Hempfield school library book policies approved at heated meeting

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Hempfield school library book policies approved at heated meeting

Julia Maruca | Monday, August 14, 2023 10:31 p.m.

A sign in the audience Monday at Hempfield Area School District’s board meeting.

New rules will govern books and other library materials at Hempfield Area School District, after the school board voted Monday to enact two policies defining what content is permitted on the district’s bookshelves.

About 80 people attended the board meeting and more than a dozen residents spoke their opinions on the two approved regulations, giving their suggestions for how the district should handle book acquisition and book challenges in its libraries.

During a public comment period that sometimes included shouts from the audience, parents cited concerns about sexual content, censorship and political motivations for the rules.

The approved policies deal with how books are evaluated for appropriateness and what books can be brought into the library. They set restrictions on sexual content, written or visual, and nudity in books, depending on the grade level of students. They also formalize procedures for a challenge committee to be formed and rules for it follow when a book is officially challenged.

Several rounds of rewrites have altered the policies since they were initially proposed earlier this year.

Background

Over the past several months, the district has discussed updating its policies for reference materials, and the policies have moved back and forth between the policy committee and board for revisions and clarifications. The most recent edits on the policies were approved for 30-day review at a board meeting July 10.

The new rules would make lists of books that librarians intend to purchase visible to the public for 30 days before they officially are acquired. Hempfield residents would be able to “express concern with a title listed for purchase” by submitting a form, which the librarian, building principal, subject area teacher and assistant superintendent would review.

The revisions also include detailed definitions of “sexual content” and “ethnic intimidation” as described in the state School Code, noting that materials “labeled or described as including sexual content, graphic violence or hate speech/ethnic intimidation” require careful review.

Discussions and debates over books at Hempfield originally began in 2022, when district parents challenged the inclusion in the high school library of two books: “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson, which chronicles Johnson’s journey growing up as a queer Black man, and “The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person” by Frederick Joseph, which reflects the author’s experiences with racism.

Both books later were allowed to remain after they were formally reviewed by a district committee.

At a previous meeting at the end of July, Hempfield parent Ceil Kessler pointed out that according to a right-to-know request the district responded to in April, only one person — Paula Cinti, who is listed as vice chair of a Westmoreland County chapter of the organization Moms for Liberty on the chapter’s website — was the source of book challenge requests from November 2021 to November 2022.

Several parents raised concerns at the meeting Monday about the involvement of Moms for Liberty, which has been referred to as an extremist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Community voices

Parents and residents spoke both for and against the regulation at the meeting, receiving applause and jeers from the crowd. Many brought signs reading “Bans off our Books” and other anti-censorship slogans.

Resident Lydia Myers got emotional as she spoke to the board, asking the board not to vote to approve the policy and asking parents to “trust teachers to teach.”

“Fellow districts are watching and judging,” Myers said. “I am asking you to set a thoughtful and positive precedent, rather than mar your district’s reputation with a potential book banning system.”

Resident Suzanne Ward read excerpts from books, containing descriptions of sex, aloud at the meeting and said that the board should freeze all purchases of books.

“I am a parent who is getting ready to send my child here in the next couple years. Why would I want to send my child here?” she said. “These children need protected. They do not need groomed, and they do not need materials such as this.”

Other parents held signs up with similar excerpts from books and graphic novels in the crowd while resident Paula Cinti spoke, also reading excerpts during her comment period.

“Your vote tonight will protect our minor children from past and future obscene criminal material,” she said.

Resident Elizabeth Veronica Weaver said the regulations represented “closed-mindedness” and “ignorance.”

“Do not insult the intelligence of your students,” she said. “They are not toddlers. They are young adults about to begin their careers. Let your students have a voice in their future, and do not change your book review policies.”

Details

What the policy would restrict:
• Materials would not be permitted in elementary school libraries if they contain visual or explicit written depictions of sexual acts or visual depictions of genitalia or female breasts. Nonexplicit written descriptions of sexual acts would be permitted only for the purposes of "teaching students personal hygiene or to avoid and report molestation."
• At the secondary level, which includes middle and high school, materials with visual depictions of sex acts would never be permitted. Visual depictions of genitalia or female breasts would be permitted only in cases of "diagrams for educating about anatomy for science and health instruction, breastfeeding or works of art such as classical art."
• Explicit written descriptions of sexual acts would be permitted only in cases of "literature that has serious literary, artistic, political, educational or scientific value, such as classical literature."
• The policy recommends "materials which do not contain other sexualized content, even though permitted, such as visual depictions of nudity," are prioritized for acquisition at the high school level over books that do.
When a book is challenged:
• An informal review can be conducted, in which the community member challenging a book meets with a librarian, teacher or other staff member and details their objections.
• A formal challenge can be requested. When that happens, a committee will be formed that includes at least one librarian, one teacher, one school administrator, two community members or parents who are not employed by the district and one student (if the challenge is at the secondary level) with parent permission.
The community members and students will be chosen from a pool of volunteers and may not be the community member who raised the challenge. The person who raised the challenge is allowed to attend the meetings to discuss their problem but will not have a vote.

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