After a Northview High School teacher and Escambia County School Board member called for the immediate removal of 115 “obscene” books from school libraries until they can be reviewed, the school district has taken a step to control access to the books.
School Superintendent Dr. Smith has implemented a “Restricted Section” in school libraries. The books in question will be housed in the section, and parents will be able to opt-in their students to have access to the restricted book as they are being reviewed.
“While we review disputed books, we want to make sure parents still have the right to make decisions relative to what they believe is and isn’t appropriate for their children,” Smith said. “We feel the implementation of a Restricted Section in each of our school libraries, from which students can access these titles only with parent permission, will best meet the needs of our families as books are under review. The final arbiter of what is appropriate for a child to read is always that child’s parent; not other parents, teachers, or aggrieved members of the public.”
As we first reported on Monday, 30-year veteran teacher Vicki Baggett compiled a growing list of 116 books that she says are inappropriate in schools, mostly due to sexual language and graphic drawings that she believes actually violate Florida’s obscenity laws. To read more about her arguments, click here. To see the list of the books, click here.
Many of the books books on her list contain graphic and descriptive sexual language, include pedophilia and bestiality. One book uses the F-word 116 times. The are numerous books containing underage sex, what she termed “alternate sexualties”, “explicit violent content”, self-mutilation, suicide, rape, racism, and graphic drawings.
School Board Chairman Kevin Adams asked that Smith quarantine or remove from circulation the challenged books until a review consistent with state statute is conducted.
“The School Board has the authority to remove books from its libraries; however, it cannot do so simply because it disagrees with the message of a book or it offends the personal morals of an individual,” School Board General Counsel Ellen Odom said in an emailed statement on Monday. “Through the review process, if the School Board determines that a particular book is pornographic or obscene, is not suited to student needs and their ability to comprehend the material presented, is inappropriate for the grade level and age group for which the material is used, or is factually inaccurate or misleading, it can direct the removal of such book.”
The current school district “Reconsideration of Educational Media Policy” states that requests for reconsideration are to be submitted to the school with the title in question. Once the request has been submitted, the school will form a “School Materials Review Committee” to read the title, review the complaint, consult professional reviews, and consult outside experts as needed. The School Materials Review Committee will then meet to discuss the title and hold a blind vote to keep the title, move the title to another level, or remove the title completely.
The complainant then has the opportunity to appeal the decision to a District Materials Review Committee. That committee will read the title, review the complaint and appeal, consult professional reviews, and consult outside experts as needed. The District Materials Review Committee will then meet to discuss the title and hold a blind vote to keep the title, move the title to another level, or remove the title completely. The complainant then has the opportunity to appeal the decision to the school board.
The Escambia County School Board has scheduled a special workshop for 8 a.m. on October 10 to discuss a revised school library collection development policy and educational media review policy to ensure consistency with a recently passed state law, HB 1467, which requires school districts to be transparent in the selection of instructional materials, including library and reading materials.
