Thirteen books, written by female authors, have been banned from all Utah public schoolsunder a new law that went into effect July 1. At least 3 of the state’s 41 school district boards said that The texts contain pornographic or indecent material and that is why they had to remain outside of school libraries.
According to PEN Americaa free speech organization that tracks book bans across the United States, says allowing only a few school districts to make statewide decisions makes the law one of the most lenient in terms of book bans in the United Statesthe Associated Press reported.
The two largest school districts in the state that are in conservative areas, which are: the Davis School Districtwho voted to ban all 13 books on the list, while the Alpine School District banned seven of them.
The forbidden books for the Utah State Board of Education son:
- A Court of Thorns and Roses, de la autora, Sarah J. Maas
- A Court of Frost and Starlight, de la autora, Sarah J. Maas
- A Court of Mist and Fury, de la autora, Sarah J. Maas
- A Court of Silver Flames, de la autora, Sarah J. Maas
- A Court of Wing and Ruin, de la autora, Sara J. Maas
- Empire of Storms, by author Sarah J. Maas
- What Girls are Made of, de la autora, Elana K. Arnold
- Milk and Honey, from the author, Rupi Kaur
- Forever, by author Judy Blume
- Tilt, by author Ellen Hopkins
- Fallout, by author Ellen Hopkins
- Oryx and Crake, de la autora, Margaret Atwood
- Blakets, del autor, Craig Thompson
These books are still available in public libraries.
Censorship regime
“The state’s banned books list will impose a dystopian censorship regime in public schools and, in many cases, will directly contravene local preferences“said Kasey Meehan, director of the Freedom to Read program at PEN America.
“Allow that Only a few districts making decisions for the entire state is undemocratic“and we are concerned that implementation of the law will result in less diverse library shelves for all Utahns,” Meehan added.
More books will probably be added
The law that prohibits books for content deemed indecent or pornographic came into effect on July 1, and requires school districts to report to the Utah Board of Education which books they have banned from their school libraries that fit the criteria set out in the new law. “More books are likely to follow,” Meehan said.
“A trend we see across the country is This suppression of books that describe and deal with sexwho share stories of sexual violence, often against women,” as well as issues facing the LGBTQ+ community and people of color, Meehan told AP.
“Throwing the books in the trash”
According to the law, public school libraries must dispose of books, which cannot be sold or distributed. “Books must be thrown in the trash. “I think that is an alarming picture of the current situation.”
Only one member of the Utah Board of Education can appeal by requesting the full council to hold a hearing within 30 days the inclusion of a book on the banned list to vote on whether the ban should be overturned. So far, no appeals have been filed, said Sharon Turner, spokeswoman for the Utah State Board of Education.
Natalie Cline, who is part of the board of directors, She is happy with the measure, But he said the list of banned books is very short.citing the state’s penal code, said that all sexually explicit content, even in science or medical classes allowed by the new law, should be kept out of elementary and secondary schools.
With information from AP
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