Virginia district to remove 14 books after proposing closure of all school libraries

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Days after a Virginia school district superintendent proposed closing school libraries to address budgetary concerns, he has also ordered the removal of 14 books from school libraries, including two by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison.

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Spotsylvania County Public Schools Superintendent Mark Taylor said in a memo to the school division’s director and assistant director of teaching and learning that the 14 titles would need to be removed from school libraries and delivered to his office by Friday at 4 p.m.

The books, which are being removed for containing “sexually explicit material,” include: “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson; “Like a Love Story” by Abdi Nazemian; “Dime” and “America” by E.R. Frank; “Sold” by Patricia McCormick; “Out of Darkness” by Ashley Hope Perez; “Beloved” and “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison; “Looking for Alaska” by John Green; “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky; “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen; “Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe” by Preston Norton; “More Happy Than Not” by Adam Silvera; and “Nineteen Minutes” by Jodi Picoult.

Read more from The Washington Post.

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