South Carolina Bans 10 More Books From All Public Schools State-Wide

Kelly Jensen, a former librarian and well-known blogger at STACKED, is the editor and author of two books, “(DON’T) CALL ME CRAZY: 33 VOICES START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH” and “HERE WE ARE: FEMINISM FOR THE REAL WORLD.” Her upcoming book, “BODY TALK,” is set to be published in Fall 2020. You can follow her on Instagram @heykellyensen.

In a recent decision made by the State Department of Education, a committee in South Carolina has voted to ban a total of 21 books from public schools statewide. This move has positioned South Carolina as a leading state in terms of officially banned books.

The banned titles, which were decided upon during this month’s meeting, include works such as “Collateral” by Ellen Hopkins, “Last Night at the Telegraph Club” by Malinda Lo, and “Empire of Storms” by Sarah J. Maas. The decisions were made based on Regulation 43-170(R-43-170), which defines materials with “descriptions of sexual content” as inappropriate for school settings, leading to their removal.

Under the leadership of Ellen Weaver, the South Carolina Department of Education has established an Instructional Materials Review Committee (IMRC) where complaints from parents are considered, providing individuals with significant influence over the availability of reading materials in both local and statewide schools.

One particular parent, Elizabeth Szalai, has notably been behind the push to ban numerous titles, including the recent 21 books, across the state. This demonstrates the power of individual complaints in shaping the reading materials accessible to students in public schools.

Despite efforts by advocates for the freedom to read, such as ProTruth South Carolina, Midlands APPLE, and Families Against Book Bans, the decision to ban these books was not overturned. The list of banned titles now includes works like “Damsel” by Elana K. Arnold, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky, and “Push” by Sapphire.

South Carolina is one of three states with legal provisions for statewide book bans, alongside Utah and Tennessee. With this recent decision, South Carolina has surpassed Utah in the number of banned books, solidifying its stance on censorship in public schools.