There’s good news and more good news for you during this year’s Banned Books Week. For starters, according to the Texas ACLU, there were no book challenges this year in Austin ISD.
Overall, the number of challenges to reading materials in Texas public schools declined from 102 during the 2007-2008 school year to 98 during the 2008-2009 school year. (Nationally, there were 517 challenges in 2008, down from a recent history high of 762 in 1995.)
Still, there are plenty of Texas school districts that have had materials challenged, and that have removed said materials – including Stephenville ISD (near Fort Worth), where educators have actually imposed a preemptive ban on the as yet unwritten installments in a kids book series that involves vampires. Yikes!
Locally, in response to book challenges, several Central Texas districts actually restricted the use of some books – including in Dripping Springs ISD, Leander ISD, and Lockhart ISD. (Several challenges were made in Round Rock ISD, but those materials were retained for use by the district.)
Although there are newer books on the list of those challenged (including all of P.C. Cast’s House of Night series), many oldies but goodies continue to pop up year after year, including Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. (Oh irony, you sweet, sweet mistress.)
Banned Books Week runs through Friday, Oct. 3. To celebrate, might I suggest you pick up a good classic book (maybe John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, or perhaps Robert Cormier’s young adult classic, The Chocolate War) and hunker down for a good read – and be thankful that you have the freedom to do so.
You can read the entire ACLU report here.
This article appears in September 25 • 2009.