By The Book/Understanding the Proper Process for Removing a Book

Understanding the Proper Process for Removing a Book from School Use

Can a school remove objectionable library books without running afoul of the First Amendment? The answer is a decided "yes," says Bryan Brown, a staff attorney for the American Family Association's Center for Law and Policy. Brown cautions that any removal of a book should only be attempted according to guidelines deduced from the U.S. Supreme Court's Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District v. Pico, 457 US, 853 (1982). Brown offers three points that administrators and school board members should keep in mind: 

1. Fashion a policy

If the school board has no policy regarding guidelines for book challenges, one must be drafted. A review of any challenged book should be in accordance with guidelines drafted in advance of the challenge. 

The policy should create a review committee comprised of parents and educators appointed by the board. Committee members should serve by designation of the school board, not by election, because the courts prefer that a committee be removed from politics and partisan pressure. Parents can ask to be considered for serving on such a committee. 

2. Review legitimate complaints

Once such policies are in place, any parent or educator can recommend that a book be reviewed. Books in question should be truly offensive and patently unsuitable. 

Once a book is challenged as being unsuitable, the school board must refer the book to the review committee. The review committee must then read and research the book, taking into account, at a minimum, the following: the book's educational suitability, good taste, relevance and age-appropriateness. Any and all published reviews, especially by professional associations, should be discussed and considered. Alternatives to removal, such as restricted access, should be considered. 

3. Document your reasoning

The committee should decide, by majority vote, whether to retain the book in the library or have it removed. If the vote is for removal, then the majority should put their reasons in writing. Acceptable reasons include their finding that the book is "pervasively vulgar" or "educationally unsuitable." 

Unacceptable reasons would be that the book is "un-American," religiously intolerable, or that its removal is a bid to prescribe an orthodoxy in "politics, nationalism, religion or other matters of opinion." 

The school board must then review the committee's recommendation. Like the committee, the school board should document the reasons supporting its action. If challenged, the courts will review the entire process, ensuring that the removal was undertaken through "established, regular and facially unbiased procedures for the review of controversial materials." 

Brown cites an example of parents in Medford, Wisconsin, who challenged the book Iceman, written by Chris Lynch and endorsed as a "Best Book" for young adults (sixth through eighth graders) by the American Library Association. Medford parents raised concerns that the book was in the local junior high library. 

Iceman is the fictional tale of a prone-to-violence, 14-year-old hockey player who has an unhealthy obsession with death. The book is laced with four-letter words, blasphemous slang, and repeated interviews with a creepy mortician who claims to "pimp for the dead folks I got." 

The school board voted to remove the book from the library. By following well-planned guidelines, your district will have more success in reviewing and, if necessary, removing inappropriate books. 

© 2000 - 2016, Gateways to Better Education 

Resurrect Easter in Your School

You can help get the Easter story told to your child's class this year. How? By presenting the non-threatening Holiday Restoration Card from Gateways to Better Education to your child's teacher. You also may want to ask the teacher if you can share what Easter means to your family, and even read scripture. 

Diane Borja, a parent, wrote: "The effectiveness of the Easter cards multiplied like bunnies!" She shared the card with her prayer group, and every mom purchased a card to give to their child's teacher. 

"I bought extra cards," Diane explained, "and mailed them to teacher friends in other school districts. My friends were elated and enthusiastically shared the information with fellow teachers." "Thanks to your Easter card," Diane added, "I did a Passover/Easter presentation (complete with a homemade tomb and figures) in my son's second grade class. I had the privilege of explaining the historical meaning of the holiday in a fifth grade class as well." 

The eight-page Easter card tells the humorous story of an encounter between the Easter Bunny and a teacher. The bunny explains that the true message of Easter is about new life in Jesus. The teacher raises all the objections commonly heard from public school educators, but in this story, the smart little bunny is very familiar with U.S. court cases. He helps the teacher understand that teaching about Jesus at Easter is legally permitted. The card also includes legal documentation, Constitutionally-sound lesson plan ideas, and more! 

EASTER RESOURCES:

Order the EASTER CARD, Bunny goes to School, to give to your teacher.

Download our Easter Lesson Plan for Public Schools by CLICKING HERE.

Similar in appearance to a middle school textbook, it adapts Luke 22-24 into a textbook-style lesson with pictures, vocabulary, culture facts, and discussion questions.

We would love to hear how you helped restore Easter in your school. Tell us your story here.

Holiday Restoration Campaign

What will happen if our nation forgets the messages portrayed in our holidays? Many of our children are learning only the secular side of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. They never understand that these traditional holidays teach important lessons about Christianity. 

The problem goes beyond how Christianity is treated during the holidays. Even the mention of God is now suppressed in many classrooms. Both teachers and students are uncertain about their rights of religious expression. Many feel that the law forbids any discussion of God or even praying privately over their lunch. 

The Holiday Restoration Campaign is designed to help correct misinformation and restore accurate teaching of the religious nature of these traditional American holidays. 

Join us in restoring the real reasons for the seasons for public school children. 

An Easy Way to Proclaim the Truth

Gateways to Better Education has published unique materials that open the eyes of educators regarding what the law actually says they can do in the classroom to commemorate religious holidays. The information is packaged in non-threatening holiday cards for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. 

Each 8-page card uses a lighthearted story to show the teacher that teaching about the holidays is legal, and that it is good education for the children. Each card also contains different legal documentation and lesson plan ideas for the teacher to use. By the end of the school year, the teacher will have a better understanding of religious expression and accommodation in public schools. 

Our goal is for every Christian parent to give the cards to their children's teachers. We have found that by the end of the last Christian holiday of the school year (Easter), many of the hearts and minds of educators have opened to the idea of teaching the truth behind each holiday.

Three Powerful Elements Combined in Each Card

Persuasion: Each card is designed to convince educators that teaching about the holiday is a good thing to do.

Documentation: Legal quotes and documentation assure educators that teaching about the holidays is legal.

Action: Each card contains lesson plan ideas to show educators how to teach about the holiday.

How the Campaign Works

The goal of our campaign is to have as many Christian parents as possible give cards to their children's teachers. Also, more and more teachers are purchasing the cards for themselves and for other educators. They find the legal documentation and lesson plan ideas very helpful and reassuring. 

Some of the benefits include:

• More Christian parents will make personal contacts with teachers and administrators.

• Parents, by reading the cards themselves, will learn what the law states about the rights of religious expression in the classroom.

• Teachers and administrators will see the size of the religious community by the sheer number of cards they receive.

• More children than ever before will learn the truth about the religious nature of the holidays.

• Schools will become more open to religious expression and accommodation.

Here's How to Get Started

Parents can purchase our holiday card for their children's teachers and later follow up with them to ask what they thought about the card. Teachers can purchase cards to share with like-minded colleagues. Click HERE to shop.

Teacher-Reacher Packets are also available for parents. They make it easy for you to have a year-long outreach to your child's teacher. The packet contains a set of three holiday cards (1 Thanksgiving, 1 Christmas, 1 Easter), two note cards, a parent-teacher conference checklist to improve communication, and a prayer sheet for recording school-related prayer requests. Quantity discount prices are available. 

To learn how to promote the Holiday Restoration Campaign in your church, call Gateways toll free at (800) 929-1163, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Pacific Time). Gateways has promotional materials available and can offer advice and support.

What Others Are Saying

"The Holiday Restoration Campaign gives teachers and administrators the encouragement and documentation they need to support religious expression and accommodation in their schools. I'd love to see this happen in every school district in America!"
Josh McDowell,
Campus Crusade for Christ

"I've examined these cards carefully and, clearly, they do not violate any constitutional rule or regulation whatsoever."
Judge William Lawless,
Former Dean of Notre Dame Law School

"The cards had a tremendous impact. They just made our Christmas at school!"
Judy Johnson,
A mom from Novi, Michigan

Other holiday resources: Thanksgiving, Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day, and Easter.

St. Patrick's Day - Something You May Not Know

Apostle to the Irish/ The Real Saint Patrick

If you ask people who Saint Patrick was, you're likely to hear that he was an Irishman who chased the snakes out of Ireland.

It may surprise you to learn that the real Saint Patrick was not actually Irish -- yet his robust faith changed the Emerald Isle forever.

Patrick was born in Roman Britain to a middle-class family in about A.D. 390. When Patrick was a teenager, marauding Irish raiders attacked his home. Patrick was captured, taken to Ireland, and sold to an Irish king, who put him to work as a shepherd..... 

Six Years a Slave

Who was the first person to go on record against slavery? Here’s a little known fact that kids won’t learn in school (unless you change that): according to historian Thomas Cahill, the first person in history to write against slavery was Saint Patrick. Both his Christian faith and experience led him to do it. 

Patrick was born in the 4th century to Christian parents who were Roman citizens in Briton. As a boy he was kidnapped and become a slave for six years in Ireland. He prayed daily that God would rescue him, and eventually he escaped and returned home. But he felt God calling him to return to Ireland with the Gospel. 

By the end of his life he had baptized over 120,000 Irishmen and established 300 churches. Within his lifetime, or shortly thereafter, the Irish slave trade ended – the result of a transformed people. St. Patrick’s Day (March 17, the day of his death) is the honoring of a Christian for his missionary work. Unfortunately, the true history of Patrick is seldom told in schools today. But, you can change that simply by telling the real story.

Resources:

• Here’s a 2-minute video from the History Channel you can show in class.

• Here’s our Gateways Minute (video) on St. Patrick’s Day.

• St. Patrick – Catholic Online

• How the Irish Saved Civilization, by Thomas Cahill

Misconceptions Regarding Teaching About Holidays (Q&A)

Is equal time necessary?

Q:The principal at my child's school says that if they teach about Christian holidays, they must give equal time to teaching about all holidays. How can I respond?

A:The truth is, no court has said equal time must be given to all the religious holidays. You can find a reasonable guideline for deciding which holidays to emphasize and how much time to devote to them by answering two questions: 

1. Which religion or religions have had the most influence in shaping American culture? 

2. Which religions have a prominent influence in the local community? 

How much time is spent on each holiday should be determined by its relevance and influence in American culture and the local community. While avoiding slighting any religion, teachers should not leave students with the impression that all religions have had an equal impact on American culture. 

The issue is one of proportionality. Fair does not always mean equal. For instance, a first-year teacher teaches the same number of students and has the same workload as a 25-year veteran. But, the rookie will not receive equal pay for equal work. She will receive compensation proportional to her years of service. Yet, that is considered fair.

Q:What about the principal's comment that if they teach about the religious nature of Easter or Christmas some students will feel left out?

A:This goes back to the issue of helping students gain an honest understanding of American culture. Teachers should never denigrate anyone's religious beliefs. But, neither do they need to withhold significant cultural information about America regarding religion. Christian beliefs in America have a major impact on such things as our political debates, our social values, and our legal system. Students of any faith are impacted by these beliefs whether or not they agree with them. A good education for all students needs to include accurate information about the major religion in America. While the lessons can be creative and engaging, using art, drama, literature, and music, they should not be devotional or worshipful.

Questions? 

If you have a question for Gateways to Better Education, we offer two options: 

1. If you have an urgent issue that needs an immediate response, we recommend that you call our Advisory Line at (949) 586-KIDS (5437), 

2. Send us an email containing your question.