Wilson County Schools pulls Dr. Seuss, clears 100s for Tennessee team
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Wilson County Schools pulls Dr. Seuss, clears 100s for Tennessee team

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Note: This story has been updated to clarify that 425 book titles have been removed by Wilson County Schools.

Wilson County Schools have removed about 425 book titles from their shelves to comply with the new state law that went into effect July 1 banning books and materials with references to sex and violence from public school libraries, according to a new report.

The district listed the titles that have been removed ahead of Thursday’s school board meeting as part of Superintendent Jeff Luttrell’s regular report to the board.

State Legislature Amendments to Amend the Age-Appropriate Materials Act of 2022 entered into force on 1 July.

The new legislation meant that books and materials would need to be cross-checked with media specialists and library staff, according to Wilson County Schools Public Information Officer Bart Barker.

“This is an ongoing process,” Barker said as librarians continue to meet regularly “to get a collective opinion,” about book titles that should be pulled from schools based on the law.

Dr. Seuss’ children’s book “Wacky Wednesday” is one of five books removed from elementary school shelves, according to the list. Thirty-seven of the books were from middle school grades and more than 380 titles were from high schools, according to the list.

Author Sarah J. Mass had 14 titles removed and Ellen Hopkins had 10. Seven Stephen King titles were removed, including “The Green Mile.”

Books that are removed are kept at the district’s central office, Barker said.

The legislation prohibits material that contains nudity or describes or depicts sexual arousal, sexual behavior, excessive violence or sadomasochistic abuse, under state obscenity laws. It also stipulates material which “appeals to the ‘prurient interest'” should not be considered suitable for school-age students.

Age-appropriate books have been controversial in Wilson County.

The Wilson County School Board began receiving a steady stream of requests to review specific book titles being considered for removal in 2022, leading up to the new legislation.

The new law requires each local board of education and public schools to adopt a policy to establish procedures for the development and review of school library collections.

What are other districts doing?

Rutherford County Schools has also addressed the new legislation with a policy stating that materials found in violation should be removed and regular reviews of library contents should take place.

And the Williamson County School Board approved a policy in June that says school librarians are responsible for materials in their school’s library and should ensure compliance with state law.

Metro Nashville Public Schools believes it already had “robust review mechanisms and parent feedback policies in place for our libraries for several years, and as we review the new law, we see no need to significantly change the operation of our libraries,” a district spokesman said . Sean Braisted.

“The Board of Education has updated the library policy to reflect the adoption of the new law and we are reviewing our procedures for compliance.”

Reach Andy Humbles at [email protected] and on X, formerly known as Twitter @ AndyHumbles.

Website https://carnevalestoricocivitonico.it

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