public library is big mad he can’t just do what he wants and his position is up for recall in response to his actions.https://www.rv-times.com/seaside-coun...
In his most detailed response to a recall drive over potential age restrictions on books at the Seaside Public Library, City Councilor Steve Dillard said he has been targeted by local activists “because of my willingness to step forward (and) speak up about s---ally explicit materials going into the hands of minors.”
On a new website — stevedillard.co — Dillard said “the lies and slander they’ve spread at City Council meetings, online and throughout the community have caused many to believe things that I have never said. The public outrage and hysteria that was created because of their false representation of my actions and comments are the basis for an ongoing Seaside City Council recall.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to set the record straight.”
Freedom to Read Seaside pursued a recall after Dillard brought up his concerns about the library several times at City Council meetings over the past several months.
Dillard has previously said that coverage of the issue by The Astorian led people in the community to wrongly believe he was behind challenges to two children’s books at the library.
On his website, Dillard said he was not referring to the two children’s books when he described s---ally explicit material at the library during a City Council meeting in November. The newspaper had reported that Dillard was referring to the books.
“The books ‘And Tango Makes Three’ and ‘When Aidan Became a Brother’ are books that I never read, never challenged, and never called out as sexually explicit,” he wrote. “It appears that the entire purpose of this recall campaign is to divert the conversation away from discussing the protection of children.”
Dillard said the newspaper conflated the book challenges with the research he was doing on library policy.
Dillard had previously sought to clarify his role in the book challenges in a presentation he wrote for a work session on library policies in April. He said he “was approached by residents who had concerns about the content of books for children in our library. After learning from city staff about our library reconsideration process, I informed these residents of the process; some of these residents then submitted requests to the library for the reconsideration of two books from the children’s section.”
The Library Board voted in January to keep the two children’s books on the shelves. The Astorian has not identified the people who filed the book challenges.
Dillard has cited two books promoted by the Seaside Public Library during a banned book teen reading challenge last fall for having s---ally explicit content: “Looking for Alaska,” a 2005 young adult novel by John Green, and “A Court of Mist and Fury,” a 2016 fantasy by Sarah J. Maas.
On his website, Dillard said local activists behind the recall “fail to mention I was referring to treating minors differently than adults when it comes to s---ally explicit material in our library.”
Dillard was elected to a four-year term in 2022 after running unopposed. If the recall is successful, the City Council would appoint a replacement to fill out the remaining two years of his term.
“The website shows just how low he is willing to go to undermine our library and the rights of all citizens to carefully choose the books they want to read,” R.J. Marx, who filed the recall petition on behalf of Freedom to Read Seaside, said in a text message to The Astorian.
“His efforts to personalize this are sadly representative of the times we live in. I hope the voters in Ward 1 vote yes to get him off the council pronto.”
Marx is a former editor of the Seaside Signal and South County reporter for The Astorian. His wife, Eve, serves on the Library Board.
Jessica Greenlee, of Freedom to Read Seaside, said in an email that Dillard’s website does not have “a lot of new information or explanation for his continued pursuit to insert the government into the parent’s role of choosing what they and their child can read.
Greenlee said Dillard’s proposal to establish a dedicated section of the library to place materials identified by a review committee as inappropriate for certain age groups could apply to thousands of titles.
“We are not confused,” she said. “He seems to be missing the point. The people of this community are opposed to his proposals. We don’t want the government to control what we have access to read.”
• County commissioners are targeting Jack of Heart (and Other Parts) in the Citrus County, Florida PUBLIC Library https://www.chronicleonline.com/news/...
County commissioners have singled out a book in the young adult section of the Citrus County library as being p______
Commissioners were provided excerpts of the book by a citizen and all agreed it is not suitable for the 12- to 18-year-old age group that’s being targeted.
Commissioner Diana Finegan said she was “absolutely appalled” at some of the explicit and graphic depictions of s-x.
“This is p_________,” she told her colleagues and urged them to support her in getting to the bottom of how this book made it to the young adult shelf in the library.
The book has been in the library since 2018 and has been checked out twice, according to the county. Only one print copy is available.
Finegan believes there should be disciplinary action taken against anyone who might have intentionally placed it in that section.
“Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts)” was one of 26 books pulled from circulation at the library last month following a citizen complaint.
Library Director Adam Chang said all 26 books are currently under review by his staff and won’t be back on the shelves until deemed appropriate for the target audience of children and young adults.
Commissioner Jeff Kinnard said he read two paragraphs of the book and found it “appalling it would be in the children’s section.”
He said library books come under the purview of the County Commission and will be interested in the outcome of the library review.
"The book is absolutely not appropriate,” said Commissioner Rebecca Bays, who also questioned how it ended up on the library shelf.
Commissioner Ruthie Schlabach was shocked as well but said the review process to determine the book’s fate is working as it’s supposed to.
She agreed the book is not appropriate and “not for Citrus County.”
Commission Chairwoman Holly Davis reminded the board that there are 230,000 books in county libraries and just 26 were challenged.
“However, even one is too many in the young adult section,” she said.
In Alabama, a grandmother had a "conniption about Gender Queer existing in a bookstore. This story is absurd and also perfectly indicative of how these people behave."Right-wing news source 1819 News
About facein Haford County, MarylandHarford County school board revives African American studies course
Unanimous vote reverses June decision to do away with the AP course next year
https://marylandmatters.org/2024/07/1...
The Harford County Board of Education voted unanimously early Tuesday to restore an Advanced Placement course on African American studies, just weeks after canceling the class over concerns it lacked “positive narratives” and perpetuated “a narrative of victimhood.”
The vote followed at least 2 1/2 hours of public comment from about 60 speakers, most of whom urged the board to let the course continue.
“It has bridged the gap between Black and white, left and right, or right and wrong by creating a safe space for open dialogue, discussion and communication,” said Hayven Rowson, 16, a rising senior at Aberdeen High School, and one of three students who spoke. “Having this course available has meant everything to me and more.”
The approval came with minor revisions, the biggest of which is the inclusion of various projects that students will have to do, such as studying a current or historical figure or an issue, in addition to the final exam that can earn students college credit.
The approval means the course, which was offered as a pilot course in three county high schools last year, will be part of the regular AP courses offered in the county next year. School system officials said 67 students took the course last year, and that number has ballooned to about 200 who have signed up for the course in the fall.
Board members noted then that there is already a non-AP African American history course on the books. Some members raised concerns that the AP course emphasizes an “oppressor vs. oppressed” narrative, portrayed police in a “negative light,” lacked “positive narratives” and lacked “full context” on topics like the Black Panther Party and Malcolm X.
School board member Terri Kocher, who voted against the course last month, asked what the difference is between the regular African American studies course versus the AP course. And she asked whether students in the course will feel that Black people are still oppressed.
John Mobley, a social science teacher at Aberdeen High School who taught the AP pilot course in the 2023-23 school year, told Kocher the AP course has more rigor and writing. As for how students in the course will feel, he said: “I can’t answer that question for them. That’s something through education that they will come to that conclusion.”
“My job as an educator is to present the information and for them to determine how they feel. I can’t legislate that,” Mobley said.
Mobley cited “Project 2025,” the presidential transition template being developed by the conservative Heritage Foundation.
“I don’t want to read it, but I have to because as a responsible educator, I must be prepared for anything that walks into my classroom,” he said. “I don’t mind controversy.”
Kocher then asked about the discussion of conservative Blacks such as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina)
“We don’t shy away from diverse perspectives … to challenge students to think critically, to challenge their assumptions, to poke holes in various arguments,” said Erin Lange, supervisor of social sciences for Harford County schools.
The vote followed hours of public comment from about 60 people registered to speak. Not everyone spoke in support of the African American studies course.
David Eltringham, a county resident, said this type of course comes with “a distortion of history and facts to create a narrative that is ultimately tearing down our society and is intentional. ”
“The agenda is using young impressionable minds to accomplish this,” he said. “My heart aches for the students who are being led to believe this curriculum and agenda that has its roots in Marxism.”
But most speakers in the overflow crowd, which included current and former Harford County public school students, educators and community leaders, were there to support the course.
“African American history is American history,” said Felicia M. Hopkins, who represents the Youth Enrichment Society of Harford County. “These stories are vital to understanding the complexities and progress of our country.”
Rodney Johnson, a 30-year educator who has taught Advanced Placement courses for 10 years, told the board he read “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” as a high school junior in Harford County public schools. Johnson, who is Black, noted that the book has the N-word 219 times, a fact noted in a report by Pen America.
“If students of color and every student can read Huck Finn, then certainly reading about African American history and African American experiences is not a bridge too far,” Johnson said.
Bomb threat at Sacramento Public Library this weekSacramento library under evacuation after bomb threat, suspect detained
https://fox40.com/news/local-news/sac...
A conservative board member in Lovejoy Independent School District (TX) says they were wrong to believe it was an inappropriate book based on cherry-picked passages.https://x.com/frankstrong/status/1813...
“When I first saw the request, some of the language was concerning to me. Then when I read the books in whole, I had a different perspective.”
• Highland Park Independent School District (TX) has banned All Boys Aren’t Blue from the district.https://www.peoplenewspapers.com/2024...
The HPISD Board of Trustees on July 17 voted 5-2 to remove the book All Boys Aren’t Blue from the Highland Park High School library.
The board overturned the decision of a volunteer committee and pulled the book due to its “educational unsuitability for graphic s----al content harmful to minors.” A review committee of three parents, an administrator and two teachers had voted 6-0 in May to retain the book on library shelves. Another district administrator served as committee facilitator, but did not vote.
The book’s inclusion was challenged by HPISD parents Austin and Michelle Hopper, who appealed the committee’s decision.
“Ultimately, I think this is a straightforward issue,” Austin Hopper told the board. “All Boys Aren’t Blue is pervasively vulgar and educational unsuitable. Period. End of story.” Michelle Hopper said a prayer for protection and strength before reading several graphic passages from the book.
The Hoppers argued that the board was empowered to remove the book by the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Board of Education v. Pico, and compelled to do so by the recently passed House Bill 900. HB 900 prohibits school districts from possessing certain library materials, including those deemed “pervasively vulgar or educationally unsuitable.”
The Hoppers noted that All Boys Aren’t Blue has been removed from numerous other school districts, including Frisco ISD.
Prior to the board’s vote, members asked about the reasoning of the review committee and whether students have checked out the book from the Highland Park High School library, the only district library where it is on shelves.
No students have been assigned to read the book, Deputy Superintendent Shorr Heathcote told the board. The book has not been checked out by any students since it was placed on shelves in October 2020. Heathcote said that, under district policy, parents are able to restrict their children from checking out books that they deem inappropriate.
Several board members said they believed that the book was not suitable for teenagers. “I think having read the book and serving in the role that we serve, we have an obligation to act in the best interest of HPISD students,” board member Bryce Benson said. “And I found the book to be educationally unsuitable and age inappropriate.”
“Having read the book in its entirety myself, I do find the graphic, rather lengthy descriptions of s---ual acts to be age inappropriate for minors under the age of 18,” board member Ellen Lee said. “And therefore, this material is educationally unsuitable on our campuses.” She added that there is a distinction between school libraries and public libraries, where students could still access the book.
Board member Jae Ellis said that retaining this and other books in the library enables students to better understand the experiences of others different from themselves. He appealed to the board to trust the policy it worked to develop last year and the decision of the review committee. Ellis noted that board policy protects parents who do not want their students to access the book.
“Once out of every seven meetings, I get a chance to open the meeting with a prayer,” he said. “And I always open that prayer praying that all seven of us will see things from the perspective of others, especially those who don’t believe as we do.”
A motion to restrict access to the book to students aged 18 and over failed before the vote. Board members Benson, Lee, Blythe Koch, and Pete Flowers voted with President Maryjane Bonfield to remove the book. Ellis and Board member Doug Woodward were opposed.
In Lansing, Michigan, parents are concerned by school library staffinghttps://www.wlns.com/news/lansing-par...
Many of them worry about the district possibly cutting librarians off its staff and whether or not libraries would be included in new school construction plans—specifically the Lewton School campus.
Several district directors shared a plan during the meeting that would cut the number of certified librarians from seven to five in exchange for adding 34 assistants to their staff. Officials say that the assistants would support literacy, instruction, and library usage.
“Students would access the library before and after school, during lunch, our collections would remain protected under our certified positions,” said a district official. “It also allows for opportunity for our parents and our community to help us with check-in and check out when they have been obviously trained.”
While parents like the idea of more library access, many of them are not on board with the plan. Some think there are skills that only a librarian can teach, and that the aides might not have as much training or expertise—which they think is unfair for the staff.
vSuperintendent Ben Shuldiner says there’s a long road ahead before any plan is set in stone, and that this discussion must balance experts in the district and the desires of the parents.
“You also have to be respectful to the community and to listen to what is right for their children,” said Shuldiner. “Because it’s ultimately up to them if their kids go here or somewhere else.”
As for concerns over library closures, a spokesperson for the district says LSD has not and will not close libraries currently used. When it comes to if new building constructions will have libraries, like Lewton, they say administrators are still in talks with parents about final designs.
_______________________________________________________
This is more about books than budget. The mistrust of librarians and lack of understanding about what it is they do.
Christian books should be allowed but not at the expense of all other books and only if a patron/patrons requested it. Don't just buy it because it's Christian or yes people will complain! https://www.al.com/news/2024/07/alaba...
Alabama city backtracks after blocking Christian library book: ‘Embarrassing’
Last month, the city manager [Clay, Alabama] told library board members they could no longer purchase religious books, in an effort to avoid lawsuits from political groups. City manager Ronnie Dixon initially told library staff that they could not buy a Christian book, but, after complaints, later backtracked and allowed them to purchase it.
Dixon did not want the library to purchase “Hero Tales: A Family Treasury of True Stories from the Lives of Christian Heroes” by Dave and Neta Jackson.
“The library should not do anything that would draw attention from watchdog groups,” Dixon said in a June meeting. “The library should not purchase books already in the JCLC if it could draw attention based on content of a religious or gender/sexual nature, and no books should be purchased if a religious book is used as the only source.”
Dixon’s statement caused alarm among Christians in Clay. While the state recently updated rules for how libraries should keep inappropriate books away from children, there are no restrictions on religious books or material.
Library board members also were confused.
In an email to Dixon, library board secretary Sarah Grafman said, “When I read the governor’s statement, which I remember discussing in previous meetings, it was my understanding that she was referencing LGBTQ+ content, not religious. My concern, based on your statement, is we are exposing ourselves to liability regarding religious liberty questions.”
In his response, Dixon said, “While most of our community would accept any Christian books we were to purchase, we do have watchers that will object and possibly escalate.” AL.com has left email and voicemail messages requesting an interview with Dixon.
Mayor Charles Webster said the situation has been blown out of proportion and has become more about a clash of “personalities” between the library board and Dixon.
“It was a miscommunication,” Webster told AL.com. Webster said a patron had complained about the book. “It wasn’t an issue. We just had one person question, ‘why are y’all putting religious books on the shelf.’ It wasn’t that we were against that book.”
The book was eventually approved and purchased.
Webster said he isn’t sure taxpayer dollars should purchase of books geared towards people from one religion.
“If you put a Bible on the shelf you have to put a Quran on the shelf,” Webster said. “You’re setting yourself up for a lawsuit when you start specifying stuff and you leave out one group. You have to allow for everybody. You can’t just do something for one group.”
Library board members are frustrated and feel they don’t have a lot of decision-making power.
“The city doesn’t want the library board to have a say in what the library does,” Grafman said. “I feel like it’s embarrassing to the city and no one really seemed to listen to me.”
She said she believes the Freedom From Religion Foundation is one of the groups Dixon was talking about.
Library board chair Jane Anderton said the city council should not make such decisions and that the bylaws mandate library boards be governing bodies. Mayor Webster told her that the board was only “advisory,” she said.
Dixon is supposed to be in charge of day-to-day library operations, including book purchases.
Anderton said every expenditure, even for small items like rugs, must be approved by Dixon before being purchased for the library, “like we’re going to our daddy.”
Concerns about governmental overreach were brought up at a July 9 library board meeting. Anderton said that Rep. Danny Garrett (R-Jefferson County) allocated $10,000 to the library and the board wasn’t informed. Webster said the money hasn’t been received.
She said Dixon “has done good things for the city,” especially in helping local schools. However, she thinks he should not oversee library operations.
Here's a doozy... I didn't share earlier but I have to share this op ed online piece...https://lithub.com/floridas-commissio...
The Florida Commissioner of Education lists Pride and Prejudice as an example of American Pride for high school summer reader. Yup. True facts!
Here's the list for July American Pride Month
PreK – Proud Little Patriot by Alla Belousov
K-2 – F is for Flag by Wendy Cheyette Lewison
3-5 – The Fourth of July Story by Alice Dalgliesh
6-8 – And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? by Jean Fritz
9-12 – Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Scary news hidden in the previous opinion piece..."Governor Ronald Dion DeSantis decided to abruptly veto all state arts funding. DeSantis said the move was motivated by shows in Tampa Fringe festivals that featured transgender characters and language he didn’t like."
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/a...
Ron DeSantis strips more than $32m in Florida arts funding
Political allies are also surprised at move, which cancels nearly entirety of state’s funding and will affect economy.
Ron DeSantis stripped more than $32m in arts and culture funding from Florida’s state budget over his hatred of a popular fringe festival that he accused of being “a s---al event”, critics of the rightwing governor say.
DeSantis justified his unprecedented, wide-ranging veto of grants to almost 700 groups and organizations by saying it was “inappropriate” for $7,369 of state money to be allocated to Tampa fringe, a 10-day festival that took place earlier this month with a strong message of inclusivity, and its sister event in Orlando.
“[It’s] like a s---al festival where they’re doing all this stuff,” DeSantis said at a press conference Thursday, without elaborating.
“When I see money being spent that way, I have to be the one to stand up for taxpayers and say: ‘You know what, that is an inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars.’”
As a result, he has canceled almost the entirety of Florida’s already slim funding to the arts world, denying much-needed dollars to a diverse array of groups including youth orchestras and choirs, museums, art galleries, dance troupes, zoos, cinemas and community theaters.
Most rely on the state contribution to operate fully, or in many cases simply for their survival. So it makes little sense to any of them that what DeSantis sees as standing up for the taxpayer equates to killing performances, exhibitions and jobs.
“It’s going to be a combination of everything, from tightening our programming and salaries, and going to our patrons, once again, for donations,” said Margaret Ledford, artistic director of City Theatre Miami, a small performing arts group that, among other projects, focuses on presenting short-form plays to middle schoolers.
Her group, with two full-time and three part-time employees, lost a $47,000 grant, about 6% of its annual budget.
Other allocations quashed by DeSantis range from $500,000 each for organizations including the Tampa Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale’s Museum of Science and Discovery and Miami’s Pelican Harbor seabird station, to a few thousand dollars each for groups such as the Amelia Island opera and the Annasemble community orchestra of Gainesville.
Ledford is among those who believe the governor’s action against the arts world is purely political, a continuation of his well-documented targeting of minority groups, including the LGBTQ+ community, through executive action and legislation designed to stifle discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Asked for details, the governor’s office issued a statement condemning a performance at Tampa fringe that featured transgender characters.
“You can’t say gay, you can’t do anything he considers woke, and the word climate change has been taken out of state statutes,” Ledford said.
“We’re also trying to figure out how we reach the students of the community if we can’t talk about things they need to talk about in schools. If we bring in a play with a gay character, we can do that because we’re theater, but whose job are we putting in jeopardy if a student then asks a question of a teacher?”
Margaret Murray, chief executive of the non-profit arts agency Creative Pinellas, called DeSantis’s veto “incredibly disheartening”.
“Arts money does so much more than allow us to enjoy a performance or visit a museum, and now is the time to invest more heavily, rather than less, in our cultural community,” she said in a statement.
“According to a recent report by the Florida Cultural Alliance, every $1 spent on the arts generates $9 in economic activity. "
Among those also puzzled by DeSantis’s motives are political allies, some in the Republican-dominated Florida legislature that crafted a $117.5bn state budget earlier this year that the governor trimmed by almost $1bn before signing it this month. Those politicians rubber stamped grant applicants that were vetted and approved by the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, a 15-member advisory body hand-picked by the governor.
Additionally, the state’s own publications trumpet the economic value of investment in arts and culture, a $3.1bn industry in Florida that it says “supports jobs, generates government revenue and is a cornerstone of tourism”.
Anna Eskamani, a Democratic state representative representing Orlando, said DeSantis’s veto was irrational.
“If we’re struggling economically, then yes, you cut programs, those that aren’t going to impact things like public safety, education, food security. You go after the line items that won’t lead to urgent problems,” she said.
“But we’re not there. Florida has like $17bn in reserves, and this was $32m, a drop in the bucket compared to the budget as a whole. Now these organizations are going to have to make budget decisions, likely reduce staff, cancel programs and reduce the events they can host.
“And there’s a ripple effect because the folks going to the shows are eating at the small restaurant next door, they’re buying printed materials and swag the art group is selling, they’re paying to park, there’s an entire ecosystem that revolves around arts and culture."
Enforcement of Louisiana's Ten Commandment classroom requirement put on pauseThe January 2025 enforcement date still stands pending the outcome of the suit.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/enforcement...
Louisiana's new law requiring all public school classrooms display the Ten Commandments will not be publicly enforced or endorsed in any way until November 15, 2024, according to a new court filing in the ongoing legal battle over the policy.
Both parties agreed that the Ten Commandments will not be posted in any public school classroom and defendants -- including the state's Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education -- and schools will not publicly move forward on the law's implementation until November.
Lester Duhe, a spokesperson for the Louisiana Attorney General's office, clarified that the defendants "agreed not to take public-facing compliance measures" until then because it will give time for "briefing, oral arguments and a decision" ahead of the January 2025 date in which schools have to have the Ten Commandments.
The January requirement still stands pending the outcome of the suit.
A multi-faith group of Louisiana families with children in public schools sued to challenge the law, HB 71, which mandates public schools -- from kindergarten to the collegiate level -- display the Ten Commandments, a religious set of rules from the Old Testament, in every classroom on "a poster or framed document that is at least 11 inches by 14 inches."
Te posters were expected to be paid for by private donations and not state dollars, according to the law, which does not disclose what would happen if a school does not comply with the order.
The suit argues that the law violates a U.S. Supreme Court precedent, pointing to the Stone v. Graham case in which the court overturned a similar state law, holding that the separation of church and state bars public schools from posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
The nine families -- who are Jewish, Christian, Unitarian Universalist and nonreligious -- also argue the law is religious coercion and violates their First Amendment rights: "Permanently posting the Ten Commandments in every Louisiana public school classroom – rendering them unavoidable – unconstitutionally pressures students into religious observance, veneration and adoption of the state's favored religious scripture," the complaint reads.
It continues, "It also sends the harmful and religiously divisive message that students who do not subscribe to the Ten Commandments -- or, more precisely, to the specific version of the Ten Commandments that H.B. 71 requires schools to display -- do not belong in their own school community and should refrain from expressing any faith practices or beliefs that are not aligned with the state's religious preferences."
Supporters of HB 71 argue that the law isn't about religion: "This is not preaching a Christian religion. It's not preaching any religion. It's teaching a moral code," the bill's primary sponsor and Republican state Rep. Dodie Horton said during an April hearing, according to local news outlet WWL-TV.
The law argues that the Ten Commandments are also historically significant, reflecting "the understanding of the founders of our nation with respect to the necessity of civic morality to a functional self-government," the text reads.
"If you want to respect the rule of law, you gotta start from the original lawgiver, which was Moses," Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said during a press conference where he signed a package of education bills.
Great letter from the Dayton [Ohio] Metro Library Executive DirectorDayton Metro Library has and always will protect and promote the right to have access
https://www.daytondailynews.com/ideas...
This is an insane request not to mention total fascism! At least they're aims and goals are out in the open - BAN LGBTQ+ kids from existing publicly. That's all. It started with the books and now extends to people. Not surprising.Judge rejects Moms For Liberty's Title IX injunction expansion request
The far-right extremist group had asked for a new Title IX rule to be blocked in any county where its members live, which would have included Atlanta, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Detroit and most of New York City.
https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/lat...
A federal judge on Friday denied a request from Moms for Liberty, a far-right extremist group, to block federal protections for LGBTQ students in more than 800 counties across the country.
U.S. District Judge John Broomes, a Trump appointee in Kansas, issued a broad injunction earlier this month that blocks the enforcement of a new Title IX rule to protect LGBTQ students in Kansas and three other states. It also applies to schools attended by children of members of the groups that sued over the rule, Moms for Liberty, Young America’s Foundation and Female Athletes United.
Finalized in April, the new rule expands protections under Title IX — a sex discrimination law aimed at protecting women’s rights in education — to include transgender students, whose rights have increasingly come under attack from Republican lawmakers. The rule, which is slated to go into effect on Aug. 1, set off a raft of lawsuits from GOP-led states. At least 15 states have temporarily blocked enforcement of the rule amid legal challenges.
Broomes asked the three plaintiff groups to submit a list of schools attended by their members’ children so those schools can be exempt from the rule. But Moms for Liberty said compiling such a list would be “impossible” and that it does not ask its members about their children’s schools. The group instead requested that Broomes block the Title IX rule in any county where its members live, rather than just in schools attended by their children.
In his ruling on Friday, Broomes said he did not have the jurisdiction to do so. Had he granted the request, the rule could have been blocked in hundreds of counties, including in those that contain Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, San Francisco and most of New York City.
Broomes gave Moms for Liberty until July 26 to submit a list of schools attended by its members’ children.
With schools opening for the season and the election heating up, more shocking news is on the way. *Project 2025, the agenda for a new administration written by Trump aides and allies promotes Moms for Liberty’s efforts to restrict teaching students about race, sexuality, and gender.
*It promotes Christian nationalists’ agenda, promising to create a new federal task force to deal with supposed “discrimination, harassment, and persecution against Christians in America.”
*Moms for Liberty leaders warn that “radical Marxists are trying to steal our children’s future” and that “the enemy wants to come between us and our children.”
*Project 2025 directs government agencies to narrow the definition of what a “family” is to “heterosexual, two-parent household,” eliminating benefits for people who don’t fit their ideology.
*They want to ban “p______phy”—which they define in a way that would let them clear classrooms and libraries of books. At a Moms for Liberty town hall meeting at the RNC, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis bragged that his state was not only dictating to K-12 schools what they could teach, but was doing the same to public universities.
*In his speech, Trump lauded Hungarian strongman Viktor Orban, who is praised by far-right activists for crushing dissent, taking control of media and the judiciary, and imposing ideological control over arts and education. [Government book banning/history censoring]
*The opening section of the Project report is filled with allegations of criminal conduct by librarians, publishers, authors, and educators and argues in favor of criminal charges and incarceration.
*The Heritage Foundation has been calling for the closure of the Institute of Museums and Library Services (IMLS), the only source of federal funding for public libraries and state libraries. In Blueprints dating back to the mid-2010s, they say that Congress should have no role in ensuring that libraries are strong and available to everyone.
*Project 2025 would dismantle much of what makes K-12 public education the great leveler of American society. From proposals to eliminate the Department of Education and phase out Title I support for the poorest of schools to scaling back Civil Rights enforcement in the name of parents' rights... they advocate for increased censorship and threaten criminal penalties on educators, authors, and publishers. This will discourage school librarians from providing diverse materials, limiting students' access to comprehensive educational resources.
People for the American Way
https://www.peoplefor.org/trumptastrophe
EveryLibrary
https://www.everylibraryinstitute.org/
Every Library
A Florida school district banned ‘Ban This Book.’ Author says that’s ‘erasure of the highest order’ and wants it reinstatedhttps://www.cnn.com/2024/07/23/us/flo...
More book banning in Florida. https://www.naplesnews.com/story/news...
A "Bring Back Our Books Rally" formed outside of Pensacola's J.E. Hall Center Tuesday prior to the Escambia County School Board meeting in support of returning challenged school library books to the shelves.
Another book ban battle emerges in Florida, with high stakes for the First Amendment
Another legal battle has begun over Florida's book bans, with significant stakes, as the sued school district is launching a controversial defense that could shake First Amendment law nationwide.
This case emerges in Florida's northeasternmost county, Nassau, wedged between Jacksonville and Georgia.
Facing a federal lawsuit over its removal and restriction of school library books, county school district officials say such decisions are actually protected by the First Amendment, which they are accused of violating.
"(Our) actions constitute government speech for which no First Amendment protections attach," they wrote in a Friday court filing.
That argument has also been used multiple times in the courts by Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration and other school districts, who maintain that governments can remove any school library book regardless of reason.
It's set off alarm bells for many First Amendment advocates, some labeling it as authoritarianism. Its appearance in another case creates another chance that a judge agrees with the argument, potentially elevating it to higher courts where far-reaching precedent could be set.
Assigned to the case is U.S. District Judge Wendy Berger, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida by authors of one of the removed books as well as school district students and their parents.
Written by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, that book, "And Tango Makes Three," details the true story of a same-sex penguin pair at a New York City zoo. The children's picture book and 35 other titles were either removed or restricted by school district officials following the "informal requests" of a local chapter of Citizens Defending Freedom, according to the lawsuit.
"We look forward to working together to protect the innocence of children in our schools," wrote Jack Knocke, the group's county executive director, in an email to some of the officials. It was provided in court records.
...
"There are groups that are going to try to vilify us for trying to protect children," Knocke said in a phone interview. "Our goal is to keep the children in the schools so they can learn and develop appropriately."
The CDF chapter accused the books of being inappropriate and in violation of state law. The school district didn't find that was the case with "And Tango Makes Three," but removed it anyway citing "lack of circulation."
"The District’s public school library collection contains thousands of books that predate Tango, but which Defendants did not remove for weeding or lack of circulation (because they were not challenged by CDF and do not espouse the positive LGBTQIA+ message that Defendants disfavor)," write the plaintiffs, who are represented by law firms Selendy Gay PLLC and Kenny Nachwalter P.A.
"They made that decision for a single, unconstitutional reason: their disagreement with the book’s content and viewpoint in violation of the Plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights," they said.
Of the 36 titles affected, according to plaintiff's court records, only two others were weeded out due to "lack of circulation:" "Almost Perfect," which has a LGBTQ theme and character, and "Ghost Boys," which discusses racism.
Those suing also say the school district violated the state Constitution, making the book decisions behind doors then attempting "to justify and conceal their unlawful conduct by creating a legally insufficient library material challenge policy and pointing to it as the basis for their removal and restriction of the 36 books."
Nassau County school officials, represented by law firm Steger Law Firm PLLC, denied all those allegations and said the plaintiffs didn't have standing to sue.
"There is no constitutional right to have one’s book remain on the shelves of a public school library, and the removal of said book likewise does not implicate any such constitutional rights," they wrote in the Friday filing. "Furthermore, there is no recognized right to receive information in public school libraries under the First Amendment. Because no such rights exist, Plaintiffs have suffered no injury-in-fact and cannot demonstrate standing."
In the meantime, Knocke said his group has sent the school district another list of books it's concerned about.
...
Government speech doctrine is relatively new, and U.S. Supreme Court has not always ruled in favor of it.
"By all accounts, school officials enjoy substantial discretion in determining which books should be available in school libraries," wrote Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor in an opinion earlier in the year, as previously reported by the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida. He hasn't yet issued a ruling on it.
"But the issue of how and to what extent the First Amendment limits that discretion is surprisingly unsettled."
Scary news in MichiganControversial books cost library board members their seats |
https://www.thealpenanews.com/news/20...
he Alpena County Board of Commissioners voted six to one Tuesday to begin the process of removing all of the members of the Alpena County library board after library board members failed to act on some residents’ concerns about controversial books.
Current library board members can apply for reappointment but are not assured of being appointed.
For months, several residents have spoken out at public meetings about children and teen books that contain s---ally graphic material. Many residents called on the library board to move the books out of the children’s and teens’ sections of the library. Some residents have urged Alpena County voters to vote down the proposed renewal of a property tax that funds the library.
Other residents, however, have said the books help families talk to children about difficult topics or may provide young people their only avenue to learn about s-x and s--uality and ought to stay where they are. Many residents have urged passage of the library tax proposal because of the numerous services the library provides the community.
Library officials have said they abide by professional standards when deciding which books go where in the library.
Commissioner John Kozlowski voted against replacing the entire library board. Commissioner Bill Peterson left the meeting before the vote to take care of personal business.
The president of the library board, Joe Garber, declined to comment.
The library board has received concerns during its meetings for two years over the content of some books, but, according to county commissioners, never engaged or worked on a solution to the issue.
“I don’t think the library board has taken the people of Alpena County seriously,” Commissioner Brenda Fournier said. “I believe they will continue to do what they want to do, regardless of what anybody says. I don’t have a problem with starting over with an entire new board.”
It will take time to change members of the board, however.
First, the commissioners will have to follow a process to remove each member individually, post the vacant positions for 30 days, review and interview candidates, and finally vote to oust the current members and appoint new ones.
The process could take two to three months.
Several people who are part of a local movement to have the books moved and vowed to vote against the millage said they now will vote to support the property tax renewal because the commissioners are taking action. They have also said they will take down yard signs that oppose the millage.
Bruce Heath, who has been vocal about the books, said the commissioners listened to a majority of their constituents and did the right thing.
“I’m going to tell everyone to take the signs down and to support the millage,” Heath said. “We got what we wanted, and the board took action.”
Most of the commissioners were critical of the library board over the way it handled the issue and controversy surrounding the children and teen books. They said some board members hadn’t even read or looked at the books in question and refused to budge on their position about the placement of the books or work with those opposed to the books’ current placement to find a resolution.
“They have had two years to do something and haven’t,” Commissioner Travis Konarzewski said. “Them sticking their head in the sand is not going to fix anything. I think that is the biggest problem with the people in our community. They have had questions for two years and they haven’t gotten any answers. That is why they are here and not there. I think we need to do something, and if there is a process, I think we need to get it started today.”
Kozlowski, who has been critical of the library board in the past, said he believes the library board needs to consist of people with different beliefs, walks of life, and political ideologies. He said having one shared point of view held by the entirety of the board is not what a public library needs.
“We have all seen the books and I 100% don’t agree with the library that they are educational books and they should be located in the children’s and teen section,” he said. “But I just don’t know if the best action is to eliminate the entire board. I feel, by doing so, we may open up the door to other groups who may not agree with something and demand someone or something else be eliminated. Have they taken this issue as seriously as they should have? No. But I don’t think eliminating the whole board is necessarily the right answer, either.”
This is illegal! https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...
Inside the two-year fight to bring charges against school librarians in Granbury, Texas
An 824-page investigative file offers a visceral picture of an officer’s attempt to prosecute librarians amid a nationwide movement to criminalize books
The law enforcement officer spent months methodically gathering evidence. He leafed through thousands of pages and highlighted key passages amid reams and reams of paper. He wore his body camera to record his interactions with witnesses and suspects. And he photographed what he saw as instruments of the alleged crime:
Books.
The targets of the investigation? Three school librarians in Granbury, Texas. The allegation? They had allowed children to access literature — such as “The Bluest Eye,” by Toni Morrison — that the officer, Scott London, a chief deputy constable, had deemed obscene.
In an extraordinary look into the ramifications of the right-wing backlash against books dealing with racism, gender, s-x and s--uality, an 824-page investigative file obtained by NBC News and NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth shows how, for two years, London vigorously pursued felony charges against librarians in the Granbury Independent School District.
London secured subpoenas, filed public records requests, received names of students who’d checked out certain books and, after a year, wrote draft criminal complaints.
Those charges — distributing harmful material to a minor — were never filed. The investigation came to an end in June after Hood County District Attorney Ryan Sinclair turned down London’s request to indict the librarians, citing a lack of conclusive evidence to charge them with felonies.
London, who has ties to the anti-government constitutional sheriff’s movement and tried to launch a local chapter of the far-right Oath Keepers militia in 2020, did not respond to questions.
...
“It’s as if books have become contraband, and it’s just so alarming,” said Kasey Meehan, who leads a freedom to read campaign at PEN America, a free speech nonprofit.
A series of videos captured by London’s body-worn camera in May 2022 show him striding through school hallways, interviewing administrators and perusing library shelves in search of the offending books.
In one video, a middle school librarian leans over a book check-out counter, her hands folded at her mouth, as London lays out the legal basis for his investigation. On the wall behind the librarian are colorful decorations and a quote from Dr. Seuss: “The more things you read, the more things you will know.”
“There’s been an allegation of books that were in conflict of the penal code in the library,” London tells the librarian, “and so that’s what I’m looking into.”
London says he has some questions, but under the Fifth Amendment, the librarian is not obligated to answer them.
“I really don’t want to at the moment,” she says, shaking her head.
In another video, London lays out several books on a library table and photographs their covers and copyright pages — logging each as evidence of a potential crime.
Adam Steinbaugh, a lawyer for the civil liberties nonprofit the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, said the Granbury investigation stands out from other cases he’s tracked. Steinbaugh obtained a copy of London’s investigative file through a public records request.
This was the first time, he said, that his organization had seen a law enforcement official issue subpoenas and receive records showing how often books had been checked out and by whom, and the first time he’d seen an officer draft criminal complaints against librarians. Watching police body camera footage of school librarians being confronted by an investigator was deeply unsettling, Steinbaugh said.
“Anytime you’re talking about arresting a librarian for the content of books in a library, that’s going to have a chilling effect,” he said. “Why be a librarian? Why take the, frankly, little pay that librarians, especially school librarians, get, and risk going to prison?”
Granbury’s battle over school library books began in early 2022. That January, Glenn, Granbury’s superintendent, directed librarians to remove books that contained descriptions of s-x and LGBTQ storylines, according to a secret recording obtained by NBC News, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune. The district later appointed a panel of community volunteers to review dozens of books that a Republican state legislator had flagged as inappropriate.
In the end, the committee members voted to permanently ban just three of the titles, including “This Book Is Gay,” a coming-out guide for LGBTQ teens by transgender author Juno Dawson that includes detailed descriptions of s-x, and returned the others to shelves.
The decision outraged a pair of conservative Christian parents who served on the review committee — a homeschooling mother named Monica Brown and Karen Lowery, who was later elected to Granbury’s school board.
On May 2, 2022, according to a case summary included in London’s investigative file, Brown and Lowery brought their concerns about p____” in school libraries to him. They filed a complaint naming 11 allegedly obscene books that they said could be found in Granbury school libraries. The titles, all of which contained passages about s-x or rape, included a popular teen fantasy series by Sarah J. Maas and a pair of books by the acclaimed young adult author Tiffany D. Jackson.
The idea that school librarians had been handing out p---graphy in a town like Granbury — where many folks identify as conservative Christians and 80% of county residents voted for Donald Trump in 2020 — seemed far-fetched to some locals, but London committed himself to investigating.
In an interview with NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth that aired last year, London said the probe was simply a response to the complaint from Lowery and Brown and not driven by his own views.
“If a crime is reported to any law enforcement agency, I would expect the law enforcement agency to investigate the crime,” he said.
Lowery, however, said in an email to reporters last year that it was London who asked if she and Brown would file the complaint after he heard them speak about library books at a local Republican club.
“Monica and I agreed to do so believing we should support law enforcement,” Lowery wrote to NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth.
A day after taking their complaint, London made his first visits to Granbury’s administrative offices, and later that week to Granbury High School and a pair of middle schools.
Body camera footage shows London making small talk with administrators and repeating a joke about being more of a “math guy” when he was a pupil.
In one encounter with superintendent Glenn, on May 3, 2022, London explained his approach to the case.
“Just because I work for the government, I can’t go give a 13-year-old a Hustler magazine,” London said. “If you’re showing (view spoiler) it’s part of sex ed, you can justify it. But if it’s smut for smut’s sake, it’s not justified.” [i.e. STUFF THAT IS NOT IN THE LIBRARY!]
In each of his meetings with the three librarians, London explained that they were under no obligation to speak with him. One by one, the librarians declined to answer questions.
“I’ll listen to what you have to say,” one librarian told London, laughing nervously.
“I was told not to say anything unless I have legal,” another told him.
Paul Hyde, a Granbury attorney who served on the volunteer committee tasked with reviewing dozens of school library books, said he informally advised two of the accused librarians early in London’s investigation and saw the toll it has taken on them.
“These women, that are amazing educators and librarians, have been terrified for over two years now that they’re going to get arrested, hauled off to jail on a felony charge of providing p-----hy to minors,” Hyde said, noting that one of the librarians left the district as a result.
“We lost a great librarian,” he said.
As the investigation progressed, London reviewed nearly 200 pages of community member complaints about books available in the Granbury district, many of which cited BookLooks, a website tied to the conservative activist group Moms for Liberty.
He reported purchasing each of the 11 titles named in Lowery and Brown’s police report and, over the course of a few months in 2022, read them in their entirety. His investigative file included more than 120 photos of passages he believed to be obscene, with highlights he made with a marker.
London also secured subpoenas for Follett School Solutions, an education software company that Granbury uses to help manage its library collection, to obtain records for the dates and times that several titles were checked out from campus libraries. Some of the records obtained by London included the names of students who had most recently checked out the books — a clear violation of student privacy, according to First Amendment experts.
Follett did not respond to requests for comment.
London also sought records from the district about student volunteers who helped librarians return books to shelves. According to the case records, London believed that if he could prove that librarians used minors in the commission of the alleged crimes, it would elevate the charges from misdemeanors to felonies.
After investigating for more than a year, in July 2023, London submitted the case file to Sinclair, the district attorney. By then, London had launched a campaign for Hood County sheriff — an election he would ultimately lose.
He included in his report to Sinclair drafts of criminal complaints to charge the librarians with distributing harmful material to minors, citing sections of books in which s--ual acts were described.
London named six books from Brown and Lowery’s original list that he deemed worthy of charges:
“A Court of Thorns and Roses”
“Gone"
“Fade"
And “The Bluest Eye" [None of which meet the legal definition of you know what!]
Nearly one year later, Sinclair notified London that his office wasn’t going to prosecute the case. Sinclair rejected the felony case because there was insufficient evidence to prove that the librarians used minors to “distribute, exhibit, or display harmful materials,” according to the emails. And at that point, the two-year statute of limitations had expired for misdemeanor charges.
Based on London’s reply t seemed Sinclair also was not convinced that the books, taken as a whole, met the state’s legal definition of harmful material.
On May 1, London made a final plea to get Sinclair to indict the librarians.
“After reading each of these books personally in their entirety,” London wrote in a letter included in the investigative file, “I cannot fathom any scientific, educational, governmental, or other similar justifications for some of these books.”
Ultimately, Sinclair was not persuaded.
On June 24, London wrote to Glenn, letting the Granbury superintendent know that it was official: His two-year effort to charge school librarians had ended.
Lowery, who continues to serve on Granbury’s school board, responded to the case’s dismissal by defending her efforts to restrict library books.
“I did what I believe I was called to do to make the community aware of this dangerous issue,” she said in a statement.
Now for some good news... let's see how long it takes before this turns into bad newsBookstore aimed at selling books banned in Florida opens in Northwest Jacksonville
https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2...
State Rep. Angie Nixon opened Cafe Resistance earlier this month and says it’s an important next step in addressing book bans.
State Rep. Angie Nixon recently opened Cafe Resistance in Northwest Jacksonville to make sure Black history isn’t forgotten.
The bookstore is on Soutel Drive and has a mission to counter the scaled-back teaching of Black history in local schools and the effort to limit diversity.
The cafe serves up coffee and light bites, along with untold stories of the Black experience.
“It’s really frustrating to see that there are some elected officials in power that want to keep true and accurate history away from folks and really trying to suppress that. It’s going to continue to happen because there are some folks who just want to remain in power and control and want to just keep us lost and uneducated,” Nixon said.
Families can see titles from a wide range of authors, from Toni Morrison to James Baldwin.
“In addition to the inaccurate teaching of African American and Black history in our schools across Florida and Florida’s public schools it’s just in response to that and also the fact that we don’t really have a place to gather or a bookstore or a coffee shop located in Northwest Jacksonville. We wanted to have a community space,” she said.
Nixon said Cafe Resistance is a place to foster conversations, through book clubs, poetry nights and even a place to raise awareness surrounding issues like mental health.
“It’s also in response to, unfortunately, the lower literacy rates in our area. I can’t be an advocate for helping the community if I don’t do stuff myself and so I wanted to open up this place so that we can get some of these children and students on grade level,” Nixon said.
...
As an author herself, Nixon remembered writing a book with her daughter to empower her with the confidence of wearing her natural hair.
She said she hopes customers who stop by feel empowered as well.
“I just want them to take in that Black is beautiful, brown is beautiful, and the fact that this is our space. It’s not just my space. This is our community’s space and that they should feel welcome, they should feel at home,” Nixon said. “They should feel safe. They should have fun, get educated and learn to engage with other people.”
You have GOT to be kidding me.https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/07/c...
In Texas, a local county judge has all but appointed himself head librarian in his county, and a dispute over “books about butts and farts” is now the subject of a federal appeal.
In 2023, an aggrieved resident in Llano County, Texas near Austin approached a local county judge complaining about several books in the local library, according to Tech Dirt. Rather than directing the individual to library staff to lodge their complaint, Judge Ron Cunningham took on the library director’s role himself and ordered the books removed from shelves — including “books about butts and farts.”
Llano County Commissioner Jerry Moss,as well, inserted himself into library business when he ordered the library’s director to comply with the judge’s order, saying she should “pick her battles,” and that her refusal to comply would bring “bad publicity” to the county.
With “books about butts and farts” removed — one juvenile title was Gary the Goose and His Gas on the Loose — Judge Cunningham then took up another complaint that included a list compiled by former Texas state Rep. Matt Krause (R) of books that he considered to be “p______raphic filth.”
Based on that list, Judge Cunningham ordered the library director to remove all books that “depict any type of s--ual activity or questionable nudity.”
As a result, 17 titles — including children’s books, books with LGBTQ+ content, and at least two books addressing racism — were ultimately removed from shelves.
A lawsuit quickly followed challenging the local judge’s orders.
A lower court agreed that plaintiffs had shown Llano officials were “driven by their antipathy to the ideas in the banned books” and the books were ordered back on shelves.
Llano County then appealed, and the case was addressed by a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, covering Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. The judges split in a three-way decision, with a majority partly agreeing with the plaintiffs. They ordered eight of the 17 disputed titles reinstated.
The Fifth Circuit’s opinion was then vacated after a majority of the same 17-member court granted Llano County officials a new hearing before the full court.
The order for the new hearing didn’t give a reason, and the new hearing’s date has yet to be scheduled.
GOOD newsVirginia Girl Scout Kate Lindley Discusses Her Year of Activism and the Importance of Fighting Book Bans | ALA Annual
https://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/...
Also good newsWoman fights anti-LGBTQ+ book bans by sending queer books to red states
Florida, Texas and Alabama are among the red state recipients.
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/07/w...
Georgia lawsuit challenges anti-LGBTQ+ book bans over ‘real harms’Lawsuit says student and youth groups hurt after teacher was fired for reading My Shadow is Purple to students
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/a...
The Southern Poverty Law Center and another group have amended a federal lawsuit against a Georgia school district to include a transgender student and a grassroots youth organization, effectively becoming the “first case challenging anti-LGBTQ book bans” in the state.
The move – done anonymously to protect the student – widens the case’s focus from how teachers are affected by censorship laws and policies in Georgia, to how those same policies affect children.
Harry Chiu, with the Southern Education Foundation and one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, told the Guardian he believes the case could “set a precedent in Georgia and across the region that book bans which discriminate against LGBTQ students and educators who teach age-appropriate lessons are unconstitutional”.
Katherine Rinderle, an elementary school teacher of “gifted and talented” students, was fired in August after reading My Shadow is Purple to her students. The complaint was previously lodged on her behalf, as well as the Georgia Association of Educators and another teacher – and against the school district and individual employees. Defendants filed a motion in April to dismiss the initial complaint. Now, the amended lawsuit adds the student – called “AA” – and the Georgia Youth Justice Coalition, a grassroots youth group, as plaintiffs. The school district and other defendants have until 29 July to respond.
“It’s vital that the case was amended, because … it documents the real harms students have experienced as a result of these policies,” said Melody Oliphant, executive director of the youth coalition.
The amended lawsuit offers detailed accounts of how everything from going to the bathroom to participating in chorus became fraught with stress for the student, as Rinderle, the one teacher who supported her, was first suspended for reading the book written by an Australian author, and eventually fired.
The complaint alleges that the Cobb county school district “not only causes gender nonconforming students and gender nonconforming families emotional harm by forcing students to learn in unwelcoming and unsupportive environments, it also inflicts stress, terror, and heartbreak on entire families”.
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While Rinderle went through the months-long process of being investigated by the district and eventually fired, AA suffered the ripple effects, the complaint alleges. Rinderle was AA’s teacher in second grade. In third grade, which was virtual due to Covid, AA “began expressing a more consistent female gender identity”, according to the lawsuit. Rinderle again taught AA in fourth grade, by which time AA “presented as a girl”, growing her hair out and wearing clothes such as skirts.
Reactions at school included a student telling AA she “could not be a girl”. Other students would not use “she/her” pronouns to address the student. Rinderle supported AA, allowing her to use the staff bathroom and spending time with her during recess. The teacher “provided her companionship and support as well as validation of her gender identity as a girl”, according to the complaint.
AA was no longer in Rinderle’s class in fifth grade, when the teacher read My Shadow is Purple. But the two stayed in touch. AA “was confused and upset when she learned of Rinderle’s removal and feared having to attend school without Rinderle’s availability to provide emotional support”.
After Rinderle’s termination, the district removed other books from schools, including The Perks of Being a Wallflower and All Boys Aren’t Blue. AA went on to middle school, where challenges included the district refusing to change her name, despite her mother’s request to do so. That refusal allegedly led to AA having to make up stories to explain the name to her peers when it was called out during chorus, as it is usually associated with males.
At a school dance, a teacher reported AA for using the girls’ bathroom, leading the vice-principal to reprimand her. Her mother had obtained permission for AA to use the staff bathroom, but the student couldn’t find it.
The amended complaint’s claims include assertions that Cobb county’s “censorship” policies violate the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment, constituting sex discrimination, as well as violating first amendment free speech rights.
“LGBTQ-plus students are … not just excluded [under school district policies]”, Chiu said. “They’re affirmatively told, ‘You don’t belong here.’”
_________________________________
I got the impression the bratty, lazy students picking up on their parents' harmful world views challenged the assignment and ratted out the teacher simply because they didn't want to do the work.
Why did S.C. Education Department hire a private attorney to push book ban rules?Read more at: https://www.thestate.com/news/local/e...
Miles Coleman, an attorney with the prominent Nelson Mullins law firm and president of the Columbia chapter of the Federalist Society, a conservative national legal group, was contracted by the Department of Education to represent it regarding the new regulation. Coleman, who the Education Department described as a nationally recognized expert in First Amendment law, was retained at a rate of $225 an hour, according to a request to employ outside counsel that state Superintendent Ellen Weaver filed with the state Attorney General’s Office. The request stipulated that Coleman was being retained for “legal representation and potential litigation relating to the promulgation of regulations relating to library materials.”
Nelson Mullins was ultimately paid $41,855 for its work, according to the Department of Education. Another attorney at Nelson Mullins is representing The State Media Co. in a lawsuit that alleges the Lexington Richland 5 school district violated the state’s open meetings law. “Protecting the minds of South Carolina’s students from sexually explicit materials in our schools is worth every penny,” a department spokesperson, Jason Raven, wrote in an email to The State. But critics have seen the decision to hire outside counsel as proof of Weaver’s agenda. “Superintendent Weaver has demonstrated the lengths she will go to impose her beliefs on teachers, librarians, students, and parents,” said Paul Bowers, director of communications with the ACLU of South Carolina when asked about Coleman’s role in the new law.
Coleman, a partner at Nelson Mullins in Greenville, also specializes in appeals, business litigation and complex civil and criminal litigation, according to his bio. Among other clients, he represented the Pickens County school district in a lawsuit brought by the NAACP concerning the district’s decision to ban the book “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You,” by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi. He also represented the Christian Learning Centers of Greenville, a private religious education provider, in their fight to obtain a $1.5 million state earmark. A 2009 graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law, Coleman has been heavily involved in conservative organizations.
Coleman also appeared to take a leading role in pitching the new rule to legislators. In April, Coleman appeared at least twice before legislators to explain the need for the new rule, saying that it aimed to fix a “patchwork quilt of 80 or more different policies,” according to the South Carolina Daily Gazette. He also defended the regulation’s sweeping prohibition on “s--ual content” in library books and classroom materials. By keeping the definition broad, Coleman told lawmakers that the Department of Education was trying to avoid lengthy debates about what did or did not meet standards, according to the Daily Gazette. “It’s simple enough that it’s not going to get bogged down,” he told lawmakers.
Children's Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Out of the Blue (other topics)The Princess in Black and the Prince in Pink (other topics)
My Rainbow (other topics)
Butt or Face? Volume 3: Super Gross Butts (other topics)
The Day the Books Disappeared (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Jodi Picoult (other topics)Sarah J. Maas (other topics)
Ellen Hopkins (other topics)
Jodi Picoult (other topics)
Scott Stuart (other topics)
More...
Indiana-
BCSC board to consider second school library book challenge
https://www.therepublic.com/2024/07/1...
Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. board members on Monday night will begin considering an appeal of a committee’s decision to keep a challenged book in the Columbus East High School library.
The book being challenged is “Push,” a 1996 novel by author Sapphire, which was later made into the 2009 film “Precious.”
This is the second time the process for banning a book from a BCSC library has played itself out after District 1 board member Jason Major’s effort to remove “People Kill People” by author Ellen Hopkins failed earlier this year.
Board members voted 5-1 on March 4 to keep the book in the library at Columbus East.
Major recused himself from the vote — District 6 board member Logan Schulz was the lone vote to remove the book, although he disputed that’s what his vote meant.
Schulz claimed he was voting to deny upholding the committee’s decision because he believed the book should require parental consent for students to view it. BCSC has no such parental consent policy, although Schulz had introduced it in the past and had not received the requisite support to pass.
A copy of the book determination provided by BCSC officials at the time confirmed that the vote was on whether to remove the book or uphold the decision to keep it in the collection.
The board will have 60 days to consider the committee’s report and ultimately decide whether the book should remain.