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Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
SC Board of Education at odds during latest book ban discussion
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSAV) — The South Carolina Department of Education (SCBOE) will not take another 10 books off school library shelves, at least for now. The state board postponed a vote Tuesday on 10 books that were considered for a statewide ban. Earlier this month a review committee unanimously recommended the titles be banned statewide. The books the recommended for bans are: 'Collateral' by Ellen Hopkins 'Empire of Storms' by Sarah J. Maas 'Half of a Yellow Sun' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 'Hopeless' by Colleen Hoover 'Identical' by Ellen Hopkins 'Kingdom of Ash' by Sarah J. Mass 'Last Night at the Telegraph Club' by Malinda Lo 'Living Dead Girl' by Elizabeth Scott 'Lucky' by Alice Sebold 'Tricks' by Ellen Hopkins A final vote on the recommendations was scheduled for Tuesday but some board members expressed concerns about the wording of Regulation 43-170. That regulation was promoted by S.C. Department of Education staff that defines any book containing a 'description' of sexual conduct as age-inappropriate for grade K-12. 'I am concerned about potential abuses of a process that we intended to be fair and equitable,' said board member Maya Slaughter. According to the regulation, board members do not have to read the whole book but can make a decision based on passages only. 'Looking at these texts outside of the arc of their full stories is a mistake in my view,' said Board member Antony Vincent. It only takes one person to make a challenge to a book. So far, the majority of the 27 challenges are coming from one Beaufort County woman, Elizabeth Szalai. Szalai also spearheaded the previous review of 97 books by panels connected to Beaufort County Schools. 'I don't think somebody from Beaufort should make me drive here from Myrtle Beach every meeting to talk about more books,' said board member Ken Richardson. 'My question is, when does this thing stop?' After the debate concluded, board member Jackie Lynn eventually made the motion to table a vote on the 10 books. 'It is reassuring that the State Board of Education is prioritizing the rights of families, students, and educators rather than the handful of South Carolinians who feel scarily comfortable taking the rights of others. I hope that the board will take the time to craft a democratic policy that considers the full context of a written work,' said Josh Malkin, Advocacy Director for the ACLU of South Carolina. So far, 12 books have been removed from South Carolina school libraries since the regulations went into effect last year. According to the regulation, if the Board of Education rules in favor of a challenge, the books will be pulled from all school libraries statewide. Most schoolbook bans are limited to the school district in which they are imposed. South Carolina is one of three states, in addition to Utah and Tennessee, with a mechanism for statewide schoolbook bans established by state law. Utah has mandated 17 books banned for all schools in the state. So far, Tennessee has not had any state-mandated book bans. If all 10 of these titles are banned, as the committee recommends, South Carolina would surpass Utah with the most state-mandated bans impacting all public schools. There is no word on if the board will ask to change the regulation, or if these books will be up for debate again. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
No vote on removing books from schools as SC education board questions own rule
From left to right, state Board of Education Chair David O'Shields, attorney John Tyler, Chair-Elect Rita Allison, Joette Johnson and Joyce Crimminger hear a report during a meeting Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (Skylar Laird/SC Daily Gazette) COLUMBIA — Amid state Board of Education members' misgivings about its own regulation banning 'sexual conduct' from K-12 public schools, the board held off on deciding Tuesday whether to remove 10 more books from school library shelves. The state board unanimously approved the regulation last year, sending it to the state Legislature. Neither the House nor Senate took a vote on the regulation, which automatically went into effect last June through an apparent fluke that surprised even legislators. Since the state board's first review in November, board members have agreed to remove 11 books from public school libraries and keep six others, one of which the board required parental permission to check out. Last month, a five-member committee unanimously recommended removing the 10 books up for consideration. Books considered for removal Tuesday 'Collateral' by Ellen Hopkins 'Empire of Storms' by Sarah J. Maas 'Half of a Yellow Sun' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 'Hopeless' by Colleen Hoover 'Identical' by Ellen Hopkins 'Kingdom of Ash' by Sarah J. Maas 'Last Night at the Telegraph Club' by Malinda Lo 'Living Dead Girl' by Elizabeth Scott 'Lucky' by Alice Sebold 'Tricks' by Ellen Hopkins Source: Instructional Materials Review Committee But ahead of taking a vote Tuesday, board members began to question their own regulation, including whether they had applied it correctly in the past. Many of their questions echoed concerns opponents of the complaint have raised. 'I'm not sure if we're shooting at the right target, or if we're shooting whether our range finder is accurate,' said board member David O'Shields, superintendent of Laurens County School District 56. The first seven books considered didn't come from a parent challenging a local district's ruling but by board members working with state Department of Education staff. Board members wanted to consider some widely questioned books to set a precedent for future rulings and hopefully clear up confusion, members said at the time. Since then, most of the books removed from school libraries, including the 10 up for consideration Tuesday, came to the state board through challenges from one Beaufort County parent. The same parent brought 96 books to the Beaufort County Board of Education for review last year. The local school board, which considered all the books before the statewide regulation went into effect, declined to remove any of the books from shelves. The same parent could feasibly ask the state board to consider every one of those books under the regulation, said board member Ken Richardson, former chairman of the Horry Georgetown Technical College board. 'When does this thing stop?' Richardson, who represents Horry and Georgetown counties, asked repeatedly. 10 more books recommended for removal in SC from K-12 libraries 'I think that's the question of the day,' replied board Chairwoman Rita Allison, a former longtime legislator from Spartanburg County. Board members raised concerns over a single parent being able to bring dozens of requests to the state board, requiring schools across the state to remove them from library shelves, whether or not local community members share the concerns about the books. O'Shields, Allison and Richardson said they had yet to hear complaints about any of the books they had considered in the districts they represented. 'I do not like to come up here every single meeting and vote on books nobody in my area is even talking about,' Richardson said. Five of the 10 books up for consideration Tuesday are in school libraries in Laurens County School District 56, where O'Shields in superintendent, he said. Libraries bought those books with the hopes that they would encourage more students to read, while 'understanding that children don't come from a cookie cutter world,' O'Shields said. He questioned whether the board should be considering books as a whole, instead of based on excerpts containing sexual conduct. In some cases, the sexual conduct that leads the board to remove books from shelves amounts to as little as a few pages in several-hundred-page novels, he said. 'Again, I am not in favor of it,' O'Shields said. 'I personally find those pages repugnant.' But those books can still be important for some students, he said. O'Shields held up a small, yellow tome entitled 'Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask),' which he deemed his own 'puberty book' — the book to which he turned to learn about the changes happening in his adolescence. 'However, this was all I had. You know what I'm saying?' he continued. For children who have experienced abuse or other struggles, reading stories similar to their own might be especially important, said Tony Vincent, a minister in Seneca. While he wouldn't be comfortable with his preteen daughters reading some of the books up for review, he also understood that every child is different, he said. The books 'could possibly save lives and help young people understand themselves and their experiences,' said Vincent, who represents Anderson and Oconee counties. SC teachers say new 'age-appropriate' rule is causing confusion. They're seeking clear guidance. 'Looking at these books outside of the arc of their full stories is a mistake, in my view,' Vincent said. The board originally approved the regulation in order to protect children from nefarious people looking to introduce them to sexual ideas with the intention of abusing them, said Richard Harrington, who represents Florence and Marion counties. He acknowledged that he didn't know whether that was actually happening in South Carolina schools, but out of an abundance of caution, the board should continue to remove books that include sexual conduct, he said. 'It would be ill-advised to have these books remain when they could be used for that purpose,' Harrington said. O'Shields and Vincent asked whether the board could consider a middle ground between removing the books from shelves entirely and allowing any student to access them. The board has already done something similar once, by requiring parental permission to check out 'Crank' by Ellen Hopkins. 'I'm asking for something so it's not, 'goodnight, sweet prince,' for these books,' O'Shields said. The board voted to postpone a decision on the 10 books up for consideration Tuesday until members can get more clarification on the regulation in hopes of assuaging some of their concerns or determining whether the regulation needs any changes. The next time the board could take a vote would be at its May 6 meeting.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
SC Board of Ed. to vote on banning 10 books from K-12 classrooms
The above video is from March 13, 2025, when the IMRC recommended removing 10 books from school libraries and classrooms. COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) — The South Carolina Board of Education will decide on banning 10 books from school classrooms and libraries on Tuesday. The vote comes after the unanimous recommendation of the Instructional Materials Review Committee (IMRC) about removing the books from schools on March 13. SC Board of Education removes four books from K-12 classrooms The board will consider banning the following 10 books: 'Tricks' by Ellen Hopkins 'Identical' by Ellen Hopkins 'Collateral' by Ellen Hopkins 'Lucky' by Alice Sebold 'Living Dead Girl' by Elizabeth Scott 'Last Night at the Telegraph Club' by Malinda Lo 'Hopeless' by Colleen Hoover 'Half of a Yellow Sun' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 'Kingdom of Ash' by Sarah J. Maas 'Empire of Storms' by Sarah J. Maas All of the books were requested for committee review by one complainant, Elizabeth Szalai. Greenville families sue library system over removal of LGBTQ books So far, the IMRC has heard challenges to 27 books after a regulation was implemented by the South Carolina Department of Education in June 2024. The regulation allows removing books or instructional material that contains 'sexual conduct.' The board has removed 11 of the 17 books that have been challenged. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
SC Board of Education recommends removing 10 books from schools
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) — The South Carolina Board of Education has voted to recommend the removal of 10 books from school classrooms and libraries. The board's Instructional Materials Review Committee held a meeting Thursday afternoon to discuss books that have received complaints. The committee has heard challenges to 27 books after a regulation was implemented by the South Carolina Department of Education. The regulation allows removing books or instructional material that contains 'sexual conduct.' The department said the regulation is not book banning, but dictates what books the government should buy. The IMRC recommended removing the following 10 books: 'Tricks' by Ellen Hopkins 'Identical' by Ellen Hopkins 'Collateral' by Ellen Hopkins 'Lucky' by Alice Sebold 'Living Dead Girl' by Elizabeth Scott 'Last Night at the Telegraph Club' by Malinda Lo 'Hopeless' by Colleen Hoover 'Half of a Yellow Sun' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 'Kingdom of Ash' by Sarah J. Maas 'Empire of Storms' by Sarah J. Maas All of the books were requested for review by one complainant, Elizabeth Szalai. The committee's book removal recommendations will be evaluated at the full board of education meeting on April 1. So far, the board has removed 11 of the 17 books that have been challenged. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Yahoo
10 more books recommended for removal in SC from K-12 libraries
Christian Hanley, chairman of the state Board of Education's Instructional Material Review Committee, and attorney John Tyler during a committee meeting Thursday, March 13, 2025. (Screenshot/Instructional Materials Review Committee livestream) COLUMBIA — Ten more books are slated for removal from South Carolina's K-12 public school libraries, despite protests from the books' authors and school librarians. Librarians have already been required to remove 11 books from shelves since a regulation went into effect last June barring students from accessing books containing 'sexual conduct' while at school. Another six books have been allowed to stay, one with the stipulation that parents must give approval before their child can check it out. The full State Board of Education will make the final decision on whether to keep or retain the books at its April 1 meeting. All are available in at least one high school in the state but not taught in classrooms. Books recommended for removal Thursday 'Collateral' by Ellen Hopkins 'Empire of Storms' by Sarah J. Maas 'Half of a Yellow Sun' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 'Hopeless' by Colleen Hoover 'Identical' by Ellen Hopkins 'Kingdom of Ash' by Sarah J. Maas 'Last Night at the Telegraph Club' by Malinda Lo 'Living Dead Girl' by Elizabeth Scott 'Lucky' by Alice Sebold 'Tricks' by Ellen Hopkins Source: Instructional Materials Review Committee Many of the 10 books the five-member committee voted Thursday to recommend removing tell stories about abuse and persecution, speakers said in asking the committee to keep the books on shelves. At least three of the books — 'Collateral,' 'Identical' and 'Tricks' — were written to reflect true stories of rape and human trafficking in an effort to encourage teenagers experiencing similar abuse to get help and raise attention for people who know little about it, Ellen Hopkins, the author of those three, told the committee. 'Identical,' for example, reflected the experiences of four of Hopkins' friends who were molested by male relatives, she said. Readers, many of them teenagers, have written Hopkins letters thanking her for writing a book so similar to their own experiences, she said. 'Not every kid's life is ideal,' Hopkins said. 'Who will speak for them? Somebody has to speak for them, including in school libraries.' In November, the committee decided another book by Hopkins, 'Crank' — about a woman addicted to meth — can be checked out of school libraries only with parents' permission. Ivie Szalai, who brought the challenges to the state level, said she has read and enjoyed several of Hopkins' books. But she doesn't believe they belong in school libraries, she told board members in the virtual meeting. 'I stand by my stance that I don't feel that they are appropriate for minor children,' said the Beaufort County parent. Others, such as 'Half of a Yellow Sun' and 'Last Night at the Telegraph Club,' tell the stories of historical events. 'Half of a Yellow Sun,' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, tells the story of three people during the civil war in Nigeria in the 1960s. 'Last Night at the Telegraph Club,' by Malinda Lo, follows a 17-year-old Chinese American girl as she discovers her sexuality in 1950s San Francisco. 'I am a Chinese American lesbian myself, and when I was a teen growing up in the 1980s and '90s, I often felt alone and confused,' Lo wrote in a letter to the committee. 'I didn't have access to books like this that would have helped me to better understand who I was. 'That's why I write books about LGBTQ+ and Asian American characters,' Lo's letter continued. 'I'm writing the books I needed as a teen.' Whether the books are important is not what the committee considers. Board members' decisions must be based solely on whether the books contain sexual content, said Robert Cathcart, attorney for the state Department of Education. And in the case of the 10 books committee members considered Thursday, they did, he said. 'While this material likely does contain many important themes and considerations, what this board and the committee is charged with considering is whether or not it's age and developmentally appropriate,' Cathcart said. Removing books from libraries takes away chances teenagers might have to find a book that interests them during a time when fewer children are reading for fun, two librarians and a teacher told the committee. Students who enjoy stories by Sarah J. Maas or Colleen Hoover, two popular authors whose books the committee voted Thursday to remove from shelves, might discover a lifelong love of reading that helps them in other parts of their lives, librarians said. 'I want books in my library that people want to read,' said Laura Haverkamp, a former high school librarian of 24 years in Columbia. Those students have plenty of other options, Szalai said. 'I hope that in the future that authors, if their target audience is children in high school, let's say 14 to 18, that they might consider removing that (sexual) material,' Szalai said. The books heard Thursday all came from Szalai, who said she has children attending Beaufort County public schools. Szalai was also responsible for four previous challenges, which she brought after her local school board decided the books could stay on high school shelves. Those decisions came before the regulation went into effect.
