May 14, 2012 Del Phillips Director of Schools 695 East Main Street Gallatin, T.N. 37066 del.phillips@sumnerschools.

org

Dear Dr. Phillips, We are deeply concerned by the recent banning of Looking for Alaska by John Greene from high school classrooms in Sumner County. Our concerns relate both to the decision to remove the book, and to the way in which the decision was reached and implemented. It is particularly disturbing that the complaint of one parent triggered a county-wide ban within the span of a single week, without following established procedure and without so much as a review of the literary and educational merits of the book. Based on the facts as we understand them, the district failed to follow its own procedures for removing the book in several respects. No formal, written complaint was ever filed, nor was there any effort to resolve the issue at the local school level, even though your policy both requires the complainant to submit a formal Request for Reconsideration of Instructional Materials and states it is the desire of the Board for such issues to be resolved at the lowest level possible. Against the stipulations of Board Policy, the challenged materials were removed immediately, no materials review committee was appointed nor convened to discuss the challenged text and no recognized and evaluative reviews were consulted. It is particularly disturbing that attempts by the teacher to offer an alternative assignment were ignored. This practice has been used successfully in the past to resolve many similar complaints. Instead, Sumner County officials acquiesced to pressure from a single individual, jumping to ban the book throughout the county. As a result, the district has imposed one viewpoint on the entire student body, without regard to the educational consequences for students. Nor is there a sound educational rationale for the districts action. John Greenes highly praised and critically acclaimed novel deals with issues of friendship, self-discovery and lossissues that many teenagers are dealing with themselves. The book was awarded the American Library Associations prestigious Michael L. Printz Award, which is given annually to the best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit. Greens novel was chosen because he writes with intimacy, humor, and insight about a world where intense friendship can lead to devastating loss. Kirkus Reviews calls the novel a gorgeously told tale that sings and soars, because of Greens mastery of language. Girls will cry and boys will find love, lust, loss and longing in the novel. The book is immensely popular with high school students and was in fact selected by the students in this class at White House High School, including the complaining student.

Clearly, school officials banned the book from the classroom solely because of objections to its content. Government officials, including public school administrators, may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable. Texas v. Johnson (1989); see also Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District No. 26 v. Pico (1982) (local school boards may not remove books from school libraries simply because they dislike the ideas contained in those books ) It is irrelevant that the book is still in the library and that students are free to read it on their own time. The views of the parents who object to the book are not shared by all, and banning the book violates the First Amendment rights of other parents and their children. Parents have no constitutional right to direct how a public school teaches their child. Parker v. Hurley, 514 F. 3d 87, 102 (1st Cir., 2008) As many courts have observed, public schools have an obligation to "administer school curricula responsive to the overall educational needs of the community and its children." Leebaert v. Harrington, 332 F.3d 134, 141 (2d Cir. 2003). No parent has the right "to tell a public school what his or her child will and will not be taught." Id. Any other rule would put schools in the untenable position of having "to cater a curriculum for each student whose parents had genuine moral disagreements with the school's choice of subject matter." Brown v. Hot, Sexy and Safer Productions, Inc., 68 F.3d 525, 534 (1st Cir. 1995), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 1159 (1996). See also Swanson v. Guthrie Indep. School Dist., 135 F.3d 694, 699 (10th Cir. 1998); Littlefield v. Forney Indep. School, 268 F.3d 275, 291 (5th Cir. 2001). For your information, we enclose a link to the National Coalition Against Censorships Guide to the First Amendment in Schools, and in particular, Section IV, Roles and Responsibilities in Promoting First Amendment Values at School. http://www.ncac.org/images/ncacimages/First%20Amendment%20in%20Schools-An%20Overview.pdf. We also suggest you refer to "The Student's Right to Read," a guideline established by the National Council of Teachers of English and available online at: http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/righttoreadguideline. We strongly urge you rescind the ban on Looking For Alaska. Those who object to this book are entitled to their view, but they may not impose it on others. We urge you to stand by the principle that is so essential to individual freedom, democracy, and a good education: the right to read, inquire, question, and think for ourselves. If we can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us. Sincerely,

Joan Bertin Executive Director National Coalition Against Censorship for Free Expression

Chris Finan President American Booksellers Foundation

CC: Jeff Cordell, Principal, White House High School 2