Some books have been suspended from Elizabeth school libraries as further changes are contemplated.
Some books have been suspended from Elizabeth school libraries as further changes are contemplated. Credit: PHOTO BY NICKY QUINBY

UPDATE at 4:55 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 13: The Elizabeth School District released the following statement.

At last night’s Elizabeth School District board meeting, board members approved a measure that would direct that no classroom libraries of books are maintained within our schools.  This is in conjunction with our library protocol and sensitive topic lists.  The purpose of the measure is to relieve the burden of teachers and principals from having to determine what is appropriate for different family values.  Under the measure, students are encouraged to keep a book either from the school library or from home in their desk to utilize when necessary.

As of Tuesday evening, through individual conversations, the ESD board has directed the Superintendent to hold on that decision.  Board members would like to get further feedback from staff as they work to merge their library protocol with student access to classroom materials.  This is an opportunity for further dialogue from teachers as to the best practices of handling sensitive literature in classrooms.

The board is open to modifying its decision once information is gathered from school staff including teachers and principals.

The original Elbert County News story continues below:

The Elizabeth School Board voted at its Aug. 12 meeting to create a Sensitive Topic Book List and to eliminate classroom libraries from Elizabeth classrooms. The new Library Services Guiding Protocols, a list of 19 temporarily suspended books, and a draft of books on the ESD Sensitive Topics List can be found online at tinyurl.com/elizbooks.

The board unanimously decided to remove classroom libraries. “I move that the board direct that no classroom libraries of books are to be maintained within the Elizabeth School District and that students are encouraged to keep a book either from the school library or from home in their desks to utilize when necessary,” said School Board President Rhonda Olsen.

Regarding the book that can be kept in a child’s desk, students will only have access to books that parents have given them at home or from the board-approved school library. Olsen also clarified that “books from home are not to be shared with other students.”

“We’re just saying that if you bring something in that someone else’s parent might not agree with, you know, that’s yours to read but it’s not yours to share,” she went on.

Superintendent Dan Snowberger said the decision to remove classroom libraries relieves the burden on teachers to maintain their own collections. “We feel it would be counterproductive to have classroom libraries that do not undergo the same review process,” he said. “The library ‘sensitive topic list’ will most likely grow and change in the classrooms. We felt that this process would take the burden away from teachers so that they can remain focused on the curriculum versus having to update a changing list of books on their shelves. Utilizing our libraries instead of classroom materials will ensure that the school district respects the decisions our parents are making for their children.”

Kerry Jiblits, a retired Elizabeth elementary teacher and a reading interventionist, had strong words about the decision. “I am saddened, appalled, and angry with the Elizabeth School Board’s decision to ban classroom libraries,” she said.

“As an elementary teacher of 35 years (almost 30 of them in Elizabeth),” she went on, “I know firsthand how a robust classroom library is the key to not only teaching students to read, but to LOVE reading. Research shows the importance of large, multi-leveled classroom libraries in improving students’ reading performance. As teachers, it is our job to provide an environment that fosters a love of reading and an interest in books — an impossible task without a classroom library. The classroom library should be the heart of a classroom — a place of joy as well as learning. The school board should be making MORE books available to our students, not removing them from the classroom. How can we expect our children to succeed, when they aren’t given adequate access to books? A once a week, 15 minute visit to the school library will not suffice.”

When asked about lack of access to reading material, Snowberger said, “There should be no change to a student’s access to reading material as a result of any of these policy changes. Teachers and students will be able to use the school libraries as needed to supplement their reading materials that no longer exist in the classroom. Teachers may also check out a selection of books on key topics relevant to their unit of studies that are not on the sensitive topic list and make those available to students should they need a book during the day.”

School Board Directors Mary Powell and Heather Booth spent the most time on the school library review, Olsen said. The review largely fell under the Curriculum Review Committee’s purview.

The motion for the “board to approve the attached Library Sensitive Topic Protocol, the attached list of materials to be flagged with sensitive topics, and to display the list for public feedback to determine the final disposition” came before the discussion about the library review itself and was also passed unanimously.

Powell explained that the committee started reviewing school library collections using challenged book lists found online. She added that they did their due diligence and did not flag a book just because it was included on a challenged books list.

Powell added that the committee sees library books as part of the district curriculum that also falls under Policy IMB, Teaching About Controversial Issues and Materials. “We need to be sure that we are protecting our students from things that are controversial,” she said.

“We also came up with this idea of a Sensitive Topic Protocol,” Powell shared. “There were multiple reasons that something might be called ‘sensitive topics.’ The categories are Graphic Violence, Sexual Content, Profanity & Obscenity, Ideations of Self Harm or Mental Illness, Drug or Excessive Alcohol Use, Racism/Discrimination, and Religious Viewpoints.” The list is likely to change over time.

“We are trying to be very aware that not all of us in this school district have the same values,” Powell said. “A parent who does not want their child to read the Bible should be notified that their child checked out the Bible. A parent who does not want their child to read the Koran should be notified that their child has checked out the Koran. And then they can do what they want with it. That’s why we have religious viewpoints on there too, along with these other things, so that a parent can be aware and that their values are not being trampled upon.”

If a student checks out a book identified as “sensitive,” it will be flagged and parents will receive an email notification that their child has checked it out. Powell says this ties in with Parents Rights and Responsibilities. “It’s their right to know what their child is checking out,” Powell went on. She also noted that a student’s library borrowing history has been and still is accessible and available to parents.

Powell explained that any parent can opt-out of allowing their student to borrow any book at all on the Sensitive Topics list. The student’s account will be prohibited from checking out books on the list but students can speak to their parents about making an exception for specific titles.

Snowberger said that by identifying books with sensitive material, “we empower parents to make these important decisions for their own children without taking away the freedom of anyone to access the material of their choosing. We feel this is a much more balanced approach than removing materials from our library so that we can respect the individual choices of our families and respect the rights of our parents to make those decisions for their children.”

The district is asking for parent feedback and admitted it will be an ongoing process as new books are added to school libraries. “We’re not going to be able to find every book that might be objectionable,” Powell said, “…and we are asking parents, through this process of knowing what your kid is checking out, even if it’s not on the Sensitive List right now, to talk to their students…”

If there is something that a parent believes should be added to the Sensitive Topic List, Powell said, there is now a form to submit to the school librarian, who will then pass it on to the Curriculum Review Committee.

The committee also physically removed and temporarily suspended some books, the list is available at tinyurl.com/elizbooks.

Those books, in addition to whatever else is suspended in the coming months, will be available in the district office for parents to review for 30 days. Parents are encouraged to come in, take a look, and fill out a form to vote on whether or not the book should be withdrawn from the collection or added to the Sensitive Topics list. An email with more information about the process will be sent from the district this week.

“I’ll just deal with the elephant in the room,” Powell said, “this is not book banning. They are not on our shelf because we do not feel that they fulfill the educational protocols that we believe in for this district.” The board agreed that the measures were “just a protection” for students.

Last year ESD decided to move from Scholastic Book Fairs to SkyTree Book Fairs, connected to Kirk Cameron’s Brave Books. BRAVE Books describes itself as a “Christian publishing company that makes books for kids that reinforce biblically-based, foundational values.”

More information about the Curriculum Review Committee/Council can be found here https://www.elizabethschooldistrict.org/Page/3746.

Policy IMB is available to read at https://tinyurl.com/7j9nth4m.

The Aug. 12 board meeting is available to watch in its entirety here https://tinyurl.com/4595f3vf.

Past board meetings are available at https://www.elizabethschooldistrict.org/domain/124.

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