The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the school board of Benton School District in Arkansas following their removal of two books from school library shelves. Both Kathleen Gros’ Jo: An Adaptation of Little Women (Sort Of) and E. L. Konigsburg’s From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler were removed without following proper district policy or state law.
NCAC’s letter reminded the board that the Supreme Court has established that public school officials’ discretion regarding the removal of library books is particularly limited to ensure the protection of students’ First Amendment right to access information. Removing books from the shelves of the school library based on the intent to deny students access to ideas with which the district does not agree exposes the district to constitutional liability. Moreover, disregarding the district’s own policy simultaneously erodes public faith in local leadership and deprives students of access to literature to which they are otherwise entitled.
NCAC urged the district to rectify its misapplications of the law, commit to following district policy, and return the books to the school libraries from which they were removed.
Read NCAC’s full letter to the Benton School District here:Click here for a full-screen view: