Parents accuse Connecticut school district of 'heinous promotion of pornographic books'
Staples High School in the Westport Public Schools district put up a display of controversial books in recognition of 'Banned Books Week'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Parents in Westport, Connecticut at a school board meeting slammed a banned book display in a high school library, claiming they violate "child pornography laws" and are "heinous."
Staples High School in the Westport Public Schools (WPS) district put up the display last month in recognition of "Banned Books Week."
Banned Books Week is promoted by the American Library Association (ALA) annually to "celebrate the freedom to read, draw attention to banned and challenged books and highlight persecuted individuals."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Bookcase in a library. (iStock)
The display reportedly included "Gender Queer" and "This Book is Gay," with a sign reading, "Someone doesn't want you to read these books. Find out why." These titles have reportedly been among the ten most challenged books across the country over the past year.
Westport Public Schools held a regular meeting on Monday to address parents’ concerns about the banned book display at Staples High School.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I would like to make a comment about the banned book display at Staples which has generated significant concern within our community. As a community, as a school district, as neighbors, we need to talk. We cannot keep burying uncomfortable conversations and we cannot dismiss the real concerns of many parents," board member Dorie Hordon said at the beginning of the meeting.
"We cannot perform as chief of oversight without community discussion," Hordon concluded.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I think it's inappropriate that that discussion happened behind closed doors," board member Robert Harrington said. "And I think it should happen on the floor of the Board of Education, and the community can hear a discussion from board members in a public meeting about this important issue for the community," Harrington said, drawing applause from community members.
Furthermore, Vice Chair Liz Heyer said that the board was divided on the issue. She proposed adding a discussion of a policy that ensures "age-appropriate filters and lenses" in school library materials. However, the proposal was shot down.
Opponents of the academic doctrine known as Critical Race Theory protest outside of the Loudoun County School Board headquarters, in Ashburn, Virginia, June 22, 2021. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)
The board proceeded to field parent and community members' concerns during the public comment period.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Among the nine community members who stepped up to the podium, a mother of four was the first to speak, saying that many members of the community are concerned about the books being promoted to the children.
"It's one thing to have the books available, it's another to market them so aggressively," she said.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Another speaker who proclaimed to be a "taxpayer" in Westport flagged "child pornography laws" on the podium. She proceeded to wave two pieces of paper that showed graphic images from the books that were displayed by the school district.
"Those graphics depict infliction. They can depict infliction or threat of infliction or serious infliction of injury. One of the websites ‘Grindr’ is in one of the books. You have to be 18 years of age or older to access that website. I’m sure children have taken out those books. Nobody asked for proof of age. That is against the law," the speaker said.
"The heinous promotion of pornographic books at Staples High School, under the guise of opposing censorship, is not an isolated event," another parent said. "It is the latest in a series of efforts to target our children."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Staples High School library has over 23,000 print books. Superintendent Thomas Scarice said books including "textual depictions and graphic representations of oral sex, intercourse, rape and frontal nudity" have been in the library for more than ten years.
Fox News Digital has reached out to WPS, which enrolled 5,329 students, and the school board for comment.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Parents and community members attend a Loudoun County School Board meeting about critical race theory in Ashburn, Virginia, on June 22, 2021. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)
The issue of education has become a top concern among voters heading into the midterm elections. Since the pandemic, school board meetings have become battlegrounds between parents and school board officials. Parents across the country have protested against COVID related restrictions in schools and controversial curriculum like critical race theory and gender theory. This has reignited the debate on how much control parents have over their children's education.