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Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State lawmakers respond to S.C. book ban decision in schools
GREENVILLE, S.C. (WSPA) – State lawmakers are responding after the South Carolina Board of Education banned 10 more books on Tuesday, making the total number 22. According to Pen America, the state now leads the nation for statewide book bans. 'This means that people have lost the freedom to read. As a state that prides itself on giving people freedom, this is quite contrary to who we say we are,' Chaundra Dillard, member of the South Carolina House of Representatives. The South Carolina Board of Education said the books that were banned are in violation of the state's new regulation. The state's new regulation deems any book depicting sexual conduct on the page to be inappropriate for all public school students in grades K-12. Republican State Senator, Josh Kimbrell, supports the regulation. 'The point of the regulation is to have some parental consent,' Kimbrell said. 'We want to be sure that parents are involved in their child's education and to be sure that parents get a say at this – that you don't have books on the shelves in the public school library where mom and dad don't know what their kids are being given to read.' Some parents said books are a bridge to understanding. The South Carolina Board of Education is potentially cutting off those bridges by banning certain books. 'All parents like me have a right to opt their kids out of reading a book if it's something that they don't think their kids should read,' said Paul Bowers, American Civil Liberties Union S.C. 'That right exists in every school district and within your rights as a parent. What crosses the line is when one parent makes that decision on behalf of all parents in South Carolina.' The majority of challenges being made are by one woman from the low country. 'We have a population of 5 million people. For one person to be able to take books off the shelf, primarily? That does not sit well with me and that should not sit well with the citizens of South Carolina,' said Dillard. People told us that they would have liked for the Board of Education to read through the books before coming to a decision. 'At the state level under Regulation 4-3 170, the board is not required to read the books at all. We see little evidence that they have,' said Bowers. 'Instead, they're handed a list of passages that one lawyer at the Department of Education has said are 'illegal under this ordinance' and they ban the books. It's not thoughtful. It doesn't take into consideration literary merit or educational value.' Democratic State Representative, Chaundra Dillard, believes the list and the process of banning books need to be reviewed. 'We have educators who are trained, from librarians to teachers to people, who it is their job to look at curriculum, to look at what is the age appropriate,' Dillard said. 'If those folks are not making the decisions, then we have failed our students.' 'No one's saying you can't go to Barnes & Noble [and] nobody's saying [that] we're sending the swat team out to come get them (books) from your house,' Kimbrell said. 'We're saying that we want the Board of Education to take a look at what's appropriate and [to] make sure moms and dads are informed of what their kids are reading, and make sure that there's age appropriate materials.' As of now, the American Civil Liberties Union said they do not plan on taking legal action against the Board of Education. 7NEWS has reached out to the Board of Education several times for comment. We have yet to hear back. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSPA 7NEWS.
Boston Globe
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Supreme Court signals support for Maryland parents who object to LGBTQ books in public schools
'I'm surprised this is the hill to die on in terms of not respecting religious liberty,' Justice Brett Kavanaugh said, citing the county's diverse population and Maryland's history as a haven for Catholics. The county school board introduced the storybooks as part of an effort to better reflect the district's diversity. Advertisement Parents sued after the school system stopped allowing them to pull their kids from lessons that included the books. The parents argue that public schools cannot force kids to participate in instruction that violates their faith, and they pointed to the opt-out provisions in sex education classes. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The schools said allowing children to opt out of the lessons had become disruptive. Lower courts backed the schools, prompting the parents' appeal to the Supreme Court. Five books are at issue in the high court case, touching on the same themes found in classic stories that include Snow White, Cinderella and Peter Pan, the school system's lawyers wrote. In 'Prince and Knight,' two men fall in love after they rescue the kingdom, and each other. In 'Uncle Bobby's Wedding,' a niece worries that her uncle will not have as much time for her after he gets married. His partner is a man. Advertisement 'Love, Violet' deals with a girl's anxiety about giving a valentine to another girl. 'Born Ready' is the story of a transgender boy's decision to share his gender identity with his family and the world. 'Intersection Allies' describes nine characters of varying backgrounds, including one who is gender-fluid. Billy Moges, a board member of the Kids First parents' group that sued over the books, said the content is sexual, confusing and inappropriate for young schoolchildren. The writers' group Pen America said in a court filing what the parents want is 'a constitutionally suspect book ban by another name.' Pen America reported more than 10,000 books were banned in the last school year. A decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor is expected by early summer.
San Francisco Chronicle
22-04-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Supreme Court takes up religious rights dispute over LGBTQ books in Maryland schools
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments Tuesday over the religious rights of parents in Maryland to remove their children from elementary school classes using storybooks with LGBTQ characters. The case is the latest dispute involving religion to come before the conservative-led court. The justices have repeatedly endorsed claims of religious discrimination in recent years. The Montgomery County public schools, in suburban Washington, D.C., introduced the storybooks as part of an effort to better reflect the district's diverse population. Parents sued after the school system stopped allowing them to pull their kids from lessons that included the books. The parents argue that public schools cannot force kids to participate in instruction that violates their faith, and they pointed to the opt-out provisions in sex education classes. The schools said allowing children to opt out of the lessons had become disruptive. Lower courts backed the schools, prompting the parents' appeal to the Supreme Court. Five books are at issue in the high court case, touching on the same themes found in classic stories that include Snow White, Cinderella and Peter Pan, the school system's lawyers wrote. In 'Prince and Knight,' two men fall in love after they rescue the kingdom, and each other. In 'Uncle Bobby's Wedding,' a niece worries that her uncle will not have as much time for her after he gets married. His partner is a man. 'Love, Violet' deals with a girl's anxiety about giving a valentine to another girl. 'Born Ready' is the story of a transgender boy's decision to share his gender identity with his family and the world. 'Intersection Allies' describes nine characters of varying backgrounds, including one who is gender-fluid. Billy Moges, a board member of the Kids First parents' group that sued over the books, said the content is sexual, confusing and inappropriate for young schoolchildren. The writers' group Pen America said in a court filing what the parents want is 'a constitutionally suspect book ban by another name.' Pen America reported more than 10,000 books were banned in the last school year.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Supreme Court takes up religious rights dispute over LGBTQ books in Maryland schools
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments Tuesday over the religious rights of parents in Maryland to remove their children from elementary school classes using storybooks with LGBTQ characters. The case is the latest dispute involving religion to come before the conservative-led court. The justices have repeatedly endorsed claims of religious discrimination in recent years. The Montgomery County public schools, in suburban Washington, D.C., introduced the storybooks as part of an effort to better reflect the district's diverse population. Parents sued after the school system stopped allowing them to pull their kids from lessons that included the books. The parents argue that public schools cannot force kids to participate in instruction that violates their faith, and they pointed to the opt-out provisions in sex education classes. The schools said allowing children to opt out of the lessons had become disruptive. Lower courts backed the schools, prompting the parents' appeal to the Supreme Court. Five books are at issue in the high court case, touching on the same themes found in classic stories that include Snow White, Cinderella and Peter Pan, the school system's lawyers wrote. In 'Prince and Knight,' two men fall in love after they rescue the kingdom, and each other. In 'Uncle Bobby's Wedding,' a niece worries that her uncle will not have as much time for her after he gets married. His partner is a man. 'Love, Violet' deals with a girl's anxiety about giving a valentine to another girl. 'Born Ready' is the story of a transgender boy's decision to share his gender identity with his family and the world. 'Intersection Allies' describes nine characters of varying backgrounds, including one who is gender-fluid. Billy Moges, a board member of the Kids First parents' group that sued over the books, said the content is sexual, confusing and inappropriate for young schoolchildren. The writers' group Pen America said in a court filing what the parents want is 'a constitutionally suspect book ban by another name.' Pen America reported more than 10,000 books were banned in the last school year. A decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor is expected by early summer.
The Independent
22-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Supreme Court takes up religious rights dispute over LGBTQ books in Maryland schools
The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments Tuesday over the religious rights of parents in Maryland to remove their children from elementary school classes using storybooks with LGBTQ characters. The case is the latest dispute involving religion to come before the conservative-led court. The justices have repeatedly endorsed claims of religious discrimination in recent years. The Montgomery County public schools, in suburban Washington, D.C., introduced the storybooks as part of an effort to better reflect the district's diverse population. Parents sued after the school system stopped allowing them to pull their kids from lessons that included the books. The parents argue that public schools cannot force kids to participate in instruction that violates their faith, and they pointed to the opt-out provisions in sex education classes. The schools said allowing children to opt out of the lessons had become disruptive. Lower courts backed the schools, prompting the parents' appeal to the Supreme Court. Five books are at issue in the high court case, touching on the same themes found in classic stories that include Snow White, Cinderella and Peter Pan, the school system's lawyers wrote. In ' Prince and Knight,' two men fall in love after they rescue the kingdom, and each other. In 'Uncle Bobby's Wedding,' a niece worries that her uncle will not have as much time for her after he gets married. His partner is a man. 'Love, Violet' deals with a girl's anxiety about giving a valentine to another girl. 'Born Ready' is the story of a transgender boy's decision to share his gender identity with his family and the world. 'Intersection Allies' describes nine characters of varying backgrounds, including one who is gender-fluid. Billy Moges, a board member of the Kids First parents' group that sued over the books, said the content is sexual, confusing and inappropriate for young schoolchildren. The writers' group Pen America said in a court filing what the parents want is 'a constitutionally suspect book ban by another name.' Pen America reported more than 10,000 books were banned in the last school year. A decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor is expected by early summer.
