Tag: book bans

MAJOR WRITERS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS AMONG OVER 380 AUTHORS CALLING ON SOUTH CAROLINA LAWMAKERS TO REJECT RESTRICTIONS TO EVALUATE BOOKS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn books, writing

Proposal Could Lead to the Banning of Literary Classics and Acclaimed Contemporary Books

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 3, 2024
Updated on June 6 to add additional publishers that signed the letter

(NEW YORK)— More than 380 authors joined major publishing houses and civil rights, anti-censorship, and writers advocacy groups today to raise alarm over new South Carolina education standards for assessing books and other materials for public schools.

In an open letter to state lawmakers urging them to block the new regulations, the groups, publishers, and authors argue the new standards could lead to the removal of literary classics and critically acclaimed contemporary novels, simply for a sexual reference.

Along with publishers Hachette Book Group, MacMillan Publishers, Penguin Random House, Simon and Schuster and Sourcebooks, signers include ACLU of South Carolina, Authors Against Book Bans, Every Library, National Coalition Against Censorship, National Women’s Law Center, PEN America, the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, We Need Diverse Books, and notable authors of books for children and young adults, including Laurie Halse Anderson, Jodi Picoult, Katherine Paterson, Nikki Grimes, Daniel Handler, Elizabeth Acevedo, Peter Parnell, David Levithan, and Ellen Hopkins, among hundreds of others. Nearly 20 percent of the authors are South Carolina residents or have ties to the state.

The proposed regulations would impose a two-part test to evaluate if materials are age and developmentally appropriate and align with state instructional programs. The regulations will also create an appeal process to the State Board of Education, whose decisions on some books would affect all school districts. The regulations are slated to take effect on June 25.

The letter argues that the proposed regulations threaten free expression, the freedom to read, and the First Amendment, noting that librarians and educators are already “well placed” to curate library collections with appropriate books and materials.

“Adding government mandated ‘tests’ for age appropriateness will only chill speech and restrict access to literature for students across South Carolina,” the letter said.

“Bills like this allow the government to determine what can and can’t be read — not parents, not educators, not librarians, not the students who need these stories. We authors want to do everything we can to support the freedom to read, and the power that reading has to give context in an overwhelming world,” said David Levithan, bestselling author and one of the leaders of Authors Against Book Bans.

Similar language in Iowa resulted in mass book bans affecting classics, books used in advanced placement courses, and contemporary young adult novels.

The regulations’ explicit prohibition on “sexual conduct” is vague and broad, meaning books with sexual references are likely to be banned without considerations of context, purpose, or educational value. Experts on sexual violence have repeatedly reported that learning about the signs of abuse and what consent means helps young people to speak up in harmful situations, reach out for help, or recognize abuse they have experienced.

Since 2021, more than 100 books have been banned in South Carolina schools; the authors and organizations fear the new regulations will increase that number.

Across the country, book banning has spread at an alarming rate, ignited by local activists and parents. PEN America documented more than 10,000 bans between 2021 and 2023— an assault on the freedom to read, the lifeblood of democracy.

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ADDITIONAL PARENTS JOIN LAWSUIT AGAINST BOOK BANS IN FLORIDA’S ESCAMBIA COUNTY

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn writing7 Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – PEN.ORG

July 21, 2023

(PENSACOLA, FL)— Five additional parents today joined a first-of-its-kind federal lawsuit filed earlier this spring challenging the removals and restrictions of books from libraries in a Florida school district that violate their rights to free speech and equal protection under the law.

The amended suit, led by the free expression organization PEN America, Penguin Random House and a diverse group of authors and parents of Escambia County students, seeks to ensure access to books on a wide range of topics with a wide range of viewpoints. The plaintiffs are represented by Ballard Spahr LLP and Protect Democracy, a non-partisan, pro-democracy group. Read the amended complaint, filed today, here.

This brings the number of parent plaintiffs in the case to seven, with 10 children from diverse backgrounds in elementary, middle and high school. The suit was filed originally on May 17 against the Escambia County School Board asking for books to be returned to school library shelves where they belong. After the complaint was filed, the plaintiffs were granted time to amend it with additional plaintiffs.

“As a Black mother of two teenage girls, I know how important it is for our children to have access to books like The Freedom Writers Diary and Beloved,” said Carin Smith, a parent who joined  the lawsuit. “I respect the right of parents to make decisions with and for their own children. In my opinion, we should not shy away from the real, raw struggles this country has faced, and my girls shouldn’t be deprived access to books on those issues because our stories make someone else uncomfortable.”

Benjamin Glass, another parent joining the suit, noted, “Someone with a master’s degree in library science, also known as a librarian, should be deciding what’s in libraries – not politicians. Parents, of course, should be involved in what is in their own child’s best interest to read. But they shouldn’t be making decisions on behalf of other people’s children. You parent your child, I’ll parent mine, and we’ll let librarians do their jobs. That sounds good to me.”

Since the lawsuit was filed in May, the Escambia School District has continued its policies of removing books from school libraries. In that time an additional 21 book titles have been challenged and 17 have been restricted, including Pulitzer Prize winning Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, the landmark graphic novel Watchmen by Alan Moore, and the horror novel It by Stephen King.

“School officials shouldn’t use their authority to force their own ideological convictions on students,” said Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America. “The new plaintiffs have kids in middle and high schools, going through a pivotal time of learning, exploration and intellectual development. We should not be sending them the message that books are dangerous. By defending their freedom to read, we will ensure that schools remain places where students are exposed to complex ideas and stories instead of being taught that society does not trust them enough to allow them to pick up a book.”

The authors involved in the suit, all of whom have either already had their books removed by the district and/or restricted from student access, include author and children’s book illustrator Sarah Brannen, young adult fiction authors David Levithan, George M. Johnson and Ashley Hope Pérez, and children’s book author Kyle Lukoff, all of whom have published works focusing on identities that are historically underrepresented in school libraries.

Lynn Oberlander, counsel at Ballard Spahr LLP, noted, “In removing and restricting access to over 150 books from the libraries on the basis that they expressed disfavored viewpoints, the school board in Escambia County violated the constitutional rights of students, parents, authors and publishers. We are pursuing this case to vindicate those rights, and to stop agents of government from limiting access to ideas and perspectives with which it disagrees in our nation’s schools.”

“The school board is removing books from the school library based on the political views of a small minority,” said Shalini Agarwal, counsel for Protect Democracy. “In removing and restricting the books, the school board is overriding the recommendations of district review committees designed to evaluate books with parent and community feedback. This isn’t simply an affront to parents, it’s a violation of the First Amendment and Equal Protection Clause.”

Paper burns at 451° F

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn books

Paper burns at 451° F, sometimes as low as 424° F.

So, you can see how easy it is to burn books or–as we often see in the movies–incriminating notes in an ashtray.

Do you suppose this will be our ultimate method for keeping unapproved books off the shelves, out of the classrooms, and outside public discourse?

We even have a manual for how to do it, a manual that the publisher “cleaned it up” before Dahl’s publisher and estate applied the cutting torch to his works.

Suppose, like the Catholic Church, the  Imperial Federal government and the state governments were to decide upon one approved list that would prevent the contamination of our citizens or the corruption of beliefs and sensibilities through the reading of theologically erroneous or immoral books.

This would save money because there would be no more book ban hearings, no more teachers sneaking personal books into their classrooms, and no more publishers having to clean up works that might offend some weakling who might turn into a serial killer by reading a 100-year-old swear word in a novel.

A simple match will clean house and save humanity.

–Malcolm