We are concerned about the recent censorship of two books in the Republic Missouri school district, and the process by which the school board decided to remove them from the classroom and library. Censorship not only diminishes the quality of education received by students, it also diminishes the quality of public debate. Censorship anywhere affects people everywhere.
We call on the school board:
1. to reinstate Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut and Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler to the library and curriculum unless and until a committee of professional educators has evaluated the books and presented recommendations to the board based on their educational and literary value;
2. to eliminate reliance on standards and criteria developed by private entities whose ratings do not reflect educational value, such as the Motion Picture Association of America or the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, in evaluating educational materials for use in Republic schools; and
3. to adopt policies and procedures to resolve challenges to books and other materials that conform to the principles set out in standards, position papers, statements and guidelines created by professional educational organizations such as the National Council of Teachers of English and the American Library Association, with particular attention to intellectual freedom, censorship, and the right to read.
