A rule barring books containing “sexual conduct” from the school libraries in the state is unconstitutional, teachers and K12 librarians are arguing in a recently filed federal lawsuit.
The South Carolina Board of Education has required teachers and school librarians to remove 21 books from classrooms and shelves since the regulation went into effect in June 2024. The board voted to allow six books to remain. One of those books—“Crank” by Ellen Hopkins—requires parental permission to check out.
The rule violates students’ right under the First Amendment to receive information, lawyers for the South Carolina chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union argued in the lawsuit, filed on behalf of three high school students, their parents and school librarians.
Read more at South Carolina Gazette.
