Last week, the 10th grade English departments sent home two books for required reading. "The Absolute True Diary of a Part Time Indian" and "I am not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter". The Indian book was challenged by a family last year due to sexual, racist, and obscene content. This year, instead of offering a second book, that would meet the needs of students not interested in books with sexual content and obscenities, The ILA department thought it would be appropriate to add a second option of equally offensive material. In one Common Sense Media review it says "This book has excessive cursing, sexual language, display of disrespect to adults, degrading of women's bodies, drinking and drug use". If parents object to these options, they will be provided a 3rd option. "The Life of PI", one review read "Really boring and excessively brutal". This causes some tension in homes going into the school year. These students do not want to be the outsider and get the third option- and even so, they will sit in class during discussion of the other books. Many parents cave- because they do not want to jeopardize their children with their peers or their teachers. They are forced to go against their own moral code and comply. The feedback from the district: Laura Kacer, the administration and the teachers is "This just isn't an issue, Not that many parents care". There was a simple solution to this- Offer "The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" then, offer a second option that aligns with the values of many families in the district. This is not about banning books- and it never was! This is about offering reasonable, non-sexualized education inside our classrooms. This is RIGHT vs WRONG. By signing this petition, you can help to show Johnston that you are concerned with your child's education and what they are providing as required curriculum.