Parents, community members and students pulled up to the recent School Board meeting that happened on Wednesday to express their concerns about how certain books are allowed to be banned or restricted from schools in Miami-Dade.
This comes after the recent decision made by a review committee at Bob Graham Educational Center K-8 in Miami Lakes that three books (“The ABCs of Black History,” “Cuban Kids,” and “Love to Langston”) and Amanda Gorman’s inaugural poem “The Hill We Climb” be restricted from elementary students after a parent made a complaint that the material pushed an “indoctrinating agenda.”
Community members argued one parent alone should not have the power to influence what is or isn’t available to students. They also criticized the current laws in place, arguing they target material covering diversity topics such as race and LGBTQ issues.
Luckily a new policy was passed earlier that day before the community flooded the meeting. The policy was proposed by School Board member Dr.Steve Gallon, which calls for board members and district staff to be notified when a book challenge results in the reassignment or removal of a book from school shelves. Previous policy did not request that the district be notified when a book is challenged to be removed and only required a school-level review to determine whether a book should be kept or not.
Gallon told the Miami Herald he proposed the policy change to improve transparency around certain decisions regarding books and classroom materials.
This is a Hy-Lo News Staff Report.
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