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impose those views on others or to demand that the library shelves reflect their personal preferences. Parents may be equipped
to make choices for their own children but, no matter how well-intentioned, they simply are not equipped to make decisions
that address the needs ofthe entire student body.
Moreover, removing the book would raise constitutional concerns. School officials have a constitutional obligation not to
suppress material because some find it objectionable or offensive. The Supreme Court has cautioned that, "[l]ocal school
boards may not remove books from library shelves simply because they dislike the ideas contained in those books and seek by
their removal to prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters ofopinion." Board of
Education v. Pico, 457 U.S. 853, 872 (1982)(plurality opinion). This constitutional duty applies with particular force in the school
library, which, unlike the classroom, has "a special role...as a place where students may freely and voluntarily explore diverse
topics." Campbell v. St. Tammany Parish School Board, 64 F. 3d 184, 190 (5th Cir. 1995).
In practice, acceding to the demands to remove something that one person finds objectionable invariably invites multiple,
sometimes conflicting demands to exclude other material. The attempt "to eliminate everything that is objectionablewill
leave public schools in shreds. Nothing but educational confusion and a discrediting ofthe public school system can result."
McCollum v. Board ofEduc. , 333 U.S. 203, 235 (1948) (Jackson, J. concurring). Any effort to remove books containing language
that is politically incorrect in everyday usage would threaten a great deal ofliterature, such as The Adventures ofHuckleberry
Finn, To Kill A Mockingbird, and The Merchant ofVenice, childrens books like Little House on the Prairie and Babar, and more.
No one has to read something just because its on the library shelf. A parent whose child is exposed to sensitive topics or
information at school remains free to discuss these matters and to place them in the familys moral or religious context, or to
supplement the information with more appropriate materials. Parker v. Hurley, 514 F. 3d 87, 105 (1st Cir. 2008) (citation
omitted).
We urge you to retain Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You in school libraries, so that those students who wish to read it may do so.
This result would show respect not only for First Amendment values and obligations, but also for all members ofthe school
community, by allowing people to make their own decisions about what to read and think.
Please feel free to contact us ifwe can be ofany assistance in resolving this matter.
Sincerely,
Joan Bertin
Executive Director
National Coalition Against Censorship
Chris Finan
President
American Booksellers Foundation For
Free Expression
Charles Brownstein
Executive Director
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
Judy Platt
Director, Free Expression Advocacy
Association ofAmerican Publishers