Texas school district removing, reviewing dozens of books, including the Bible
By Andy Rose and Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN
Officials in a school district near Fort Worth, Texas, have directed school staff and librarians to temporarily remove books that have been challenged through the district’s formal complaint process in the past school year, including the Bible and an illustrated adaptation of Anne Frank’s diary.
The Keller Independent School District Board of Trustees adopted policies last week that set new standards for how books and other instructional materials are chosen for schools, including putting books up for 30 days of public review before they are purchased by libraries and removing challenged materials from shelves while they are being reviewed.
“Right now, Keller ISD’s administration is asking our campus staff and librarians to review books that were challenged last year to determine if they meet the requirements of the new policy,” the school district said in a statement after an email sent to principals about the policy was obtained by the Texas Tribune newspaper.
“All of the books included in Tuesday’s email have been included on Keller ISD’s Book Challenge list over the past year. Books that meet the new guidelines will be returned to the libraries as soon as it is confirmed they comply with the new policy,” the statement said.
The Keller school district allows parents, employees and district residents to file formal objections, or challenges, to books and instructional materials used in schools. A committee then considers whether the materials are educationally suitable and makes a decision on whether the material will remain in schools, the district website says.
The group may also decide to limit use of the materials to particular grade levels or students who get parental permission.
Books that were challenged in the past year include some that explore LGBTQ experiences, such as “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson, which the committee decided to keep in high schools, and “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe, which was removed from the district’s campuses, according to the district website. Toni Morrison’s novel “The Bluest Eye” was also challenged and kept by the committee.
The new library and educational materials policies were approved unanimously by the board on August 8. The decision came as discussions over school library books and curriculum have become key issues across the country. An April analysis from PEN America, a literary and free expression advocacy organization, found 1,586 books were banned in 86 school districts across 26 states from July 31, 2021, to March 31, 2022. Texas led the country with the most book bans at 713, the analysis found, followed by Pennsylvania and Florida.
“We are very pleased that our new unwoke school board has made these changes,” one speaker said during the public comment portion of the August 8 Keller school board meeting. “This is just the beginning, I hope.”
Wednesday is the first day back to school for the district.
See the list of finalists for 2021 National Book Awards
Amazon
Reasons: Challenged for profanity, and it was thought to promote an anti-police message.
See the list of finalists for 2021 National Book Awards
Amazon
Reasons: Banned and challenged for racial slurs and their negative effect on students, featuring a “white savior” character, and its perception of the Black experience.
Reasons: Banned and challenged for racial slurs and their negative effect on students, featuring a “white savior” character, and its perception of the Black experience.
See the list of finalists for 2021 National Book Awards
Amazon
Reasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted because it was thought to contain a political viewpoint and it was claimed to be biased against male students, and for the novel’s inclusion of rape and profanity.
Reasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted because it was thought to contain a political viewpoint and it was claimed to be biased against male students, and for the novel’s inclusion of rape and profanity.
See the list of finalists for 2021 National Book Awards
Amazon
Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, drug use, and alcoholism, and because it was thought to promote anti-police views, contain divisive topics, and be “too much of a sensitive matter right now.”
Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, drug use, and alcoholism, and because it was thought to promote anti-police views, contain divisive topics, and be “too much of a sensitive matter right now.”
See the list of finalists for 2021 National Book Awards
Amazon
Reasons: Banned and challenged because of author’s public statements, and because of claims that the book contains “selective storytelling incidents” and does not encompass racism against all people.
Reasons: Banned and challenged because of author’s public statements, and because of claims that the book contains “selective storytelling incidents” and does not encompass racism against all people.
See the list of finalists for 2021 National Book Awards
Amazon
Reasons: Challenged, banned, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content, conflicting with a religious viewpoint, and not reflecting “the values of our community.”
Reasons: Challenged, banned, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content, conflicting with a religious viewpoint, and not reflecting “the values of our community.”
Texas school district removing, reviewing dozens of books, including the Bible
LAW Ho Ming/Moment RF/Getty Images
The Keller Independent School District near Fort Worth, Texas, adopted policies in August that set new standards for how books and other instructional materials are chosen for schools.
LAW Ho Ming/Moment RF/Getty Images
The Keller Independent School District near Fort Worth, Texas, adopted policies in August that set new standards for how books and other instructional materials are chosen for schools.
