North Texas school district pulls controversial books from library shelves for review

COUPLE OF DIFFERENT TIMES HERE THIS WEEK. WE’RE BACK TO TALK MORE ABOUT IT AT SIX WITH SAM GANNON, I MIGHT DO SEE BOX FOR SPORTS. DOZENS OF BOOKS WERE PULLED FROM LIBRARIES IN THE KELLER I S D. THE DISTRICT SAYS SOME OF THE BOOKS NEED TO BE REVIEWED AGAIN TO SEE IF THEY MEET THE GUIDELINES OF A NEW BOARD POLICY PASSED LAST WEEK EXPLORES ALEX BOYER IS LIVE NOW WITH MORE ALEX. HI AND IN A STATEMENT THIS AFTERNOON, THE SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT SAYS THAT OTHER TITLES ALSO OMITTED INCLUDE GENDER, QUEER AND ALL THE BOYS ARE

BLUE, AMONG OTHERS , HE SAYS THAT THESE BOOKS ARE COMPLETE WITH GRAPHIC AND GRATUITOUS, SEXUALLY EXPLICIT CONTENT, AND HE SAYS THEY HAVE NO PLACE INSIDE THE HANDS OF CHILDREN. STUDENTS RETURNED TO CLASSIC COLORIZED THE WEDNESDAY THERE’S GROWING CONTROVERSY OVER WHICH LIBRARY BOOKS THEY SHOULD AND SHOULDN’T BE ALLOWED TO ACCESS. I WAS FIRST DEVASTATED AND THEN REALLY ANGRY, HAS FOUR KIDS IN THE DISTRICT. SHE WAS ALSO PART OF THE ORIGINAL SCHOOL DISTRICT COMMITTEE MADE UP OF MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC THAT MET LAST YEAR AND REVIEWED A LIST OF LIBRARY BOOKS WITH QUESTIONABLE CONTENT. HER CHALLENGE COMMITTEE

SPECIFICALLY REVIEWED A GRAPHICAL ADAPTATION OF THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK. ALL THE WORK. WE DISCUSSED THE BOOK. WE READ THE BOOK WE TALKED ABOUT. THE DIFFERENT ISSUES IN THE BOOK AND DECIDED UNANIMOUSLY THAT THE BOOK SHOULD STAY IN SCHOOL

SHELVES. BUT ON TUESDAY THAT BOOK WAS ORDERED TO BE REMOVED ALONG WITH 40. OTHERS INCLUDING ALL VERSIONS OF THE BIBLE THAT DISTRICT SENTENCE EMAIL TO SCHOOL PRINCIPALS AND LIBRARIANS ORDERING THE REMOVAL BY THE END OF THE DAY, ACCORDING TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, ALL 41 CHALLENGED BOOKS WILL NOW BE REVIEWED AGAIN TO SEE IF THEY MEET A

NEW BOARD POLICY APPROVED LAST WEEK WAS A UNANIMOUS VOTE TO CHANGE THE POLICY. LAST WEEK , AUGUST 8TH AND COLOR AND THEY ADOPTED THE TEXAS EDUCATION THAT MODEL DEVELOPED AFTER CALLS FROM GOVERNOR GREG ABBOTT TO COME UP WITH THE STATE STANDARD FOR BOOK REVIEW PROCEDURES. BRIAN LOPEZ, A PUBLIC EDUCATION REPORTER FOR THE TEXAS TRIBUNE, POINTS TO A CHANGE IN THE SCHOOL BOARD MAKEUP SINCE THE BOOK COMMITTEE REVIEWS VOTERS ELECTED THREE MEMBERS BACKED BY CONTRIBUTIONS FROM A CHRISTIAN POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE. SO YOU FAST FORWARD NOW TO OBVIOUS , UM, NEED THREE NEW SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS ARE

ON THE KILLERS . THE BOARD. CHRIST’S ANNOUNCEMENT ATTRACTED SCRUTINY FROM WATCHDOG GROUPS THAT CONSIDER IT A THREAT TO THE STUDENTS IS FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS. I THINK THE MESSAGE THIS IS SENDING IS THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THIS DISTRICT NOW, I GUESS ON THE BOARD WHO DON’T SEEM TO WANT TO STOP AT ANYTHING TO REMOVE THESE BOOKS. BUT THE SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT PUSHED BACK HARD ON WEDNESDAY, DEFENDING THE DECISION ON FACEBOOK DOCTOR CHARLES RAND, CLEV SAID, IN PART FOR THE NEW POLICY IN STRUCTURAL MATERIALS PREVIOUSLY CHALLENGED FOLLOWING THE OLD POLICY, WHICH WAS FLAWED AND EXPOSE CHILDREN

TO PORNOGRAPHIC MATERIAL WILL BE REEVALUATED. LANEY, HAMAS REMAINS SKEPTICAL. AND THEY JUST TOOK AWAY ALL OF OUR DECISION MAKING AND THEY INVALIDATED ALL THE HARD WORK. WE DID. AND THE SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT WENT ON TO SAY IN THAT STATEMENT THAT THE CHALLENGE PROCESS FOR THESE MATERIALS WILL GO THROUGH COMMITTEE AGAIN COMPRISED OF COMMUNITY AND STAFF MEMBERS, WHICH HE SAYS WILL BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AND WILL ALSO BE RECORDED. NO TIMELINE HAS BEEN