Update: Greenville County Schools Board of Trustees vote to remove books from libraries
The Greenville County Schools Board of Trustees voted during a special meeting Tuesday to remove three books from public school libraries.
The meeting was called after parents Erin Richardson and Beth Halasz appealed a high school material review committee decision to allow the books available only in Greenville County high schools. The parents' appeal had to be filed within 10 days of being notified of the review committee's decision.
Richardson requested that Ellen Hopkins's “Perfect” and “Tilt” be reviewed, while Halasz asked for Sarah J. Maas's “Empire of Storms” to be reconsidered. In the requests for reconsideration form, both parents said they had not read the books.
After a lengthy discussion between trustee members, all three books were voted, 9-1, to be removed from the collection. Trustees cited concerns about inappropriate content too mature for students in high school. Each time, the motion to remove the books came from Sarah Dulin and was seconded by Lynda Leventis-Wells. Glenda Morrison-Fair was the lone trustee voting against removal.
“All my notes on this book, I can burn tonight,” Leventis-Wells said about “Empire of Storms., the final book discussed by the board. Leventis-Wells also said she would like to see the policy about the committee makeup reformed not to include high school students.
The high school material review committee, comprised of parents of Greenville County high school students, teachers, a media specialist, a member of the clergy, and non-district employees, met earlier this month to consider Richardson and Halasz's complaints. The committee decided against removing the books but did want the complainants made aware that parents can notify the school’s librarian not to allow their students to check out certain books without permission.
In the complaint, Richardson objected to “Perfect” for “obscene and salacious sexual activities, including sexual assault.” Although “Perfect” and “Tilt” do not make Pen America’s 11 most banned books in the first part of the 2022-2023 school year list, two of Hopkin’s books do appear on the list of frequently barred books.
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“Perfect” follows four high school seniors as they navigate the last year of high school, exposing “the harsh truths about what it takes to grow up and grow into our own skins, our own selves” according to publisher Simon and Schuster.
“Tilt” observes three teens, 18, 16, and 14, their parents, and family relations. The book “has sexually explicit excerpts involving minors," and "contains sexual assault, underage drinking, and illegal drug abuse," according to Richardson's complaint.
“Empire of Storms,” a fantasy book about loyalty, warriors, and quests, is frequently banned across the country. Halasz requested the book be reconsidered for removal because of its “erotic nature" and “inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18.”
During the discussion, trustees agreed while high school students could locate worse content online using their cell phones, but that cellphones were given to them by parents and under parents’ watch, not subsidized by tax-payer funds.
"Of course students are going to be curious about it, but we must protect them from this," Carey White, a Greenville County resident said about the content in the books.
In May 2022, the trustees voted to remove “George,” later republished as “Melissa” by Alex Gino, from elementary schools. The book, which follows a transgender girl struggling with her identity, was asked to be removed due to being “too mature.”
Savannah Moss covers politics for the Greenville News. Reach her at smoss@gannett.com or follow her on X @Savmoss.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Greenville County School Board agrees with parents, removes books
