BOOK REMOVAL--2024

BOOK REMOVAL--2024. In compliance with a 2023 Iowa law, in late August, 2024 Dubuque Community Schools officials removed fifty books from circulation in the district. Among other provisions, the law required schools to remove from their libraries and classrooms books that were not “age-appropriate” or that included “descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act.” The books included bestselling novels such as I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou and Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, were removed in accordance with Senate File 496. The law also forbid teachers from discussing gender identity and sexual orientation issues with students in sixth grade or younger.

In December 2023 enforcement of those two aspects of the law was blocked by a preliminary injunction. However, earlier in August, a Minnesota federal appeals court reversed the district judge’s decision and vacated the injunction, arguing it was “based on a flawed analysis of the law.”

Many area school districts already had removed texts in compliance with the law before it was blocked, but Dubuque Community Schools staff members still were in the process of reviewing materials at that time and had not yet finalized a list of materials for removal. When the injunction was lifted, staff members resumed their review process. The list of 52 removed materials — including two films — provided to the Telegraph Herald was finalized in August. (1)

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Source:

1. Kelsey, Elizabeth, "Dubuque District Removes 50 books in Compliance with Iowa Law," THOnline, August 29, 2024, https://www.telegraphherald.com/news/tri-state/article_6e7215fe-6573-11ef-9afb-0f2f14d9fcce.html