ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — The books can stay on the shelves but only for some students. The St. Johns County School Board met Thursday in response to a complaint from a parent to discuss whether to remove eight books from library shelves in St. Johns County:
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Breakaways by Cathy Johnson
Lucky by Alice Sebold
Sold by Patricia McCormick
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
This Book is Anti Racist by Tiffany Jewell
A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah Maas
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Since July 1st, Florida schools have been navigating a new state law that requires books be approved by certified media specialists, requires local school boards to hold public meetings when making decisions about book content, and gives parents a larger role in what books are available to students.
The parent who complained about the books said they contained inappropriate subject matter. Specifically graphic violence, rape, suicide, and race-related topics. However, despite the complainants' concerns, St. Johns County School District says it is keeping the books in schools but only for middle or high school students to read. The decision did not come easy.
“Censoring a student's reading is not protecting them, it's just a way to avoid teaching them important lessons,” Parent Tamara Whitacre said.
One by one, families of St. Johns County school students expressed whether or not they thought any of the books should be removed from school libraries. This comes after a complaint was filed by a parent who requested the board re-examine student access to the titles.
“Remove from collections: A Court of Frost and Starlight, the Bluest Eye, Lucky and Sold for graphic explicit sex, graphic rape, graphic child abuse, graphic sexual assault,” Complaintant Jean Moore said.
Some agreed with Moore’s complaint.
“These books in question are an abomination of god,” a parent announced.
Others had different opinions.
“It’s important for children at the appropriate ages to be in the world. That might include that knowledge that sexual assault exists that racism exists,” another parent added.
St. Johns County residents were able to chime into the conversation Thursday because the new law also requires the school district to be transparent in the selection of reading and instruction material.
“Shocked that these books are being exposed to children," a parent said.
After an extensive conversation, the School Board Member Patrick Canan gave his thoughts.
“It's pretty obvious there’s two sides to this position, I don't think you can discard literary value. Some of these books and topics are very helpful to children who aren’t like other children,” Board member Patrick Canan said.
The St. Johns County School District says it received objections to more than 60 books. The district has paused library book purchases until media centers have finished reviewing the current selection. In the meantime, teachers can continue to have an appropriate classroom library for students to browse and school book fairs are still on the calendar.