CBS News Detroit

7 books removed from Dearborn Public Schools after parents complain

September 16, 2022 / 4:49 PM EDT / CBS Detroit

DEARBORN, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - Complaints about books available for student access in the Dearborn Public School system is leading to the creation of a district review committee to make recommendations on appropriateness.

In a Dearborn Public School Board of Education meeting held this week it was shared that seven books have been temporarily removed from circulation and student access.

In a statement from Dearborn Schools Communication Director, David Mustonen, stressed that the district has not banned any books.

The Dearborn Public Schools has not banned any books. We will be evaluating books to ensure they are age appropriate and if the content is being presented in an appropriate context. There are seven books (4 physical books and 3 accessible through an on-line service) that will be reviewed once all of the procedures and processes for a book review have been completed. Student access to SORA, the web based system that provides access to e-books in the Wayne consortium has been temporarily removed while the district works with Overdrive (the company that manages that software) to develop a way to manage what books are available at different grade levels. Students in Dearborn still have access to a collection of almost 500,000 books with more than 370,000 unique titles. That doesn't include any books that are also available in classrooms. Currently, there is a national discussion regarding what books should or should not be available in a school media center and school districts across the country are addressing these concerns. It is a topic that brings out emotions and viewpoints on both sides of the issue. There are a number of people who don't want certain books available to their children and there are an equal number who are afraid this is going to end up with books being banned and limiting access to a wide variety of ideas, thoughts, and concepts. It is highly emotional, highly divided, and school districts are left in the middle to figure it out. Schools have always had to work within federal and state law but even more important, they must also consider the attitudes, beliefs, and customs of the local community they serve. For some topics this is easy. For example, a rural community might have the day off on the first day of hunting season in response to local customs. In Dearborn, the district has scheduled days off during the Eid as we know there will be many staff and students who will not be in attendance. In other communities only a few miles from Dearborn this occurs during the Jewish holidays. And we all have days off during Christmas. No one is promoting any one religion but we are acknowledging the beliefs in our local community and how they will affect the operation of the schools. These are the easy topics to address, but when you are talking about something that is more emotional, more tied to someone's core principles then the discussion and actions become much more difficult. Our role as a school district has always been and will continue to be to offer our students a wide breadth of knowledge and diverse perspectives. It is our belief that students can only become critical thinkers if they are provided with the instructional tools that offer them that opportunity.

The books removed from access and are in the review process:

1. Push

2. All Boys Aren't Blue (SORA only, not a physical copy in our collection)

3. And They Lived (only Dearborn Public Library book never was a part of the school collection)

4. The Lovely Bones

5. Eleanor & Park

6. Red, White and Royal Blue

7. This Book is Gay (SORA only, not a physical copy in our collection)

Board member Mary Petlichkoff, noted the 1982 Supreme Court decision Island Trees School District v. Pico in which the court held "that the First Amendment limits the power of junior high and high school officials to remove books from school libraries because of their content."

Other members expressed concerns of possible lawsuits stemming from limiting access to content and asked that the city attorney be consulted moving forward.

The next Board of Education meeting is Oct. 10.

Michigan