Plaintiffs seeking to overturn the Missouri Board of Education’s decision to remove certain books from school libraries recently ran into a rather cold-hearted federal judge.
As a result, the plaintiff (identified only as CK-W) has rescinded its motion for preliminary injunction. The incident concerned two of his policies for the Wentzville School District. The first policy allowed librarians to remove material that was “beyond age sensitivity.” The second policy provides a process for dealing with book complaints. According to the policy, after the principal receives a complaint, the book will be “removed from use unless the material questioned is basic text, pending a board investigation and final action by the school board.” ”. Within 15 days of receiving the complaint, the superintendent will appoint a nine-person “review panel.” Within 20 days of appointment of the Review Board, the Board shall meet, review the written request for reconsideration, read and evaluate the problematic material, and report in writing its findings and recommendations to the supervisor. you have to create a letter. The Commission may retain materials “unrestricted,” retain them “with restrictions,” or recommend that they not be retained. At the school board’s next meeting, the superintendent will report the board’s recommendations to the board, and the board will make the final decision on whether to retain the material. By Aziz Ansari. “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic Paperback” by Alison Bechdel. “Lone Boy”, Jonathan Evison. “Invisible Girl” by Lisa Jewell. “Not All Boys Are Blue” by George M. Johnson. “Heavy: An American Memoir,” by Keith Lamon. “Blue Eyes” by Toni Morrison. “Gabi, the girl in pieces” by Isabel Quintero.
According to CK-W., all eight of these books feature and present the perspective of authors or protagonists who “are considered non-white, LGBTQ+, or minorities.” Six of his eight books are currently unavailable in the district library. The librarian removed three books as inappropriate for their age: “Fun House”, “Not All Boys Are Blue”, and “Heavy”. The Little Girl, ‘Modern Romance’ and ‘The Invisible Girl’ – were temporarily removed from the district library while the book was reviewed. Of his four of them, three are still under review and, per policy, remain temporarily unavailable in the district library. “Gabi, A Girl in Pieces” has completed the review process and is now back in the district library. This caused problems with her CK-W. Because, with the exception of three books that librarians removed based on their detailed depictions of sexual activity, the District actually permanently removed none of the books… whatever. The court said:[t]District policy does not prohibit district students from reading the books at issue here. Nor does it prohibit students from obtaining books or lending books to others. Students can borrow books from public libraries or from friends and neighbors. Similarly, you can freely purchase books. The policy does not even prohibit students from bringing the books in question into the district’s schools. Nor does it prohibit students from discussing books in their free time at school or encouraging others to read them. It simply doesn’t ban books or anything for that matter. The district complied with its procedures, and the court denied the injunction because there was no apparent discrimination of opinion. If this case is any indication, the fight against school-banned books can be an uphill battle.
Jack Greiner is a partner at Graydon Law Firm in Cincinnati. He represents his Enquirer Media on First Amendment and media matters.
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