Hempfield book policies up for future vote with further revisions

School libraries would be required to post a list of requested new books a month ahead of time for the public and school board to review under new proposed revisions to book policies at Hempfield Area School District.

The policy revisions for acquiring new school library materials and challenging the inclusion of existing ones were approved for 30-day review at Monday’s school board meeting.

The item acquisition regulation was approved with a 6-2 vote, and the item-challenging regulation was approved unanimously, with one school board member, Vince DeAugustine, being absent.

The new revisions, the latest of several rounds of changes to the proposed policies, would make lists of books that librarians intend to purchase visible to the public for 30 days before they officially are acquired.

Hempfield residents would be able to “express concern with a title listed for purchase” by submitting a form, which the librarian, building principal, subject area teacher and assistant superintendent would review.

The assistant superintendent would share if the recommendation was approved or not, and, if the resident isn’t satisfied with the result, they could proceed to an informal, and later formal, challenge.

Background

The revisions are the latest phase of a policy conflict that has continued at Hempfield for more than 18 months about the appropriateness of books and other resource materials in the district’s libraries.

Discussions and debates began in 2022, when district parents challenged the inclusion in the high school library of two books: “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson, which chronicles Johnson’s journey growing up as a queer Black man, and “The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person” by Frederick Joseph, which reflects the author’s experiences with racism.

Both books later were allowed to remain after they were formally reviewed by a district committee.

Over the past year, the district has discussed updating its policies for bringing new books and materials into the libraries and its rules for how books can be challenged by community members. The policies have moved back and forth between the policy committee and board for revisions and clarifications.

Parent perspectives

When books are challenged at Hempfield, they can be challenged informally, which involves a meeting and discussion with school officials, or formally, which involves an official committee forming to discuss and vote on the book.

The edited version of the policy on resource challenges adds a clarification that, in the case of a formal review of a book, a student will sit on the review board and participate in the voting process, but that student must be older than 18 and have parental permission. It also notes the committee meetings will be private.

Resident Suzanne Kerlin Ward suggested the board add a clause that the student participating on the committee must have completed 11th grade English with a B+ grade.

“I think that it’s important that they have that background to be on that committee,” she said.

The new policies also include detailed definitions of “sexual content” and “ethnic intimidation” as described in the state School Code, noting that materials “labeled or described as including sexual content, graphic violence or hate speech/ethnic intimidation” require careful review.

Resident Ceil Kessler said she felt the sexual content part of the definition could prove intimidating to librarians and educators. She said the ethnic intimidation clause could be used to exclude books in which the author describes their lived experience.

“I really think that the sexual content clause is inappropriate, and the ethnic intimidation clause is not worded well enough. It’s not really valid to have in there. It’s too easily misinterpreted. It could be used to exclude stories about Jackie Wilson, Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks,” she said. “I don’t think this (regulation) is in keeping with keeping teenagers innocent. I think it’s about keeping them ignorant if we keep that part in there.”

The resource acquisition and resource review policies will be available online for 30 days to be viewed by the public. They will be up for a vote again in August.

Related:

• Hempfield Area School Board may vote on book-challenge, acquisition policies at next meeting

• Hempfield book acquisition, challenge regulations advance for future vote

• Hempfield Area remains stuck on placement of books in school library, curriculum