Across the country, a growing number of high school students are enrolling in advanced placement English classes. These classes are designed to give students a head start on college, as well as provide enrichment. Consequently, AP English teachers tend to select literary works deemed more mature and challenging than those chosen for regular English classes. These mature curriculum choices, however, in combination with increased enrollment, have sparked a nationwide increase in the number of books being challenged by parents.

One such book challenge is unfolding in the Adams 12 School District and was featured in a local 7News TV segment last month. The challenged book is "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison, which has graphic depictions of incest, rape and pedophilia.

The challengers are not asking for the book to be removed from school libraries or student access, but rather that the book not be used for classroom instruction. Predictably, the accusations of censorship and book-banning are in full swing.


The crux of book selection policies is that some books are chosen and others are not, with the reasoning rarely transparent. When a finite number of books are eligible for classroom instruction, what is wrong with parents — and, in this case, nearly 500 in-district parents and students — requesting that books used in a tax-funded system meet the same community standards of decency that are applied to other forms of media in the schools?

For example, a student could not watch a movie of "The Bluest Eye" in the classroom; could not listen to music with lyrics taken from it at a school-sponsored activity; could not publish the content of it in the school newspaper; could not repeat the language in it without risk of suspension or expulsion; and could not access it online at school.

No one is protesting these legal limitations. Yet, AP English classes are inexplicably exempt from these standards despite a growing body of scientific data which shows numerous negative effects and risks associated with adolescent exposure to sexually explicit content. This research also sheds light on why opt-out protocols are inadequate, given that students who opt-out remain in the same environment as those directly impacted.

If Hollywood can operate within an age-based rating system, surely AP English teachers, who pride themselves on being creative thinkers, can determine which books are best suited for high school students while honoring community standards of decency.

Philosophical arguments by teachers claiming freedom of speech rights are no longer sufficient. In Evans-Marshall vs. Board of Education, the court ruled unanimously that "teachers have no First Amendment free-speech protection for curricular decisions they make in the classroom" pursuant to their official duties as teachers.

Ultimately, school boards do have the authority to make curricular decisions, and a growing number of Americans believe English teachers should be accountable for upholding community standards of decency.

Jill C. Manning is a licensed marriage and family therapist in Westminster who specializes in research and clinical work related to pornography.