The Redlands school board is set to vote Tuesday, Dec. 9, on whether to pull two books from library shelves.
The Redlands Unified School District board will hold two public hearings to decide the fate of “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison and “Push” by Sapphire.
Morrison’s debut novel, published in 1970, addresses racism, beauty standards, child abuse and sexual abuse through the eyes of 11-year-old Pecola in the years after the Great Depression.
The novel was listed among the top 10 most banned books of 2024 by the American Library Association. The book was challenged in the Bonita Unified School District in 2023, but the school board decided to keep it on shelves.
“Push” is a 1996 novel that inspired the Oscar-winning movie “Precious.” It follows an illiterate Black teenager growing up in New York City’s Harlem who is sexually abused by her father. It deals with themes such as rape and abuse.
In November, a school board in San Luis Obispo County rejected a drive to ban the book by slim margins, after a board member argued that the board had a responsibility to ensure books were not removed based on unclear reasoning or the targeting of specific groups, The Tribune, of San Luis Obispo, reported.
The Redlands district has three copies of “The Bluest Eye,” split between two high school libraries, at the alternative Orangewood High School and Redlands East Valley High School, spokesperson Christine Stephens said. It has two copies of “Push,” one at Orangewood High and one at Citrus Valley High School.
Both were written by Black authors and chosen by credentialed librarians, said a Monday, Dec. 8, news release from Together for Redlands, a grassroots organization that has criticized actions of the Redlands school board’s conservative majority.
The challenge is based on a revised policy the board passed in August. The group contends that the rules override the district’s longstanding policy that ensured the “review process was thorough, balanced and aligned with policy.”
The books have been reviewed by a committee of district officials, which uses a rubric to “score” the content in books. The committee’s report said both books scored in a numerical range in which they should be kept on library shelves but limited to high schools with the potential to restrict access by requiring a parent’s permission before releasing a book to a student.
“These committees required both time and district funds to complete their work, and they recommended that these books remain available to students,” the release states.
The group urged the board to respect the committee and the process and not to undermine the policy by ignoring the committee’s opinion.
Candy Olson, a member of the school board’s conservative bloc, said Monday, Dec. 8, that the books were challenged because they are sexually explicit and contain content that is “inappropriate and harmful to children.”
“I am excited to vote in favor of removing age-inappropriate books from our school libraries!” Olson wrote in a Monday text message. “These books should have never been allowed in in the first place.”
Parents are welcome to share the books with their children in the privacy of their homes, but not in schools, she said.
Under the district’s revised library policy passed in August, books are examined using a ratings system to judge books by several criterion for a total of 35 potential points.
If a book is “perceived” as sexually explicit by a member of the public, it will be removed within three days and subject to a school board hearing within 45 days.
The book would go to a district review committee comprised of the superintendent, assistant superintendent of educational services and the director of elementary or secondary education. The panel has two months to read and review the book using the rubric and to make a recommendation to the school board.
There are four categories under which books can fall. The fewer points between 0 and 10 a book receives, the fewer examples it contains of sexually explicit or obscene material. A book that is scored as 10 or below would remain on the shelf. If a book falls between 30 and 35 points, it has scored high in several categories and would be immediately pulled.
The final policy is a revision of one introduced in March. Trustees moved forward with the rule in June and board President Michelle Rendler was the deciding vote in July, when the board sent the policy back to administrators.
The policy has been criticized for potentially violating state Assembly Bill 1078, which was signed into law in 2023. The law stops book bans in community and school libraries and prohibits censorship of instructional materials and library books.
The 6 p.m. meeting will be in the district boardroom, 25 W. Lugonia Ave., Redlands.