ACLU tells Nampa to fix challenged books policy, threatens to explore ‘legal action’
The American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho threatened the Nampa School District with possible legal action if the district fails to create a policy for reviewing challenged books and revisit its decision to remove nearly two dozen books from its schools.
The notice comes several months after trustees voted to remove books from school libraries, including “The Kite Runner,” by Khaled Hosseini; “Looking for Alaska,” by John Green; and “The Handmaid’s Tale,” by Margaret Atwood. The decision was made before the district could complete its review of the titles.
Colleen Smith, cooperating attorney for ACLU of Idaho, said in a news release the organization has been “anxiously waiting for months” for the board to put into place a “lawful, unbiased book review process” and to revisit its decision to remove the books from schools.
At a board meeting earlier this month, Nampa trustees considered an updated process for challenged books, but the board ultimately held off on taking on a vote on the item. Trustees said they wanted to ensure district policy aligned with its new procedure.
During that meeting, board members also discussed and raised concerns about how library materials are selected.
“A new school year has started, and the board has yet to take action,” Smith said in the news release. “We are putting the board on notice that if they do not revisit the book ban, we will explore legal action.”
The ACLU said the district removed a total of 630 books since its decision in May. In June, trustees voted to keep the banned books in the district’s warehouse with plans to revisit them once a review process was in place.
When books are removed “without established neutral criteria” or when the decisions are based on “personal values,” it violates the First Amendment, the ACLU of Idaho said.
“Students in Idaho have the right to make up their own minds about the books they read, with the guidance of their own parents or guardians,” said Aadika Singh, legal director for the ACLU of Idaho. “One parent’s personal values should not be imposed on all students in the district. The Constitution does not permit that.”
A spokesperson from the Nampa School District said in an email the district did not “have anything new to add to this conversation.”
ACLU spokesperson Jeremy Woodson told the Statesman the organization has not yet decided to pursue a lawsuit, but will be watching whether the board approves “unbiased and transparent procedures” for challenged books.
The school board is expected to hold a workshop to discuss its policy and procedures related to challenged books. The date of that meeting has not yet been posted publicly.
This story was originally published September 29, 2022 at 5:14 PM.
