School Superintendent Moves Questioned Library Books To “Restricted Section” Of Parenting Option: NorthEscambia.com

After a Northview High School teacher and member of the Escambia County School Board called for the immediate removal of 115 “obscene” books from school libraries until they could be reviewed, the school district took a measure to control access to books.

The school superintendent, Dr. Smith, has set up a “restricted section” in the school libraries. The books in question will be housed in the section and parents will be able to authorize their students to access the restricted book as they are revised.

“As we review the disputed books, we want to make sure that parents still have the right to make decisions about what they think is and isn’t appropriate for their children,” Smith said. “We believe that the establishment of a restricted section in each of our school libraries, from which students can only access these titles with parental permission, will best meet the needs of our families at as books are being reviewed.The final arbiter of what is appropriate for a child to read is always that child’s parent; not other parents, teachers, or aggrieved members of the public.

As we first reported on Monday, 30-year-old veteran teacher Vicki Baggett has compiled a growing list of 116 books she says are inappropriate in schools, mostly due to sexual language and graphic designs. which she claims violate Florida obscenity laws. To read more about his arguments, click here. To see the list of books, click here.

Many of the books on his list contain graphic and descriptive sexual language, including pedophilia and bestiality. A book uses the F-word 116 times. There are numerous books containing underage sex, what she called “alternative sexualities”, “explicit violent content”, self-harm, suicide, rape, racism and graphic designs.

School board president Kevin Adams asked Smith to quarantine or remove the disputed books from circulation until a review in accordance with state law is completed.

“The school board has the power to remove books from its libraries; however, it cannot do so simply because it disagrees with a book’s message or offends an individual’s personal morality,” the council’s general counsel said on Monday. school, Ellen Odom, in an emailed statement. “During the review process, if the school board determines that a particular book is pornographic or obscene, is not relevant to the needs of the students and their ability to understand the material presented, is inappropriate for the grade level, and the age group for which the material is used, or is factually inaccurate or misleading, it may order the removal of this book.

The current School District “Educational Media Policy Review” states that requests for review must be submitted to the school with the title in question. Once the application is submitted, the school will form an “Academic Materials Review Committee” to read the title, review the complaint, consult professional reviews, and consult with outside experts as needed. The School Materials Review Committee will then meet to discuss the title and conduct a blind vote to retain the title, move the title to another level, or remove the title altogether.

The complainant then has the opportunity to appeal the decision to a district material review board. This committee will read the headline, review the complaint and appeal, consult professional reviewers, and consult with outside experts as needed. The District Materials Review Committee will then meet to discuss the title and conduct a blind vote to retain the title, move the title to another level, or remove the title altogether. The complainant then has the opportunity to appeal the decision to the school board.

The Escambia County School Board has scheduled a special workshop for October 10 at 8 a.m. to discuss a revised school library collection development policy and educational media review policy to ensure consistency with a recently passed state law, HB 1467, which requires school districts to be transparent. in the choice of teaching materials, including library and reading materials.