Beloved titles of American literature such as “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker, and “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury, among some 200 other books, will remain in circulation at San Angelo school libraries, despite challenges from a small group of concerned citizens.
Following the citizen challenges, Deputy Superintendent of Academics Dr. Farrah Gomez submitted her recommendation to the board, which was to retain the challenged titles, which was approved by trustees by a 6-0 vote.
One fifth grade student from Santa Rita Elementary stood during public comment to speak in opposition to the challenges.
“The option to choose any book I want from the library is one of my favorite things about school,” the student said, “I spend a lot of time exploring new places and experiences through books. I think students and families should be able to choose to read any book that they want.”
After a motion was made, board secretary Gerard Gallegos said “I went all over the world in the county library,” emphasizing he was happy to have seen parents and community members turn out in opposition against the book challenges.
This was followed by board vice-president Ami Mizell-Flint who applauded the public commentary specifically of school children who rose to speak against the potential book ban to a room of dozens of attendees.
The action was taken to affirm the district’s commitment to following Texas Senate Bill 13, requiring parents be given the ability to regulate what books their children are able to check out at school libraries.
San Angelo ISD’s system, which was adopted last year following the legislation, informs parents through the school’s online portal with the titles and authors of books their children have checked out, and also allows the parents or guardians to designate certain books that they wish for their children not to read.
Senate Bill 13 was passed to grant parents more control over the books available to their children at school, and while SAISD already had a policy in place permitting book challenges prior to passage of SB 13, the law added new procedural requirements for districts to follow as part of the challenge process.
Now, any community member — whether they are a parent of a student or not — may request removal of a title already in the library, commonly called a “book challenge” or a “challenge”.
Read more about the book challenges: Protesters Want 212 Library Books Removed
