Dearborn schools bans 2 novels, restricts another after book review meeting
DEARBORN, Mich. (FOX 2) - Books like Red, White, and Royal Blue which contain LGBTQ themes and romance were selected among the novels by the Dearborn School District that should be removed from its library's shelves.
So was the book Push, a novel about a teenager who struggles with sexual assault and poverty. The district said both books were deemed inappropriate by the district after it reviewed those and several other books following a push to restrict some literature access to kids.
They were the first books to be taken off the shelves after Dearborn schools revamped its review process for materials should be considered appropriate by students. Several parents had clashed with the board in recent weeks during testy school board meetings.
"With roughly half a million books in our school libraries, we realize the likelihood that there could be a few books that were added over the years that parents and staff agree should not be there," said Superintendent Dr. Glenn Maleyko. "However, we want to assure our parents that those books are few and far between and that, overall, our libraries provide a wide range of age-appropriate materials to encourage students to strengthen their academic skills and build a love of reading."
Two other books will remain or be restricted to just high school while two other books are still being considered. A fifth book that wasn't part of the initial challenge will also be reviewed. They include:
- The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold was deemed appropriate for high school and will remain on the shelves.
- Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell was deemed inappropriate for middle school, but appropriate for high school. Copies of the book will be removed from the middle schools that had it but remain at the high schools.
- No decision has been made yet on All Boys Aren’t Blue by Jason Reynolds and This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson, but neither book is currently available to students, nor were they part of the district’s collection. Both were only available through Sora, but that ebook service is currently disabled for district students.
- While it was not part of the initial list of challenged books, the district has also reviewed Flamer by Mike Curato. That book will remain at the high school level
The challenged titles represent .002% of the district's total collection, which includes more than 500,000 books. So far, parents have raised concerns with approximately a dozen books.
Those who disagree with the books that were not removed can request they be reviewed by the Book Reconsideration Process.