Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. board members on Monday night will begin considering an appeal of a committee’s decision to keep a challenged book in the Columbus East High School library.
The book being challenged is “Push,” a 1996 novel by author Sapphire, which was later made into the 2009 film “Precious.”
A description of the book on the author’s website reads, “Precious Jones, an illiterate 16-year-old, has up until now been invisible to the father who rapes her and the mother who batters her and to the authorities who dismiss her as just one more of Harlem’s casualties. But when Precious, pregnant with a second child by her father, meets a determined and radical teacher, we follow her on a journey of education and enlightenment as she learns not only how to write about her life, but how to make it truly her own for the first time.”
This is the second time the process for banning a book from a BCSC library has played itself out after District 1 board member Jason Major’s effort to remove “People Kill People” by author Ellen Hopkins failed earlier this year.
Board members voted 5-1 on March 4 to keep the book in the library at Columbus East.
Major recused himself from the vote — District 6 board member Logan Schulz was the lone vote to remove the book, although he disputed that’s what his vote meant.
Schulz claimed he was voting to deny upholding the committee’s decision because he believed the book should require parental consent for students to view it. BCSC has no such parental consent policy, although Schulz had introduced it in the past and had not received the requisite support to pass.
A copy of the book determination provided by BCSC officials at the time confirmed that the vote was on whether to remove the book or uphold the decision to keep it in the collection.
The board will have 60 days to consider the committee’s report and ultimately decide whether the book should remain.
About book challenges
In December 2023, the school board updated two policies dealing with library materials to comply with state legislation that requires school libraries to establish a formal complaint process for parents, guardians and community members to submit requests to remove library materials that are deemed obscene and harmful.
Policy 2520 – “Selection of Library Material and Equipment” developed administrative guidelines for the selection and maintenance of library material and equipment. It also states that parents or community members could go through a review process for “material that they contend was inappropriately selected for a school library’s collection.”
Policy 9130 – “Public Complaints and Concerns” was updated to include a section for school library materials.
The added section permits a parent or guardian of a student, or a community member residing within the corporation, to submit a request to remove material they believe to be obscene or harmful to minors, as defined by Indiana Code.
The law defines obscene as:
- The average person, applying contemporary community standards, finds that the dominant theme of the matter or performance, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest in sex;
- The matter or performance depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct; and
- The matter or performance, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
On the other hand, material is harmful to minors if:
- It describes or represents, in any form, nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sado-masochistic abuse;
- considered as a whole, it appeals to the prurient interest in sex of minors;
- It is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable matter for or performance before minors; and
- Considered as a whole, it lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.
How the process works
The process starts when an individual presents a written request to the relevant building principal in writing. The principal then tells the assistant superintendent of human resources of the request. The assistant superintendent, upon the superintendent’s approval, appoints a review committee.
Next, the committee renders a decision on whether the book should remain. The requester is able to appeal via a written request within 30 days to the superintendent, which is where the process is in this case. The board then advises the complainant of its final decision within 60 days.
The board will meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the Terrace Room at the BCSC Administration Building.
