Northview Public Schools board denies book ban petition
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Northview Public Schools board denied a movement to ban eight books for what a petitioner called their sexual nature.
“The petitioner believes the majority of the Northview community members would agree that definitions filed with MCL 722 are the community standards that must be recognized by the law in Northview. Therefore, the petitioner contends that these books as a whole are harmful to minors,” said petitioner Cal Morton.
The eight books in question are not required readings and are offered in the library for seventh through 12th grade students. They include “Kingdom of Ash” by Sarah J. Maas, “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic” by Alison Bechdel, “Push” by Sapphire, “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson, “Lawn Boy” by Jonathan Evison, “Tricks” by Ellen Hopkins, “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” by Jesse Andrews and “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison.
Morton’s lawyer said even the fact that Northview offered the eight choice books was illegal.
“It is required under the First Amendment that we keep library users from these and every member of the Supreme Court agreed. In the state of Michigan, is against the law, (you) cannot offer sexually explicit material to minors. It’s a felony. This is why minors aren’t allowed in X-rated movies, even if the parents want to bring them,” said Morton’s lawyer.
Northview Public Schools held a special school board meeting at the high school’s performing arts center, where parents spoke either for or against the book ban.
“Banning books does not prove a thing. Reading books does not change a person,” one parent said.
“It’s not an issue of banning books. It’s an issue of age appropriateness for children,” said another community member.
students weighed in on the book ban.
“As an LGBTQ teen myself, I find that offensive,” one student said.
“I feel like adults are the ones who take things like these books to an unnecessary level. They seriously think we are looking at these with a sexual nature and that is gross,” said another student.
After presentations from Morton, his lawyer and the school board, and hearing rebuttals and questions, the board made a unanimous decision to keep the books.
Northview Public Schools superintendent Dr. Hinds released a statement:
“Northview Public Schools is dedicated to fostering and maintaining a strong partnership with the community we are proud to serve. As part of this commitment, the Board of Education has thoughtfully established policies, guidelines and procedures designed to review instructional materials across the District. Through the thorough work conducted by the District’s book review committee and Board of Education, the decision has been issued to keep the choice reading books accessible to students as they are shelved now and the petitioner’s appeal has been denied. The District does not agree that any of the eight books in the complaint meet the definition of sexually explicit material harmful to minors when read in their entirety and considered as a whole.
While this issue is now final, we will continue to review our curriculum as well as our board policies related to choice reading materials to ensure it meets our students’ needs and the community’s standards. We are committed to maintaining a culture of collaboration with our community and value the input we receive from our residents, as we are all dedicated to providing our students with a high-quality education.”
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