DEARBORN, Mich. (WXYZ) — Dearborn Public School is still restricting students from checking out certain books. This includes both physical copies and titles available through their online library.
The books were pulled for review because some parents complained they were too sexual.
Major division is brewing among parents. They are split on what kinds of kinds of material their children should be reading.
"This is a public school and you do need to be exposed to ideas that might be a little bit different than your families' ideas," said Lorelei Muniz, a parent against the book banning.
Stephanie Butler has been leading the movement to keep certain titles out of the hands of students.
"There's a hard line drawn in the sand right now and you're either on this side of protecting children or on the other side, and people are paying attention," Butler said.
A new report released this week by PEN America says Michigan is among the states with the most banned books at schools in the country.
DPS is the third largest school district in the state with more than 20,000 students.
Right now, they don't have access to these seven books:
- "Push" by Sapphire
- "All Boys Aren't Blue" by George M. Johnson
- "And They Lived" by Steven Salvatore
- "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold
- "Eleanor & Park" by Rainbow Rowell
- "Red, White and Royal Blue" by Casey McQuiston
- "This Book is Gay" by Juno Dawson
The district also removed students' access to the DPS library overdrive eBook collection.
In statement the district said in part:
"It is important to point out that students in the Dearborn Schools still have access to a collection of almost 500,000 books with more than 370,000 unique titles. That doesn't include any books that are also available in classrooms. Our role as a school district has always been, and will continue to be, to offer our students a wide breadth of knowledge and diverse perspectives."
Butlers has expressed major concern about two titles in particular: "This Book is Gay" and "Flamer."
Both are considered LGBTQ titles, but Butler says it's not exclusive to that genre.
She said it's about books containing graphic descriptions of sexual acts, teaching kids how to use dating apps and encouraging them to explore their bodies.
"I don't know how anyone can stand and advocate for porn when it comes to children. This is not about representing diverse ideas. Nobody is trying to ban diverse ideas," Butler said.
Butler began this fight many months ago.
She thinks the titles pulled and some that haven't been are "how to" sex guides for children.
Butler feels so strongly that she planned a protest on Sunday at 2 p.m. in front of the Henry Ford Centennial Library.
"We've asked people to be involved only that live in the community and have kids in school, things of that nature," Butler said. "We don't want to have any outside influences."
On the other side of the coin are parents like Muniz who think district's actions could lead schools down a slippery slope.
They’re planned their protest right before Butler's at noon at the same location.
"Our group does not want a shouting match. We don't want to be confrontational, " Muniz said. "We want to have an opportunity for those who believe books unite us and censorship divides us to have a voice."
The district is still reviewing titles.
They are also working on an updated process for parents to report books they think are inappropriate.
In another statement, the district said:
"The district will not rush this very important work but is committed to putting a process in place in a timely manner that adheres to any applicable state or federal laws while respecting the concerns voiced by all members of our community,"
Muniz said, "I don't fault the school board. I think they are trying to be sensitive to the emotions that the parents have."
Muniz says her child, who identifies at LGBTQ, will be in attendance along with other students and some plan to read statements.
