According to Fauquier.com, a Fauquier County Public Schools review committee has unanimously rejected a book challenge that would have removed David Levithan’s Two Boys Kissing from the high school library. NCAC’s Kids’ Right To Read Project sent a letter to the school board prior to the meeting, warning that removing the book based on objections to the content was a disservice to students and constitutionally problematic.
From Fauquier.com:
Marie Miller, a teacher at FHS and the advisor for the school publication The Falconer said that she believes that those opposing the book were doing so not because of it’s lack of appropriateness for the students, but because it is a story about gay teens.
“If the focus of this book was on heterosexual teen relationships, it would not be the subject of a book challenge,” said Miller.
(…)
Joshua Moore, a recent graduate from Fauquier’s public schools who identified himself as a member of the LGBT community, said that books similar to “Two Boys Kissing” helped him when he was having difficulty finding his identity.
“I remember how it felt for me to come to terms with myself,” said Moore. “I remember one day I went to the library and I started reading. ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ and ‘Hero.’ They were very poignant to me. My librarians helped me to broaden my horizons. I didn’t have to sit around and think that I was so alone in this school.”
Testimony against the book included a member of the County Transportation Board who claimed it was “obscene” under the Virginia Code, and a parent who objected to how “The ‘F-word’ is used 10 times.”
The decision could be appealed to the school board. NCAC applauds the review committee for upholding kids’ right to read and rejecting censorship.