Censorship
In the Southold (NY) Union Free School District, third graders can continue to hear the story of a young girl’s experience under Taliban rule, as told in Jeanette Winter’s Nasreen’s Secret School . However, the book’s use in the district does not please everyone—including seven-year veteran board member Scott DeSimone.
Rudolfo Anaya’s award-winning coming-of-age story Bless Me, Ultima, considered a classic of Chicano literature, has been returned to high school classrooms in Idaho’s Teton County School District following a parental challenge that temporarily removed it from the classroom.
Residents of North Carolina’s Watauga County have rallied in recent weeks in support of Isabel Allende’s acclaimed novel The House of the Spirits, which is being challenged by a local group. In an effort to keep the issue in the public eye ahead of book’s next review, advocates hosted a teach-in about the book last week at Appalachian State University.
Among the dozens of concurrent learning sessions at the American Association of School Librarians' National Conference last month, a popular theme was that of intellectual freedom. “What Do I Do If? Intellectual Freedom Dilemmas in School Libraries” stood out for its scope and its round-robin style approach to problem-solving.
The Freedom to Read Foundation, joined by key library and learning advocates, filed an amicus brief November 25 with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the constitutionality of an Arizona statute that bans ethnic studies. The statute violates students’ First Amendment rights, Barbara M. Jones, FTRF’s executive director, says.
Sherman Alexie’s award-winning young adult novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indiancan no longer be taught in classrooms at West Virginia's Harpers Ferry Middle School, English teacher Dawn Welsh—who had assigned the book to approximately 120 eighth graders—tells SLJ. The often-challenged title was removed from the curriculum at Jefferson County Schools after parent Misty Frank objected to its profanity and sexual content.
Local communities and school districts have rallied this fall against recent objections to Alice Walker’s The Color Purple and Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian—garnering support for them to remain, at least temporarily, on school reading lists.
A review committee at Minnesota’s Anoka High School has agreed to retain Rainbow Rowell’s lauded young adult novel Eleanor & Park in its library, despite a complaint from a parent who had partnered with the conservative Parents Action League to challenge the book.
Isabel Allende’s acclaimed novel The House of the Spirits, which faces review by North Carolina’s Watauga County Board of Education due to a parental complaint, now has another high-profile advocate: the author herself. Read the full text of her impassioned letter, which she sent to school board members along with her book.
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