2 more books banned in Carroll public school libraries, bringing total to 11

Decisions have been made on about 30 of the 58 books that Superintendent Cynthia McCabe ordered removed from Carroll County school library shelves last September amid challenges from the Carroll County chapter of Moms for Liberty.

According to a Wednesday email from school officials, “Empire of Storms,” by Sarah J. Maas and “The DUFF,” by Kody Keplinger, were banned in the most recent round of evaluations. “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood; “Looking for Alaska” by John Green; and “The Carnival at Bray” by Jesse Anne Foley were retained.

As of this week, 11 books have been permanently removed from shelves, 12 have been retained and will once again be available to students, and six titles will now require parental permission for a student to check out. One book, “Slaughterhouse Five” by Kurt Vonnegut, will be retained in high schools but removed from middle school shelves.

The school system’s Reconsideration Committee is tasked with making book removal decisions. It includes nonvoting chair Bruce Lesh, supervisor of elementary education for Carroll County Public Schools, as well as two school media specialists, two school-based administrators, one teacher and three parents. Three high school students are also included when the committee reviews books previously deemed appropriate for high schoolers. All members are appointed by the superintendent.

The committee meets every three to five weeks, public schools communications coordinator Brenda Bowers said. The system has not shared a timeline for completing the evaluation.

In the past, about two books per year were directed to the Reconsideration Committee for review.

Attempts to ban books in school libraries around the state have prompted action in Annapolis.

The General Assembly is close to passing the Freedom to Read Act, which would set a statewide standard for some content in libraries for the first time. Although books found to contain sexual content could still be pulled from shelves, the bill has infuriated some opponents, who argue it would tie the hands of local government and school officials to eliminate materials they find unsuitable for children.

Books banned or retained by the Carroll County reconsideration process may not be re-evaluated for school use for three years after the initial request for reconsideration, according to CCPS policy. Any decision to remove a book is final, but a decision to retain a book may be appealed to the superintendent within 10 days of receiving a decision.

Assistant Superintendent of Instruction Nicholas Shockney acts as McCabe’s designee when reviewing books that were appealed to the superintendent. Shockney said he reads each of those books and renders his decisions in accordance with the school system’s Policy IIAA, which governs the selection, evaluation and adoption of instructional materials, including supplemental instructional materials like library books.

The Carroll County Board of Education unanimously voted Jan. 10 to update Policy IIAA, banning all library books and instructional materials that include “sexually explicit” content from public schools. The updated policy defines sexually explicit content as “unambiguously describing, depicting, showing, or writing about sex or sex acts in a detailed or graphic manner.”

Kit Hart, chair of Carroll County Moms for Liberty, said all book removal requests came from members of her group and that each challenged book contained passages depicting “graphic sex or rape.” Moms for Liberty is a conservative group that advocates for parental rights in schools.

Since the requests were made, parents and librarians have appeared at school board meeting to oppose them.