In January, the United States Department of Education announced that it would end “Biden’s book ban hoax.”
As a result of this announcement, 11 complaints related to banned books have been dismissed, “book ban coordinator” will no longer be a position, and all department guidance claiming that book banning restricts civil rights has been reversed.
The American Library Association criticized this move, calling it discriminatory against LGBTQ+ students and students of color.
On the other hand, according to the news site Florida Politics, Florida governor Ron DeSantis celebrated the change, stating that parents being against age-inappropriate books in schools should not be confused for book banning.
The Colorado Department of Higher Education lists several books that have been removed from or challenged in schools across the United States, including “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson, “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini, and “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury.
WJPS 10th grader Aly Abdelhalem said, “I feel like some books should be banned because of their inappropriate content.”
WJPS teacher Ms. Marks said, “I think if our right to read material is taken away, then our freedom is taken away, and that’s not what America is about.”
