One resident of Dorchester County has raised concerns about the content of 673 books through book complaints sent to Dorchester School District 2 (DD2). The resident labeled them as potentially obscene. Only 170 of these books are found in the district.

District Superintendent Dr. Shane Robbins stated that the board had received this complaint in December, highlighting specific books and rating their obscenity on a 0-5 scale.

Debate on Book Review

During the school board's meeting on January 22, board member Justin Farnsworth suggested that the district refrain from allocating time and resources to review the flagged books. However, the motion was denied in a 4-3 vote.

Robbins shared a list of 170 books, out of the initially cited 673, with the district's media specialists. Their task is to assess whether these books should be removed from school shelves professionally. Some books have already been removed, although specifics remain undisclosed.

MaryRita Watson, a DD2 teacher and the president of the Summerville Education Association, criticized the review process, stating that it diverts valuable time from students and questions the need for such reviews if they bypass established policies.

Challenges to Book Content Governed by IJL

The district's policy, IJL, permits a parent or legal guardian to challenge a book they consider obscene formally. However, in this instance, the complainant was neither a parent nor a legal guardian. Despite the denial of the motion not to review the books, a formal review will not occur as the complainant did not adhere to the district's established policy.

The duration of the media specialists' review remains uncertain, but concerns arise about the time-consuming nature of such assessments. Watson referred to a similar situation in Berkeley County, where reviewing 90 books took several weeks.

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Robbins emphasized the importance of maintaining a balance between a parent's right to choose their child's reading material and adhering to board policies. He stressed that while parents have choices, the criteria outlined in policies should not eliminate opportunities or choices for other students or parents.

Robbins said that his mention of the issue during the January 22 meeting aims to maintain transparency. He emphasized that there is no directive to remove any books but encouraged media specialists to exercise their professional judgment in determining whether certain books meet policy criteria.

Book Bans in South Carolina

PEN America statistics showed that South Carolina faced 137 book challenges in the previous year. "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" was the most challenged book. The challenges were based on alleged explicit content and portrayals of drug use.

In Dorchester County, a book about racism by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi was reviewed in May 2023 under the district's updated library materials policy. The DD2 board decided to keep the book on the shelves.

In a November State Board of Education meeting in 2023, the South Carolina board considered having a universal definition of age-appropriate materials in schools and libraries. The final decision is yet to be made before state lawmakers, who are mostly Republicans, to discuss and decide on the proposal.

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