Marshall University does not ban books! The information is provided to let people know what has been banned/challenged elsewhere.
2017
Challenged, but retained on the Chesterfield County (VA) Public Schools (CCPS) summer reading lists for middle and high school students. The book is about a young man who has been shot during a drug deal and is on the run from the police. A parent complained that, “It’s a very disparaging book that does not help eliminate racism. It separates and divides. It’s trash.” In response to the controversy, state senator Amanda Chase said the books on the original list were “pornographic” and “trash.” She said that librarians who continued to recommend books that were inconsistent with CCPS’ “core values” should be “dismissed” after a warning and that the offending books should be removed from school libraries. In the Spring of 2016, a bill (HB 516) passed by the Virginia General Assembly, and then vetoed by the governor, would have required parental notification of any works deemed “sexually explicit.” The same matter was reviewed by the Virginia Board of Education, which overwhelmingly voted to deny similar regulations, citing the lack of definition of the term “sexually explicit.” The board stated that this was a matter for local policy, not a state board. A similar bill (HB 2191) has been introduced in 2017.
On These Pages
A Banned book has been removed from a library, classroom, etc.
A Challenged book has been requested to be removed from a library, classroom, etc.
For additional information contact
Ron Titus, titus@marshall.edu
304-696-6575
Last updated
July 24, 2017