Education
Five things to know about Georgia’s book ban process
School districts in at least 30 states have debated removing certain books from school libraries in recent years. Georgia passed legislation in 2022 that has a process to ban books from public schools. (Dreamstime/TNS)
By Eric Stirgus
May 25, 2023Georgia passed a law last year for removing books and other content in public schools.
The content should be considered “harmful to minors,” which is deemed “patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable material for minors.”
Here’s how the removal process works:
- Complaints should be written to the principal of the school. The complaint should include a description of the material that is alleged to be harmful to minors.
- The school principal has seven business days to decide whether to remove contested works, and 10 business days to inform the requester of the decision.
- Appeals can be made, which must be decided by the local school board.
- Only the title of the challenged work would have to be published on the school system’s website. The information about the book in question shall remain on the website for a period of not less than 12 months.
- The local school board would have 30 calendar days to decide any appeals, unless another time frame is agreed upon by the person making the complaint and the school board.
About the Author
Eric Stirgus joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2001. He is the newsroom's education editor. Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Eric is active in the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists and the Education Writers Association and enjoys mentoring aspiring journalists.
