Review of Supplemental Reading Lists
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By Electronic Mail September 5, 2014 Dr. Linda Clark, Superintendent of Schools Members of the Board of Trustees West Ada School District 1303 E Central Drive Meridian, ID 83642 Re: Review of Supplemental Reading Lists Dear Superintendent Clark and Members of the Board of Trustees: We understand that the Board of Trustees has requested a review of all books on supplemental reading lists for grades 6-12 in the West Ada School District and that the committee’s report will be presented to the board on Tuesday, September 9. We write in the hope that we can assist you by providing information about the legal and policy issues implicated by removing books from such reading lists. The current review was initiated largely in response to a challenge to Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian last spring, about which we wrote you at the time, and which we understand is currently on hold while the review committee considers potential replacements. Given this context, we hope the board will take seriously the constitutional obligation not to exclude books “simply because they dislike the ideas contained in those books and seek by their removal to ‘prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion.’” Board of Education v. Pico, 457 U.S. 853, 872 (1982) (plurality opinion). This is particularly applicable to supplemental reading lists, which, unlike the “ compulsory environment of the classroom,” are more like libraries, where “the regime of voluntary inquiry…holds sway.” Id . at 869. See also Campbell v. St. Tammany Parish School Board , 64 F. 3d 184, 190 (5th Cir. 1995) . Every community is home to a diversity of opinions on moral and religious questions. Removing a book in response to complaints privileges the political, moral, and/or religious beliefs of some individuals, who object to the book, over others, who do not. It is precisely this form of viewpoint discrimination by government that our constitutional system is designed to prevent. This rule is also essential to the integrity of the educational program, since there are few instructional materials that do
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Transcript of Review of Supplemental Reading Lists
8/11/2019 Review of Supplemental Reading Lists
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By Electronic Mail
September 5, 2014
Dr. Linda Clark, Superintendent of SchoolsMembers of the Board of TrusteesWest Ada School District1303 E Central Drive
Meridian, ID 83642
Re: Review of Supplemental Reading Lists
Dear Superintendent Clark and Members of the Board of Trustees:
We understand that the Board of Trustees has requested a review of all books on supplemental readinglists for grades 6-12 in the West Ada School District and that the committee’s report will be presentedto the board on Tuesday, September 9. We write in the hope that we can assist you by providinginformation about the legal and policy issues implicated by removing books from such reading lists.
The current review was initiated largely in response to a challenge to Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian last spring, about which we wrote you at the time, and which weunderstand is currently on hold while the review committee considers potential replacements. Giventhis context, we hope the board will take seriously the constitutional obligation not to exclude books“simply because they dislike the ideas contained in those books and seek by their removal to ‘prescribewhat shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion.’” Board of Education v. Pico, 457 U.S. 853, 872 (1982) (plurality opinion). This is particularly applicable tosupplemental reading lists, which, unlike the “compulsory environment of the classroom,” are morelike libraries, where “the regime of voluntary inquiry…holds sway.” Id . at 869. See also Campbell v. St.
Tammany Parish School Board , 64 F. 3d 184, 190 (5th Cir. 1995).
Every community is home to a diversity of opinions on moral and religious questions. Removing abook in response to complaints privileges the political, moral, and/or religious beliefs of someindividuals, who object to the book, over others, who do not. It is precisely this form of viewpointdiscrimination by government that our constitutional system is designed to prevent. This rule is alsoessential to the integrity of the educational program, since there are few instructional materials that do
8/11/2019 Review of Supplemental Reading Lists
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/review-of-supplemental-reading-lists 2/2
not include something that is objectionable to someone. Any attempt “to eliminate everything that isobjectionable...will leave public schools in shreds. Nothing but educational confusion and a discreditingof the public school system can result....” McCollum v. Board of Educ. 332 U.S. 203 (1948) (Jackson, J.concurring).
Decisions about instructional materials should be based on sound educational grounds, not becausesome people do or do not agree with the message or content of a particular book. Because there is no
legitimate basis for its removal, we once again urge you to reinstate Absolutely True Diary to the 10th
grade reading list and to retain all books with educational or literary value on supplemental readinglists, so that students have the widest possible choice in selecting reading materials.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of any further assistance.
Sincerely,
Chris Finan, President
American Booksellers Foundation For Free Expression
Susanna Reich, ChairChildren's and Young Adult Book CommitteePEN American Center
Lin Oliver, Executive DirectorSociety of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators
Joan Bertin, Executive DirectorNational Coalition Against Censorship
Charles Brownstein, Executive DirectorComic Book Legal Defense Fund
Millie Davis, Senior DeveloperAffiliate Groups and Public Outreach
National Council of Teachers of English
Judy Platt, DirectorFree Expression AdvocacyAssociation of American Publishers
Megan Tingley, Senior Vice President and PublisherLittle, Brown Books for Young Readers
Cc: Dr. Linda Clark, District [email protected]
Anne Ritter, Vice [email protected]
Mike Vuittonet, [email protected]
Barbara M. Jones, Executive DirectorAmerican Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom
Carol Sayles, [email protected]
Janet Calinsky, [email protected]
Tina Dean, [email protected]
