(COLORADO SPRINGS) — More than a hundred people gathered in Colorado Springs to protest a proposed policy that could affect which books are allowed in School District 11 libraries.
The protest, held outside the administration building, involved teachers, community members, and parents who urged the board not to pass the measure. The policy under debate would create a program to review books available in district libraries and decide if any should be removed for pornographic or obscene content.
“We’re being treated like that is beside the point, that we are not professionals, that we can’t make decisions about the curriculum,” said Sam Farnham, a teacher with District 11.
“I feel like some people came in tonight just guns ablaze,” said Jason Jorgensen, a D11 board member.
During the protest, teachers walked the sidewalk in a vigil they called “The Death of Freedom of Speech,” wearing red, holding candles and signs, with some placing red tape over their mouths to signify being silenced.
“It does not guarantee any defense by experts in curriculum, by anyone who is intimately familiar with the materials being challenged. And it takes away the requirements that library materials be comprehensive of multiple different perspectives, including and especially marginalized identities,” said Ollie Glessner, Policy and Advocacy Director of Inside Out Youth Services.
The district’s policy states that books deemed to have pornographic or obscene content could be removed, but it remains unclear who would make this determination, with the board having the final say.
Once removed, a book would be banned for at least two years before the board could reconsider it.
“It’s graphic novels. It’s very vulgar,” said Stace Adair, a teacher in the district who supports the ban.
Board members argue that the policy is not a ban and aims to protect children from harmful content, while some teachers believe it would silence their freedom of speech.
The policy also specifies that a library book will not be banned because of the author’s disability, race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, or ancestry.
The vote on the new rules will happen at a later date.
The protest highlights the tension between educators and the school board over the proposed policy, with concerns about freedom of speech and the criteria for book removal remaining central to the debate.
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