S.C. leads nation in school book bans after votes to remove more titles
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Following a vote that removed 10 more books from public schools across the state, South Carolina is now the state with the most state-mandated public school book bans in the United States.
The South Carolina Board of Education met on Tuesday to discuss the removal of ten more books from public schools across the Palmetto State. The titles are as follows:
- “Collateral” by Ellen Hopkins
- “Empire of Storms” by Sarah J. Maas
- “Half of a Yellow Sun” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- “Hopeless” by Colleen Hoover
- “Identical” by Ellen Hopkins
- “Kingdom of Ash” by Sarah J. Maas
- “Last Night at the Telegraph Club” by Malinda Lo
- “Living Dead Girl” by Elizabeth Scott
- “Lucky” by Alice Sebold
- “Tricks” by Ellen Hopkins
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This latest round of removals brings the total number of books banned from South Carolina public schools to 21, suring Utah’s 17 books that have been removed from their schools.
The board initially met to discuss these materials on April 1 but decided to postpone the vote after several board expressed hesitancy about recent applications of Regulation 43-170, a rule that allows the State Board of Education to have the final say in local disputes over what materials are appropriate.
“I am concerned about potential abuses of a process that we intended to be fair and equitable,” said board member Maya Slaughter during the April meeting.
Despite the concerns voiced during the April meeting, only two board , David O’Shields and Tony Vincent, dissented during Tuesday’s vote.
Regulation 43-170 bans “instructional material [that] is not ‘age and developmentally appropriate’ for any age or age group of children if it includes descriptions or visual depictions of ‘sexual conduct.’”
If a citizen has a complaint about a book found in public school libraries and classrooms, the regulation allows them to send a form to the Instructional Materials Review Committee (IMRC), who review the complaint and submit a recommendation to the state board.
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After receiving the recommendation from the IMRC, the State Board of Education then votes to accept or deny it. Under Regulation 43-170, the board is not required to read the books before making their vote.
All 10 of the most recently banned materials had been reviewed at the Beaufort County local board before being kicked up to the state board, as the complaints for the titles were all submitted by one woman from Beaufort County.
“The state is continuing to leave educational decisions for all students up to one parent,” said Josh Malkin, Advocacy Director for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of South Carolina. “This is problematic and counter to the foundational democratic ideals of public education.”
Regulation 43-170 went into effect in June 2024 and has been used frequently since then, though not without controversy.
Malkin and other critics of the regulation have argued that one individual should not have the power to influence reading access for the entire state while the legislation’s proponents believe it’s a valuable way to protect children.
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The 11 books that had been previously removed by the board include:
- “A Court of Frost and Starlight” by Sarah J. Maas
- “A Court of Mist and Fury” by Sarah J. Maas
- “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas
- “A Court of Wings and Ruin” by Sarah J. Maas
- “Damsel” by Elana Arnold
- “Ugly Love” by Colleen Hoover
- “Normal People” by Sally Rooney
- “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky
- “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson
- “Flamer” by Mike Curato
- “Push” by Sapphire
In addition to the 21 removals, access to “Crank” by Ellen Hopkins has been restricted. The book remains in high school libraries, but a parent or guardian must fill out an opt-in form for a student to borrow it.
As a response to Regulation 43-170, several Democratic State House representatives spoke in February about a “Freedom to Read” bill focused on access to books in public school libraries across South Carolina.
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