NC-17: Farmington School Board slaps age restrictions on two library books

Travis Warren, Farmington School Board president, discusses a challenge of two library books in the high school library.

(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Lynn Kutter)
Travis Warren, Farmington School Board president, discusses a challenge of two library books in the high school library. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Lynn Kutter)

FARMINGTON -- The School Board unanimously voted last week to restrict two books in the high school library to students who are 17 years old or older.

The board's decision was in response to an appeal by parent Atina King, who first brought her concerns about the books to the high school media specialist in December.

King asked the School Board to remove "All Boys Aren't Blue" by George M. Johnson and "Tricks" by Ellen Hopkins.

The board's decision to restrict the two books went against a committee's recommendation to retain the material in the library. That committee comprised five high school staff members: Principal Jon Purifoy, the high school media specialist and three teachers.

The books will be placed in a special area of the library and will have stickers to let students know the books are restricted by age, according to school officials.

The board adopted a procedure for challenging a book last year. It starts with the media specialist providing a copy of the policy to someone who has made a complaint. The policy shows a challenge first goes to the school principal for discussion. If the person still is not satisfied, an assistant superintendent tries to resolve the issue.

If the individual still is not satisfied, the person can complete a request for reconsideration form. Upon receiving this form, the school principal appoints a committee to reconsider the materials.

The individual can accept the committee's findings or appeal this decision to the School Board.

King appealed the committee's decision to the board. The board had three options, according to the school policy: retain the books, limit access or remove the books from the school.

King's request for "All Boys Aren't Blue" states she did not see a purpose for including the book in the library and that it had sexually explicit materials that should not be used to teach minors. King said her objections to the book included profanity, sexual nudity, sexual assault, derogatory racial terms, sexual activities with minors and alternate gender ideologies.

King's objections to "Tricks" were that the book had explicit sexual encounters; sexual violence including child trafficking, molestation and rape; and glamorization of a minor's drug and alcohol abuse.

The board discussed how to define a limited availability, whether a student would have to get parental permission to check it out or use an age limit, and agreed upon limiting the book to students 17 and older.

After the meeting, King said she was happy the board voted to restrict the books, though she said she preferred the board would have required parental consent to check out the books until age 18.

The high school committee that reviewed King's complaints about the books used a rubric when studying the material, which looked at the overall purpose of each book, authenticity, appropriateness and content.

The committee, in its report, said "All Boys Aren't Blue," an autobiography, provides an opportunity for a marginalized group of students to be seen and heard within its pages. The committee unanimously voted to recommend retaining the book because it gives students a choice to read the material and find "comfort in not being alone in their life experiences," according to the report.

The committee, in its report on "Tricks," said the book is a novel-in-verse and is a cautionary tale about the ever-growing danger of human trafficking as well as the danger young adults can find themselves in due to adult manipulation.


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