Marietta school board removes 23 books from library for sexual content

The Marietta City Schools Board of Education approved the removal of 23 books with “sexually explicit” content from its high school library.And gave parents 30 days to submit any appeals to the list.Superintendent Grant Rivera said media specialists and a team of district officials reviewed lists of commonly challenged books and thematic data to identify more than 700 books that may have contained sexually explicit content. .Rivera told the board he had “no hesitation” about the 23 books he brought forth for removal.“My intent was not to remove thousands of books from this media center. I would have removed every one of these 23 books if there was no directive that existed.”, Superintendent Grant Rivera.Five of the 23 removed books are on the American Library Association’s list of the most challenged books in 2022. Six are on the organization’s list of 100 most banned and challenged books in the 2010s.While some thanked the board and Rivera for their efforts, others wondered whether the directive would open the door for more extensive removal of books based on content that small groups of people didn’t agree with.“To ban every book in a public school that only has appropriate language, we might as well only have children’s books. Furthermore, let us not misconstrue restriction as protection.”, Bella Gantt, Marietta High School student.For a full list of the books banned at Marietta High School library visit ajc.com