The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) has written to Batesburg-Leesville Middle School in South Carolina regarding the removal of Stamped: Racism, Anti-Racism, and You from the school library.
As we understand it, the school removed the book from the library in order to be compliant with South Carolina State Proviso 1.93, which prohibits certain school spending on ideas often associated with Critical Race Theory.
However, application of this proviso to the selection of library books is improper. Not only does the proviso not appear to limit spending related to school library books, but such an application would be unconstitutional. The Supreme Court made it clear in Board of Education v. Pico. that “school boards may not remove books from library shelves simply because they dislike the ideas contained in those books.”
This removal raises serious First Amendment concerns, and we strongly urge the school to return Stamped to their library immediately.
Please read our full letter below.