Protesters accuse Colorado Springs school board of book-banning policies
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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — More than 70 people protested outside of the Nov. 5 school board meeting for Colorado Springs District 11. Protesters cited concerns about two policies that they described as forms of book banning.
“To be treated like we don't have the professional ability to make choices about what is taught in our classrooms is really demeaning for a lot of teachers,” said Sam Farnham, a first grade teacher at McAuliffe Elementary School.
Board members denied these allegations and said the policy exists to ensure there is not "pornographic content" in school libraries. During the meeting, board member Thomas Carey cited a law that gives the board final authority over inclusion or removal of materials in the district based on "immoral or pernicious nature".
The protest comes less than a month after District 11 teachers went on strike in response to the end of the teacher’s union’s master agreement and against a slew of anti-LGBTQ action by the district’s administration.
Nationally, during the 2023-2024 school year, more than 10,000 books were banned, according to PEN America, a nonprofit organization that works to protect free expression. This is an increase from the previous two school years where book bans were recorded at around 2,000 and 3,000 for 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, respectively.
The board unanimously approved policy IJ at the meeting, which gives the school board final approval over materials used in the classroom. The board also discussed — but did not vote on — IJL, the policy that allows parents of current D11 students to flag library materials and request the board’s final approval on the book’s inclusion or removal in school libraries.
Board member Julie Ott requested and was granted the opportunity to redraft the policy with other board members to provide a more comprehensive outline for the removal of library materials than the current policy IJL provides.
Prior to the vote, more than five members of the community spoke out during the public hearing portion of the meeting. One of the community members was Ed Sanders, 66, a survivor of the November 2022 Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs.
“I know firsthand what the singling out of certain groups can lead to in real life,” said Sanders.
“When a few individuals decide what counts as inappropriate or obscene, we risk silencing entire communities and restricting students' right to explore ideas, to think critically, and to see themselves reflected in literature,” he said.
“These things are obviously very controversial,” said Michael Rebell, the senior litigation strategist for the Education for Democracy Project at Harvard Law School and an attorney who practices education law. Rebell said protestors often call these school policies book bans. School boards, he said, deny these allegations because of their controversial nature.
While book ban policies are often local matters, Rebell said that a 1982 Supreme Court decision, Board of Education, Island Trees School District v. Pico, states that decisions to remove books may not be made for partisan or political reasons, and must only be made on the bases of educational and academic purposes.
“That is a relatively old precedent. I wouldn't be surprised if in the near future, in the next few years, this kind of issue goes to the Supreme Court for reconsideration,” Rebell said.
Ott and Jason Jorgenson will redraft policy IJL and the board will likely vote on the new draft at the next school board meeting in December.
Type of story: News
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Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. To read more about why you can trust the journalism of Rocky Mountain PBS, please visit our editorial standards and practices page.