Utah bans the 14th book from schools across the state

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Kelly is a former librarian and longtime blogger at STACKED. She is the editor/author of (Don’t) Call Me Crazy: 33 Voices to Start the Conversation About Mental Health and the editor/author of Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World. Her next book, Body Talk, will be published in fall 2020. Follow them on Instagram @hackleyjensen,

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Utah passed one of the most restrictive book ban laws ever last legislative session and now, we are seeing the continued consequences of that new law. house bill 29 Allows parents to challenge books they deem to have “sensitive content”, as well as ban those books from public schools if they are deemed to contain “objective sensitive content” or “obscene”. goes. per state code In at least three school districts or two school districts and five charter schools statewide. This law means that once a book is banned in three public school districts or two districts and five charter schools, it is added to the statewide list of books banned from all those public institutions throughout Utah. .

The law, which took effect July 1, applied retroactively, meaning each school was required to submit to the Utah State Board of Education titles that were deemed against the law in their district. Now, whenever a public or charter school removes a book deemed to have “sensitive content,” they must notify the State Board of Education. If that book now meets the removal threshold, all schools will be notified and expected to dispose of it.

utah released this Preliminary list of statewide banned books in August. Those thirteen titles included:

Now, the state has added the 14th title to the list.

elizabeth scott’s living Dead GirlAn award-winning book for teens published in 2008. The 16-year-old book would need to be removed from every public school and charter district across the state.

The book was banned after reports of bans were compiled from districts across the state. Scott’s book was banned in Davis, Washington County and Tooele County schools. Everyone Public schools in the state will now have to dispose of the book. It’s unclear how, exactly, the district plans to get rid of the books, as the law imposes two conditions: The books cannot be sold or distributed. It is up to each district to create a policy, but questions arise as to what other methods of disposal will be implemented.

Worth noting is that every title except one on the state’s banned list is written by a woman. The average age of banned books statewide is 14 years old, which is a reminder that the majority of books are being censored across the country and especially in Utah.There are no “new” books anywhere,

Not only is this list a clear statement about the power that can be wielded by some people, it is also a statement about the state of public education. These book restrictions apply Only For public schools, opening those powerful groups to the convenient argument that if other parents don’t like the decision, they can send their students to private school or homeschool them. Utah also passed updated voucher scheme This past legislative session.