“When it came to me back in December, it wasn’t initially a book challenge,” Tolcacher tells School Library Journal. “There was [just] a concern if the placement [of these books] was appropriate.” Thus, district librarian Vivian Jennings sent out a request to teachers requesting feedback on the titles. Jennings, the sole certified librarian in the district, supervises a staff of full-time paraprofessional instructional assistants who work on site in each of the district’s schools, from elementary to high school—a measure that preserves at least some librarian leadership for students despite dramatic state budget cutbacks, Tolcacher says.

Books in Ignatow’s “Popularity Papers” series had been available in the district’s elementary schools for fifth graders only, and at the middle school and high school libraries without restriction. A Child Called It had been available to seventh- and eighth-graders with parental permission, and in the high school libraries without restriction. Korb “didn’t agree with that, and took it to the next level, an instructional materials review committee,” Tolcacher says. “That’s one of the beauties of our system here, that you can challenge, and we have a set policy that did that. My assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, [Mary Snitily], was the chair of that committee. She held the hearings and did a great job.”

An instructional materials review committee in Prosser is typically comprised of at least one teacher, at least one parent, administrators from each of the district’s school levels, the district librarian, and at least one school board member, Tolcacher says.

According to local reports, Korb was concerned that “The Popularity Papers” stars a character with two fathers—which he said promotes a political agenda—while he objected to A Child Called It because of its graphic content describing the life of an abused boy at the hands of his alcoholic mother. At the very least, he hoped the books would be moved to the high school libraries in the district.

Upon review of both books—neither of which is required reading for students—the committee determined that they had been, in fact, properly placed within the district’s libraries, and the superintendent moved to uphold that recommendation on March 20, 2013.

But Korb appealed those decisions to the school board, and members finally considered the books in several separate votes over the course of this month.

Tolcacher says his decision was based on the findings of the committee but also his own reading of both books and research of how other districts in the state regard the books and handle their access.

“The Popularity Papers was a wonderful book, I thought; the kind of thing that goes on with kids in middle school,” he tells SLJ. “The issue of two dads was secondary. So my focus was not on those issues, it was on the kids and the strife that they were going through. I thought it was a great book.”

Tolcacher also notes that, according to his research, A Child Called It, though it does contain some graphic content, has appeared on recommended accelerated reading program lists in the state, making it appropriate for placement in school libraries with access by seventh-graders and up.

An initial vote on the books upheld Tolcacher’s decision to keep Ignatow’s book in place, but had deadlocked on Pelzer’s. In subsequent heated debates, the board considered postponing the decision until a new policy for handling challenged books could be put in place. The deadlocked decision means Tolcacher’s decision to keep the book in place stands.

“They felt that the policy that we have used was one that was for instructional materials and not library books, but it’s the only one that we had,” Tolcacher says. “That’s what was in place and had been used before successfully, and I think it was used successfully this time.”

He adds, “As superintendent, I don’t have a problem with my board asking me to review the policy and make sure that [it’s] where it needs to be. [That is] absolutely appropriate and I think that’s the board’s role, to ask those questions and to make sure that it is clear.”

However, he notes, “my main purpose is that I want to make sure that my librarian has the support to do her job, and make sure she doesn’t have people looking over her shoulder. I still believe [these books] are in the right places.” Without a clear majority decision by the school board, he says, “I was not going to take books off shelves. I just wasn’t going to do that.”

The crux of the issue, Tolcacher says, is that “people’s values are very different. Some people would be not happy that there are bibles in the schools for kids to look at or different religions, books about World War II or the Civil War where people were shot. People have to have responsibility for what their youngsters read. I could definitely see an issue if [it] were a book that was in front of a captive audience in a classroom…but every public library around here has those books without any restrictions.”

He adds, “Our librarian is doing a phenomenal job in our district, a stellar job. She knows her business. She knows how to vet these books.”

Unfortunately, strict Internet filtering is the reality in many schools. Check your district’s Internet Use Policy and make sure there’s a provision to unblock sites that students may need. Perhaps you could meet with other teachers and see which sites kids will need to complete their upcoming assignments. Then ask the IT person to unblock them in advance.

My school district is adamant that our students must meet the Common Core standards for reading and literature. I’m especially concerned about the “Production and Distribution of Writing” standard, which requires kids to “Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others.” Our school’s computers are heavily filtered, and the district’s policy doesn’t allow students to use email or social media during the school day.

Schedule a meeting with those who have the power to change the policy, including members of the IT department. Point out that this particular standard is impossible for kids to meet because the district’s current policy is so strict. Perhaps the IT department can come up with a solution. It’s also important to check your state’s privacy policy. Perhaps student writing should only be posted with a student’s first name or a unique screen name. You might also want to consider asking your district to subscribe to SchoolTube, which is a site where students can share their work.

One of our high school students is doing his senior project on Robert Cormier. He’s especially interested in exploring why many of Cormier’s novels were often censored. As part of the research, the student is required to use books, periodicals, newspapers, and websites. We have online access to some magazines and newspapers, but they don’t date back to when Cormier’s works were first challenged. I’ve done a quick search for online resources, but many of the sites that deal with censorship are blocked in our district. Any suggestions?

There’s a book about Cormier’s work in the “Authors of Banned Books” series that’s called, Robert Cormier: Banned, Challenged, and Censored (Enslow, 2008). If you check its chapter notes, you’ll find many valuable resources, including the names of websites with their URLs. If your school library doesn’t own this series, the local public library may. Consider getting it through interlibrary loan if you can’t purchase it by the time the student needs to complete his research. I’m sure that the public library can supply almost anything the student needs—make sure he has a public library card!

I’m an elementary school librarian. Recently, our principal asked me to remove the entire “The Popularity Papers” series from our collection after a parent complained about it. Our girls—and even some of the boys—really love these books. The fact that one of its main characters has two dads has never been an issue until the parent complained. When I asked our principal if he wanted me to remove the series because of the gay parents, he replied, “Yes, we can’t support that.” I haven’t removed the books. What should I do?

Does your district have a Materials Reconsideration Policy that deals with specific challenges? If it does, review the policy with your principal and the parent. Let them know that following a proper procedure is the most professional way of handling a challenge. The courts have already said that school administrators can’t pull a library book based on their “personal opinion or bias.” Point to the case in Davis County, UT, where the school district removed Patricia Polacco’s In Our Mothers’ House (Philomel, 2009) from its shelves. Parents who wanted their kids to have access to the book sued the district. The school board has reinstated the book, but the court case isn’t settled. If you don’t have a policy, now is the time to develop one.

Pat Scales is chair of the American Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee. You can send your questions or comments on censorship to her at pscales@bellsouth.net.