HP Superintendent Reverses Banned Books Decision
HIGHLAND PARK (CBS 11 NEWS) - For 8th graders attending Highland Park Middle School, the required reading assignment is considered a classic American novel: To Kill a Mockingbird. Yet, students completing work on their summer reading assignment were well aware of the discussion of which books high-schoolers in their same district could read.
Monday morning, a decision to remove books from a listed collection of literature for 10th through 12th graders was reversed.
Superintendent Dawson Orr said an attempt to calm a controversy about the books only heated the matter more.
"Our policy says a parent has a right of choice. They do not have the right to make choices for other people's children", Orr explained.
Two weeks ago, Orr faced a standing room only audience of HPISD parents demanding identified books from a required reading list be removed. Parents said some of the books offered graphic story lines of sexual assault, incest, abortion and other topics inappropriate for high-schoolers.
Orr placed the books on a suspended list, taking them off the required reading menu. He said the materials would be reviewed.
Then, an opposite coalition of parents and alums of the high school initiated a counter campaign, supporting teachers who crafted the reading list, and challenged Orr to reverse the book suspension, saying the act was in violation of district policy.
By Sunday, Orr issued an announcement reinstating six of seven books back to the list. If a parent objects to any material, they have the opportunity to transition to another listed book. But Orr says he will not remove books for all, based on complaints from some.
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