Latest news with #SouthCarolinaBoardofEducation
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.
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
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
SC Board of Education may remove 10 books from classrooms: List
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) — The South Carolina Board of Education will consider removing 10 more books from school libraries and classrooms on March 13. The board has heard challenges to 17 books under a regulation implemented by the South Carolina Department of Education. READ MORE: SC Board of Education removes four books from K-12 classrooms The regulation allows the board to remove books containing 'sexual conduct.' Books that could be removed include: '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 Critics have called the regulation too vague. 'My concern is that section of state law broadly defines sexual conduct as a simple description of sexual intercourse,' said Patrick Kelly, director of government affairs for the Palmetto Teachers Association. Kelly said that the broad definition could mean that foundational educational texts could be up for removal. 'So if you have a book that simply describes that act, then it's potentially age-inappropriate and it doesn't have to be a graphic description or explicit description, simply describing,' Kelly continued. 'So the bible describes sexual conduct, the works of Shakespeare describe sexual conduct.' According to the Department of Education, the regulation is not book banning. Officials said it's dictating what books the government should buy. 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
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
S.C. Board of Education removes four books from K-12 classrooms
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) – The South Carolina Board of Education voted on Tuesday to remove four books from school libraries across the state. Within the past four months, 11 books have been removed from K-12 classrooms across South Carolina. Only two people on the Board of Education voted against removing any of the four books discussed at Tuesday's meeting. The books on the chopping block include: 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' by Stephen Chbosky, 'All Boys aren't Blue' by George M. Johnson, 'Flamer' by Mike Curato, and 'Push' by Sapphire. Some people said these works contain material that is inappropriate for students. 'I think as we look at these, we need to be very careful because I feel as though one person is exerting incredible influence over us,' said board member, David O'Shields. Jessica Spearman Childs spoke about her experience as a counselor, how removing 'Push' would affect students she works with. 'Every time we remove a book, we send a very clear message that survivors should be invisible,' Childs said. Student Elliot Nadow spoke about how 'All Boys aren't Blue' changed their life. 'You are telling every black student, queer student, every student that has ever been insulted, every student that has felt anything doesn't belong here,' Nadow said. Board Member, Cheryl Abrams Collier said it's important to understand that not all books are appropriate for different ages, which is why there needs to be a distinction. 'We are not making overall judgments of the value of the book, the writer, any person's walk of life or experiences, we are not trying to say people shouldn't read the material,' Collier said. 'We are being given one clear question; does it violate regulation.' Collier made it clear that the books will still be available in public libraries for anyone who chooses to read them. The South Carolina Education Board said these books will be removed from classrooms, effective immediately. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
