Bondurant-Farrar School Board reverses decision to permanently remove books

Chris Higgins, Des Moines Register

The Bondurant-Farrar School Board has reversed its decision to permanently remove 17 book titles from the district's classrooms and libraries, and also is returning dozens of other books to circulation.

The vote at a Feb. 12 board meeting reversed a Jan. 22 decision. At that earlier meeting, the board had signed off on a recommendation from district officials to permanently remove 17 of the roughly 80 book titles that were taken out of libraries and classrooms as Senate File 496 took effect.

The sweeping Iowa education law requires book in schools be "age-appropriate," and bans those depicting sex acts. It also prohibits curriculum and instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation through sixth grade.

But in late December, a federal judge blocked the state from enforcing the ban and curriculum restrictions while legal action continues over the law in court.

Bondurant-Farrar librarians and grade 7-12 teachers had reviewed classroom and library books, and more than 80 books were removed at the junior high and high school levels. None were removed in kindergarten through sixth grade.

The district recommended permanently removing 17 of those titles and donating them to the city library, citing their larger amounts of mature content, adult ages of characters and lack of student interest as considerations. A hold was put on circulation of the other books.

But at its Feb. 12 meeting, the board at the recommendation of school officials rescinded the decision, a district spokesperson confirmed.

The approval directed the schools to return to circulation all of the roughly 80 titles, according to district documents.

The documents say the district recommended the reversal "after learning new information related to the litigation and injunction that was filed in federal court regarding SF 496 and after consultation with legal counsel and discussions with other school districts."

The district will remind families that they have the right to limit which materials their children can check out of the library. Also, documents say, the district retains the authority under its own policies to review library materials.

"Certain titles may at some point in the future be subject to removal ... as we continue to evaluate and 'weed' materials within our libraries," the documents say. "This aligns with board policy and is contingent upon various factors, including low circulation, the age of characters, contribution to student achievement, and alignment with the overarching goals of our curriculum."

While the state cannot enforce book and curriculum restrictions during ongoing court cases, the judge's decision did not require districts to restore the books they removed. The results have been inconsistent: According to reporting by the Des Moines Register and other news outlets, some districts have restored books; some are keeping them off the shelves; and some haven't removed any books.

Which books were restored in Bondurant schools?

The board meeting agendas said the 17 titles that were flagged for permanent removal were:

  • "Another Day," by David Levithan

  • "An Ember in the Ashes," (series) by Sabaa Tahir

  • "Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist," by David Levithan

  • "Numbers," (series) by Rachel Ward

  • "Purge," by Sarah Darer Littman

  • "The Cellar," by Natasha Preston

  • "Throne of Glass," (series) by Sarah J. Maas

  • "Heart Bones," by Colleen Hoover

  • "Hopeless," by Colleen Hoover

  • "Lawn Boy," by Jonathan Evison

  • "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl," by Jesse Andrews

  • "Milk and Honey," by Rupi Kaur

  • "Regretting You," by Colleen Hoover

  • "Shine," by Lauren Myracle

  • "The Carnival at Bray," by Jessie Ann Foley

  • "The Infinite Moment of Us," by Lauren Myracle

  • "The Haters," by Jesse Andrews

Public records obtained by the Register indicate the remaining books, put on hold from circulation, were:

  • "Before I Fall," by Lauren Oliver

  • "Defy Me," by Tahereh Mafi

  • "Forget Me," Not by Carolee Dean

  • "Furyborn," by Claire Legrand

  • "Ignite Me," by Tahereh Mafi

  • "Imagine Me," by Tahereh Mafi

  • "Ordinary Hazards," by Nikki Grimes

  • "Queen of Nothing," by Holly Black

  • "Restore Me," by Tahereh Mafi

  • "Sky on Fire," by Emmy Laybourne

  • "The Bite of the Mango," by Mariatu Kamara

  • "Unravel Me," by Tahereh Mafi

  • "Wicked King," by Holly Black

  • "1984," by George Orwell

  • "A Stolen Life," by Jaycee Dugard

  • "A Thousand Splendid Suns," by Khaled Hosseini

  • "All This Time," by Mikki Daughtry and Rachael Lippincott

  • "Boys I Know," by Anna Gracia

  • ''Cinderella is Dead," by Kalynn Bayron

  • "Diary of a Teenage Girl," by Phoebe Gloeckner

  • "Slaughterhouse-Five," by Kurt Vonnegut, plus a graphic novel adaptation

  • "Sold," by Patricia McCormick

  • "Storm and Fury," by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  • "The Color Purple," by Alice Walker

  • "The Glass Castle," by Jeannette Walls

  • "The Handmaid's Tale," by Margaret Atwood

  • "The Hate U Give," by Angie Thomas

  • "The Magic Fish," by Trung Le Nguyen

  • "This One Summer," by Mariko Tamaki

  • "Extraordinary Means," by Robyn Schneider

  • "Feed," by M. T. Anderson

  • "Gone Girl," by Gillian Flynn

  • "House of Night: Legacy," by P. C. Cast

  • "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter," by Erika L. Sánchez

  • "The Kite Runner," by Khaled Hosseini

  • "Last Night at the Telegraph Club," by Malinda Lo

  • "Looking for Alaska," by John Green

  • "Monday's Not Coming," by Tiffany D. Jackson

  • "Nineteen Minutes," by Jodi Picoult

  • "Oryx and Crake," by Margaret Atwood

  • "Out of Darkness," by Ashley Hope Pérez

  • "Persepolis," by Marjane Satrapi

  • "The Poet X," by Elizabeth Acevedo

  • "Shout," by Laurie Halse Anderson

  • "Skin," by Donna Jo Napoli

  • "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," by Stephen Chbosky

  • "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo," by Taylor Jenkins Reid

  • "The Sun and Her Flowers," by Rupi Kaur

  • "Thirteen Reasons Why," by Jay Asher

  • "Waiting for You," by Susane Colasanti

  • "Wake," by Lisa McMann

  • "Fade," by Lisa McMann

  • "Gone," by Lisa McMann

  • "Where the Crawdads Sing," by Delia Owens

  • "Wicked," by Gregory Maguire

  • "Twenty Boy Summer," by Sarah Ockler

  • "Beloved," by Toni Morrison

Chris Higgins covers the eastern and northern suburbs for the Register. Reach him at chiggins@registermedia.com or 515-423-5146 and follow him on Twitter @chris_higgins_.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Bondurant school board reverses book removal; district restores books

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