Carroll County approves controversial book ban policy
By Khiree Stewart
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WESTMINSTER, Maryland (WBAL) — Carroll County Public Schools is imposing new restrictions on what books can be distributed to students.
The Carroll County Board of Education voted unanimously in favor Wednesday of a policy stating that instructional and supplemental materials shall not contain sexually explicit content.
The rule defines sexually explicit content as “unambiguously describing, depicting, showing or writing about sex or sex acts in a detailed or graphic manner.”
“There is no academic value in providing children access to books with explicit sexual content that goes into graphic and textual detail of sexual activity,” school board member Stephen Whisler said.
Whisler said it’s a parent’s job to decide what is appropriate for their child.
“It merely provides our educators with guidance on what is not appropriate for our students. This policy does not ban books. Instead, it provides responsible standards that our superintendent should consider,” he said.
Some parents think otherwise.
“There’s been a lot of testimony and comment from students, parents and other community members about the power that some of the books that would be banned have had on them. By purging those, we would be doing harm to those community members and to those students,” parent Jessica Bronson said.
She thinks the wording of the policy is too broad and is concerned that it will cover classical books. She said she has already discussed the policy with her two children.
“Their first thought is, ‘Why are they treating us like we’re babies?’ They’re both high schoolers. They both know what sex is. They know about the things that are talked about in these books, and they think that it’s really silly and ludicrous to try to purge any materials from the libraries,” Bronson said.
The policy goes into effect immediately, but it will be reviewed again in three years or sooner if the board chooses.
The policy also exempts materials related to “family life and human development.”
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