Miami-Dade school board to work on revising book challenge process
MIAMI - Book challenges are front and center at the Miami-Dade school board.
Some parents have complained that it seems like one challenge is enough to remove or move a book in school media centers. The school board took their concerns seriously and during Wednesday's meeting they voted to work on a new process for book challenges.
It comes after the poetry book "The Hill We Climb" by National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman was relocated at the Bob Graham Education Center in Miami Lakes. It was made available to middle school students, but not those in elementary grades.
Social media exploded over the complaint document where not only did the parent get the author's name wrong, attributing it to Oprah, but said it was hateful, indoctrinates students, and was not suitable for them.
This is the same poem that received praise after being read at President Joe Biden's inauguration.
Part of the motion to review the process, because of the controversy, is that no challenged material may be removed from the curriculum because it presents ideas that may be unpopular or offensive to some.
At the meeting, some parents spoke out against the current book challenge process.
"Why did one mom who doesn't know literature, who didn't even read the poem or know who wrote it, get to trump the rights of everyone else in that school? The vagueness of these laws is forcing our schools to practice censorship," said one parent.
Joan Dehaiti said moving the book sent the wrong message.
"Especially for all the Black and Brown students that go to Title I schools. Seeing her doing a poem at this big thing, like oh I can do that too but now it's challenged so maybe I can't do it," said Dehaiti.
"And so what resonated was this whole opportunity, Dr. Dotres, is to contemplate in our review how do we go about providing notice to parents, whose children unbeknownst to them, may be denied access to something that has been reassigned, removed, or in an extreme case banned," said school board Chair Dr. Steve Gallon III.
The board will pick up the issue again in mid-August.