![]() One parent can challenge dozens of books in a single day. Regardless, differing views do not justify all students losing access to valuable books.īook restrictions are not new, but their current scale is. In opposition to those constitutional standards, Booher objects to picture books like I Am Jazz because they suggest that “a child can be born with a girl’s brain and a boy’s body.” Transgender activists would point to the scientific consensus behind that perspective. Supreme Court cases affirm their First Amendment rights to open access to information books and other resources must not be restricted or removed on the basis of any one set of values or viewpoints. High school students are not “children.” They are maturing young adults, sometimes only months away from military service, full-time jobs, relationships with people from other communities, and university classes. This loss of access undermines the efforts of librarians and teachers to support students’ right to education and full literacy. As an English teacher and mother, I know that if teens can’t find a book on the shelves, they likely will never read it. ![]() Out of Darkness was removed from the district’s high school library shelves, and now, students can read it only by request, with parent permission. ![]() Booher complains that “parents ultimately have no say in classroom and library materials” even as her misguided efforts succeeded. ![]()
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