Carroll County Public Schools questions appropriateness of books following parent complaints
BALTIMORE -- The Carroll County School District is currently re-evaluating the appropriateness of nearly five dozen books in school libraries after a group of community members expressed concerns about their content.
WJZ examined several of the books under review, which include works by acclaimed authors like Toni Morrison and George R.R. Martin. The primary concern among critics centers around the sexual content found within some of these books.
"The only books that don't belong in our schools are ones that contain graphic sexual content," Kit Hart of Carroll County Moms for Liberty said. "Rape scenes, I'm talking about erotica."
The issue drew a large crowd of parents and community members to a recent school board meeting.
"A book is incredibly powerful. It can teach. It can open windows. It can open doors. It can show different viewpoints. It can make you feel like you're OK in this world where you might not feel like you're OK," Tiffany Sutherland of the Maryland Library Association said.
Of the complaints submitted to Carroll County Public Schools, WJZ found a total of nine people were responsible for 65 complaints and 74% of them had not "read, view(ed), or listen(ed) the complete item" they were flagging for reconsideration.
"For most of these, you don't have to read the whole book. Just because we're flagging these for reconsideration, doesn't mean it's not a great book," Jessica Garland said.
Garland filed 19 complaints.
According to Garland, the group Moms for Liberty relied on ratings from BookLooks.org, which deemed the books inappropriate.
"The people who want to scream, 'My kid can't have access to this!' You can. You can take them to the public library and you can get it for them," Garland said.
The school district's "Reconsideration Committee" is set to provide recommendations regarding these books, but the ultimate decision will be made by the Superintendent and the school board.
"They're in the library, but they're not required reading. They don't ever have to be exposed to them if the parent doesn't want them," Tina Hoff told WJZ outside the school board meeting this week.