Parents blast Dearborn, Michigan school board for 'sexually explicit books' at heated meeting

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Dearborn, Michigan school board meeting on books erupts, ends without parent comment

A Dearborn, Michigan school board meeting ended abruptly without comment from parents after outcries from the crowd and after fire marshal said the gathering broke the fire code Monday. (Dearborn Public Schools)

Tensions heated up at a school board meeting in a suburb of Detroit when parents blasted "sexually explicit" books in the school library. 

Dearborn Public Schools held a meeting on Thursday to address parents’ concerns over books and curriculum.

This meeting came after a tumultuous school board meeting on Monday was cut short due to a crowd of rowdy parents taking issue with how the district decides if a book is appropriate for the school library.

DEARBORN, MICHIGAN, SCHOOL BOARD MEETING ON BOOKS ENDS AFTER PARENTS TOLD NOT TO BOO, CLAP ONLY

The first parent to speak in front of the board called books included in the school library "inappropriate." 

Parents and educators spoke out in support or against a transgender student policy at school board meeting (Fox News Digital)

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The new book policy, implemented by the Dearborn school district earlier in October, allows parents to opt their children out of certain books. But some parents took issue with this approach. 

Jeff Saleff questioned why the burden was on parents to find books they disapproved of, "My biggest concern is why is the burden on the parent to find these books? What happens when the parents who don't read or speak English, why is it on them to opt-out, they don’t know what is going on?"

"How did these books even end up in our library–I mean these books are really bad. When I am looking at it, I cringe. They don’t belong in the hands of 13, 14, 15-year-old kids. 

Saleff concluded that there should be a process to review the books before they enter the school instead of a review process after they get into the school.

Ziad Abdalmalik said that "sexually explicit" books should not be subjected to a book challenge, but, outright removed. He added that the teachers should "stick to math, science, history, literature, automotive and computer technologies" and focus on improving "rock bottom test scores."

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"I understand today that there are certain elements here in this city as well as across the nation that are making baseless claims which are vilifying parents and are making an issue about everything else except protecting young impressionable minds from filth that most adults shy away from or are uncomfortable reading," he said. 

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Another speaker, Faye Nemer, told the school board the notion that the books were being banned was "baseless," and that the school's media specialists were being asked to "screen, vet and curate content for literary consumption, a process they already follow." 

"The existence of these books has uncovered deficiencies in this process," Nemer added. "…First and foremost, I urge this body to outline that sexually explicit content will be removed permanently, not temporarily, from the collections." 

Nemer also highlighted that the school library has over 300,000 books, and the current opt-out process places the burden on parents to know the content of all the books. 

Other community members opposed removing the books from the library, emphasizing their importance for LGBTQ+ students.  

The Dearborn Public Schools told Fox News Digital that six books were challenged: Four of them were physical books and two were electronic. Among the challenged books were "This Book is Gay," by Juno Dawson, and "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold. 

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Parents and community members attend a Loudoun County School Board meeting 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 controversial curriculum like critical race theory as well as certain books being in public libraries. This has reignited the debate on how much control parents have over their children's education.