[CALIBK12] homosexual themes in high school books

[Heather Gruenthal]

You have every right to keep books with homosexual
themes in your library.  

If a parent objects to material in your library, then
he/she only has the right to restrict their own child
from reading the material, not others.  If they feel
strongly enough to challenge the material, they can
file a challenge of instructional materials form with
the district.

If you are looking for an example to cite to back you
up, my district, Anaheim Union High School District,
was sued on behalf of un-named students (minors) and
the ACLU in 2001 for removing homosexual themed
materials from the library without due process.  It
caused a big scandal and the district chose to make a
settlement in which language was added to the
selection policy to specifically include sexual
orientation along with race, religion, culture, etc.

If you are interested in more on the subject, Tommy
Kovac -- the Media Technician directly involved in the
challenge/lawsuit at Orangeview Junior High School --
will be in the panel on Intellectual Freedom at CSLA. 


Heather Gruenthal,
Library Teacher
Orangeview Junior High
Western High School
Anaheim Union High School District


--- Brian Brown <bbrown at ycusd.k12.ca.us> wrote:

> I recently had a parent complaint about a novel
> dealing with a
> homosexual relationship.  This was a book in my high
> school library
> collection.  Does anyone have some guidelines that
> they use for the
> inclusion or exclusion of such titles?  
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Brian Brown
> 
> LMT
> 
> Yuba City High School
> 
> Yuba City, CA 95991
> 
>  
> 
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> 
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