Stop Banning Books in Fulton County School Libraries
Stop Banning Books in Fulton County School Libraries
The Issue
I am making this petition as an anonymous high schooler in a Fulton County school. Recently, our school district has been discreetly pushing to pull books off of shelves, especially those of LGBTQ+ and POC perspectives/subject matter, including but not limited to Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe and Flamer by Mike Curato--and no one is talking about it. This follows a series of censorship of this school district and many others nearby. This issue is beyond politics and party lines--it is about protecting students' right to read as well as the Constitutional right to free speech.
According to WSB TV, these books--along with Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and Blankets, which focus on themes of sexuality and spirituality--were labelled as "sexually explicit." This is concerning due to the fact that there are numerous other heterosexual romance books that contain graphic sexual content and explicit language that remain unquestioned, and readily available in public school libraries--perhaps one of the only places where all students have the chance to feel represented and heard.
Additionally, the removal of these books directly contradicts pre-established processes for the removal of content potentially harmful to minors. According to Section I:B:a of "Complaint Resolution Process for Material Harmful to Minors"*, complaints about potentially harmful material must first be submitted by the parents/guardians of a student to their school principal and only then proceed up the chain of command. With these book removals, however, there was no such process, the books instead being directly removed without any (easily accessible, published) mention of parent complaints.
By removing books (especially diverse/inclusive books) from public school libraries, the Fulton County Board of Education is insinuating that students who are represented in these books do not matter and need to be hidden and is directly counteracting the right to free speech. Essentially, it is unfair and unjust to remove books from public school library shelves--a place where everyone should be safe and represented. These actions follow a series of censorship in Fulton County schools, including the removal of pride flags, restrictions on library content (including activities and displays) and more. For a district that claims that "students come first," it is becoming abundantly clear that this is not true.
My goal, as well as the many students who are being silenced and ignored by the county, is to hold our school district and administration accountable for their actions, and to fight for our right for representation in what we read by:
- Demanding a transparent, publicly known process and justification for the removal of books and displays from libraries ("publicly known" indicates material being shared with parents, students, and staff through well-known avenues)
- Requesting a published, clear list of guidelines/criteria for the items listed above to be permitted.
photo credit: Patrick Daxenbichler/iStock/Getty
* useful documents:
217
The Issue
I am making this petition as an anonymous high schooler in a Fulton County school. Recently, our school district has been discreetly pushing to pull books off of shelves, especially those of LGBTQ+ and POC perspectives/subject matter, including but not limited to Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe and Flamer by Mike Curato--and no one is talking about it. This follows a series of censorship of this school district and many others nearby. This issue is beyond politics and party lines--it is about protecting students' right to read as well as the Constitutional right to free speech.
According to WSB TV, these books--along with Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and Blankets, which focus on themes of sexuality and spirituality--were labelled as "sexually explicit." This is concerning due to the fact that there are numerous other heterosexual romance books that contain graphic sexual content and explicit language that remain unquestioned, and readily available in public school libraries--perhaps one of the only places where all students have the chance to feel represented and heard.
Additionally, the removal of these books directly contradicts pre-established processes for the removal of content potentially harmful to minors. According to Section I:B:a of "Complaint Resolution Process for Material Harmful to Minors"*, complaints about potentially harmful material must first be submitted by the parents/guardians of a student to their school principal and only then proceed up the chain of command. With these book removals, however, there was no such process, the books instead being directly removed without any (easily accessible, published) mention of parent complaints.
By removing books (especially diverse/inclusive books) from public school libraries, the Fulton County Board of Education is insinuating that students who are represented in these books do not matter and need to be hidden and is directly counteracting the right to free speech. Essentially, it is unfair and unjust to remove books from public school library shelves--a place where everyone should be safe and represented. These actions follow a series of censorship in Fulton County schools, including the removal of pride flags, restrictions on library content (including activities and displays) and more. For a district that claims that "students come first," it is becoming abundantly clear that this is not true.
My goal, as well as the many students who are being silenced and ignored by the county, is to hold our school district and administration accountable for their actions, and to fight for our right for representation in what we read by:
- Demanding a transparent, publicly known process and justification for the removal of books and displays from libraries ("publicly known" indicates material being shared with parents, students, and staff through well-known avenues)
- Requesting a published, clear list of guidelines/criteria for the items listed above to be permitted.
photo credit: Patrick Daxenbichler/iStock/Getty
* useful documents:
217
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on September 21, 2023