Book ban? Just concerned parents? Indian River schools face 1st Amendment issue | Opinion – TCPalm

Banned books: What a new wave of restrictions could mean for students

Titles like "Maus" and "Beloved" are being pulled from libraries across the country amid an uptick in book bans. Here's how that could affect students.

Just the FAQs, USA TODAY

Some call it a watchdog effort to ensure age-appropriate literature is in Indian River County's school libraries.

Others call it book banning, antithetical to the First Amendment tothe U.S. Constitution. Moms for Liberty and another groupchallenging the books claim to support the Constitution

The Indian River County School Board (and others around the country) is stuck in the middle, and Monday night is expected todeal with the book issue again, potentially discussing challengedtitles. The full list and committee recommendations can be found attinyurl.com/IRCSDbooks

At the least it will review recommendations district staff has to ensure inappropriate books arent on school library shelves and accommodate parents who don't necessarily want their children reading about sex, race and LGTBQ issues.

Sadly, its another example like theprotracted COVID mask debates of school systems forced to focus not on student achievement, but hot-button issues that will be used for political purposes in future elections.

Its not that the local Moms for Liberty and We The People groups didnt raise legitimate concerns in October when they reported 28 "unacceptable" books in school libraries containing pornography and/or inappropriate sexual content or innuendos. The list has grown to about 150, school officials said.

Unfortunately, some of the titles on the list of questionable books were not reviewed by district staff beforehand, but ordered in bulk, school officials said.

One book on the list wasAll Boys Arent Blue. A video I saw of a Pennsylvania woman reading to her school board a lurid unpublishable here excerpt from the book convinced me there might be an issue.

Porn in schools?Moms for Liberty targets books in Indian River County schools

Amazon describes the book as Bothaprimer for teens eager to be allies as well as a reassuring testimony for young queer men of color … (covering) topics such as gender identity, toxic masculinity, brotherhood, family, structural marginalization, consent, and Black joy … George M. Johnson's emotionally frank style of writing will appeal directly to young adults."

The book was on the shelvesof an elementary school in Pennsylvania and Vero Beach High School. Neither copyhad been checked out, school officials said.

The book was pulled from the shelf at VBHS, said Richard Myhre, assistant superintendent of curriculum & instruction for the Indian River County School District. Myhre, at the behest of the school board, set up a committee of librarians and reading specialists to review challenged books and make recommendations to the board about whether they should be pulled.

I found and perused a few books on the list. One was pretty risqu in my opinionnot appropriate at most levels. Others on the list seemed fine for high school students. I saw one elementary school kids could read.

More: Indian River County's chapter of Moms For Liberty speaks at meeting

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A few others on the list I recognized as being used by high school Advanced Placement courses, for optional summer reading or college classes.

One, The Bluest Eye, by Pulitzer Prize-winning Toni Morrison, I heard mentioned on a recent podcast hosted by Nick Gillespie, editor at large at Reason, the libertarian magazine of "free minds and free markets." His guest was Corey DeAngelis, an advocate for school choice and parental freedom.

Gillespie mentioneda Republican activist in Virginia who'd objected to her child reading Morrisons book, a harsh look at child abuse and sexual molestation and very racially charged, in an AP course.

I think the parent should have the right to (object), Gillespie said, but shouldnt we behaving the argument about do you want your honors student kid not to encounter difficult literature?

Theres an anti-intellectualism that creeps into a lot of school choice stuff. … (like) I dont want my kid to be exposed to whatever it is that makes them or me upset.

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More: What's Moms for Liberty? A look at its roots, its philosophy and its mission

DeAngelis noted that all families are different.

Were forcing everybody who is going to fundamentally disagree about how they want their kids raised into a one-size-fits-all system, he said. Thats why school choice is the best solution for these curriculum disagreements going forward.

At the end of the day when it comes to a one-size-fits-all, government-run school system, youre going to have people that are upset with whatever the final product might be.

Gillespie and DeAngelis are right. Florida has robust school choice. Indian River County has an array of free charter schools and private ones accepting state-provided school vouchers for students at various income levels.

And under Superintendent David Moores leadership, Indian River schools have created their own signature programs and parents may choose what schools their children attend.

More change is on the horizon.

At the Indian River boards meeting 6 p.m. Monday, Myhre is expected to make several proposals. Among them:

As for the challenged books, Myhre said, libraries are protected by the First Amendment. Thus, he said, challenges about most non-obscene books might be moot.

Whats the difference between obscenity, as defined in Florida statutes, and pornography?

Obscenity refers to a narrow category of pornography that violates contemporary community standards and has no serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value, David L. Hudson Jr., a Belmont University law professor and First Amendment expert wrote.

Floridastatutes makeit a third-degree felonyto show obscenity to a minor.

Myhre and the committee are aware of that. As an Army veteran, though, he said he put his life on the line to defend the Constitution and its First Amendment.

I know we will not make everyone happy, he said. But any recommendation will be a solid recommendation. Some parents will disagree with it.

Everyone has a different standard, a different point of view which is why some call it book banning and others call it constructive criticism.

In the end, the Constitution and its First Amendment must prevail.

This column reflects the opinion of Laurence Reisman. Contact him via email at larry.reisman@tcpalm.com, phone at 772-978-2223, Facebook.com/larryreisman or Twitter @LaurenceReisman

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Book ban? Just concerned parents? Indian River schools face 1st Amendment issue | Opinion - TCPalm