A Texas school district has pulled many books from its library shelves, such as the graphic novel adaptation of Anne Frank’s Diary and all translations of the Bible. The restriction took effect immediately before the beginning of the school year in Keller, Texas, a suburb of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex with a population of little under 40,000 people.
On August 16, the first day of school, Jennifer Price, Keller ISD’s executive director of curriculum and instruction, sent the following email to the school district’s principals- Attached is a list of all books that have been challenged last year. She needs all books from the library and classrooms retrieved before the end of today. Once this has been accomplished, please email me a confirmation, Price said. They must do this task by the end of the day. Please accept her apologies for the late request.
Just got word that today, the day Before school starts, @KellerISD has informed teachers & librarians to remove all previously challenged books from school shelves. Even the books that passed the challenge committees. The Diary of Anne Frank, Graphic Nov. is on this list. 🧵/1 pic.twitter.com/ggFilJA30o
— Laney Hawes (@LaneyHawes) August 16, 2022
The Bible (all translations), Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation, So You’re Being Publicly Shamed, numerous LGBT touchstones such as Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, and classics such as Toni Morisson’s The Bluest Eye are among the 41 books now under consideration.
Keller ISD’s Board of Trustees approved policies EFA (Local) and EFB (Local) during its August 8, 2022, Special Meeting, according to a post on the Keller ISD website. These regulations govern the purchase and evaluation of educational materials and library books.
Currently, Keller ISD administration is requesting the campus employees and librarians to assess books that were challenged last year to see if they satisfy the standards of the new policy. All of the books mentioned in Tuesday’s email had been on Keller ISD’s Book Challenge list for the previous year. Books that match the new requirements will be returned to libraries as soon as it is certified that they do.
Books were challenged before being examined by a committee in a closed-door screening procedure. Despite having cleared the review and subsequent challenges, the district decided to withdraw all of the challenged books for the time being.
According to Bryce Nienman, Keller’s school board recently established a new policy that will assess each book that has earlier evaded a ban. A new policy was introduced after Keller ISD was the subject of a formal investigation by Texas state officials over sexually graphic books in its library. Parents and instructors gathered in secret for months to review the books and decide what should be saved and what should be discarded. Participants were required to sign confidentiality agreements.
Laney Hawes, a Keller ISD parent, posted about the problem, adding, “Here’s the complete interview with @KatyTurNBC. Please watch the entire video. This isn’t only about Anne Frank. It’s about the radical right seizing control of public schools and turning them into cultural battlegrounds for our kids. #publiceducation “Book bans are becoming increasingly common in American classrooms and libraries. Novels on the Holocaust, books about sex in any manner, shape, or form, and books about LGBTQ issues are common targets.
Here’s the full interview I did with @KatyTurNBC. Please watch the whole thing. This is about more than Anne Frank. It’s about the extreme right taking over Public schools and turning our children’s schools into culture war battlegrounds. #publiceducation https://t.co/JNfR6ZIK3m
— Laney Hawes (@LaneyHawes) August 20, 2022
Right-wing extremist groups have disrupted several Pride-themed programs in libraries around the United States. Threats and intimidation have also been leveled at librarians and administrators who have set up exhibitions featuring LGBTQ works.
