TX school district pulls THE BIBLE and ‘Anne Frank’s Diary’ from shelves after parents’ challenge
A North Texas school district is now reviewing a list of books that have been challenged by parents to remove from its libraries, including ‘Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaption’ and all versions of the Bible, because of ‘pornographic materials.’
‘We are fed up with pornographic materials that are still in our libraries accessible to children,’ one parent said during a March school board meeting.
Keller Independent School District has pulled 41 books that have been challenged, the district announced via email to principals and librarians.
All books under review, which were challenged by parents over the last year, have been removed from school libraries until a decision is made.
Books being reviewed include Toni Morrison’s ‘The Bluest Eye,’ Ashley Hope Pérez’s ‘Out of Darkness’ and Maia Kobabe’s ‘Gender Queer.’
Among the books to be removed is a graphic novel adaptation of ‘Anne Frank’s Diary’ (pictured), which had previously been approved to remain in Keller ISD libraries
A listing of 41 books (pictured) sent to principals and librarians for removal in the Keller Independent School District in North Texas
The listing of books was sent on August 16, a day before the school district was set to begin its 2022-23 school year
Kobabe’s book was among the early challenges made by parents last year in addition to questioning by Republican state Rep. Matt Krause.
Krause had previous sent a list of 850 books involving race and sexuality, including ‘Gender Queer,’ to school districts wondering how many were available on school campuses.
A previous review of some books on the list, including ‘The Bluest Eye’ and ‘Anne Frank’s Diary,’ occurred last year with recommendations by a school district committee to not be banned.
Keller ISD parent Laney Hawes told DailyMail.com that she was ‘incredibly surprised and angry’ by the district’s decision.
‘I was on the district-appointed committee that reviewed [Anne Frank’s Diary] and we voted unanimously to put it back on library shelves,’ she said.
‘Because the current school board, a majority of whom are backed and bought by right-wing PACs, didn’t like the outcomes of the challenge committees, it invalidated all outcomes and they are re-reviewing the books with their new set of rules.’
Keller ISD began its 2022-23 school year on August 17. An email requiring the district to remove the books was sent on August 16.
‘These poor teachers and librarians in our district,’ Hawes added. ‘They’ve been the target of so much harassment and now this — the day before school starts.’
A copy of the email sent out to Keller ISD schools requiring them to remove the books by ‘the end of the day’ on August 16
The new process of review by the school board follows a new policy which requires the district to establish a standard of procedures for reviewing books
Following the election of three new school board members and a new policy for acquiring and reviewing books, which is based on planning proposed by Gov. Greg Abbott, a subsequent review was required of all previously challenged books.
The requirement is a result of Abbott’s insistence that state school boards establish a standard of procedures for reviewing books.
This newly approved policy allows school board members or someone appointed by them, like the district committee, to outright accept or reject any materials.
New guidelines in Texas for reviewing books in school libraries follows a lineup of other policies established by other states this year.
This newly approved policy allows school board members, who were recently elected in May, to outright accept or reject any materials
‘These poor teachers and librarians in our district,’ Keller ISD parent Laney Hawes told DailyMail.com. ‘They’ve been the target of so much harassment and now this — the day before school starts’
One Virginia school district will send an email notification to a parent when their child checks out a book, per a News & Advance report.
A district in Florida is removing all texts with mentions of racism, sexism, gender identity or oppression, according to the Palm Beach Post.
PBS reported that one Pennsylvania district will require a panel’s approval of any book a school librarian proposes buying.
State Rep. Jared Patterson said he has ‘been the face of this movement’ to ban all sexually explicit books in Texas.
Patterson told ABC 8 that his staff sent letters to school districts in the state asking them to avoid working with specific book vendors, with a follow-up agreement from 30 districts.
‘I’m not blaming any specific librarian or teacher,’ he said. ‘I think the book vendors need to be held accountable for selling this trash.’
McKinney Independent School District Superintendent Rick McDaniel, whose district opposed Patterson’s request, said: ‘The school library book debate has been largely fueled by political agenda, sensationalism and exaggeration.’
