York grandmom renews bid to yank sex ed book 'It's Perfectly Normal' from YMS library

YORK, Maine — The community member who asked to have a book about sexual health removed from the York Middle School library will plead her case before the town's School Committee, now that she has appealed the superintendent's denial of her request.

Patsy Huntsman, a 72-year-old grandmother who lives in York, submitted her original request in November to the York School Department to remove “It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health” by author Robie Harris and illustrator Michael Emberley. Hunstman said the book contains graphic language and imagery that she believes should not be readily available to children younger than 12 without a parent's consent.

Hunstman’s request sparked widespread debate among community members online, and a score of local librarians showed up to meetings to defend the book and YMS librarians.

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Superintendent Lou Goscinski appointed a review committee, as is required by York School Committee policy, to assess the book in question. Acting on the committee's guidance, Goscinski announced Dec. 6 he had rejected Hunstman’s request.

Goscinski said he will present Hunstman’s appeal to the School Committee during a meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 19. YMS Principal Barbara Maling will provide a summary of the review committee's report, then the School Committee will hear Huntsman's appeal and may ask clarifying questions, according to Goscinski.

Huntsman confirmed Thursday she will speak at that meeting, but she declined to be interviewed until her appeal is heard.

Goscinski said the School Committee is expected to vote on the appeal at the following meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 2.

ACLU of Maine chimes in

The plans to review Huntsman's appeal prompted the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine to take a stance, with a letter Tuesday, Jan. 18, to Goscinski.

ACLU of Maine Policy Director Meagan Sway urged the school committee to refuse Huntsman's request, along with any future book removal requests.

"A school board does not have the discretion to remove books from the library because it does not agree with their content," Sway wrote. "Removing books from the school library harms students and the educational environment. It deprives students of access to ideas, it deprives them of an educational setting that promotes democratic participation, and it limits their ability to grow into informed citizens."

The ACLU of Maine's position echoes concerns that were raised by some community members, who in prior school committee meetings asked why the school would accept Huntsman's request to begin with.

Sway argued that censoring library books is at odds with the U.S. Constitution.

"Censorship is a subjective political or aesthetic judgment, and is often used to suppress ideas, discussions and representations of race, gender and sexuality,” she wrote. "Courts interpret freedom of speech and expression expansively because the free exchange of ideas is necessary to a democratic society."

"The First Amendment rights of students, and the very idea of democracy itself, are at stake in any bid to remove a library book from schools … Students need to engage with and make determinations for themselves about conflicting ideas and values,” she added.

Goscisnki said Tuesday that he stands by the school committee policy establishing the book removal request process, and said it will likely not change in response to the letter from ACLU of Maine. The policies were enacted with feedback from legal advisers and vetting by the Maine School Boards Association, he said.

“I think the policy stands on its own merits … I don't have a problem with the policy … it gives people an opportunity to question and ask questions about various materials that we use,” he said.

Why she sought book's removal

In her original request for removal, Huntsman took issue with the book's frank language and illustrations of sex-related topics, including a section on abortion. In an interview late last year, she said some of the book's illustrations could be described as "pornographic" for middle school students.

"I've been accused of wanting to ban the book," Huntsman said. "I don't want to ban books from every library ... I got the book from the York Public Library. I'm not asking for it to be removed from a public library. Parents should be able to get that book."

Huntsman said she raised two children who attended York schools, but none of her grandchildren are enrolled in York schools.

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“You don't have to be a parent to be concerned about the children,” she said.

Students in York are not required to read "It's Perfectly Normal." The book is not included in the school’s curriculum, and it has not been checked out by a student in more than four years, school officials said.

The book has been controversial in other communities in recent years, landing on the American Library Association's list of Top 10 Most Challenged Books four times in the past two decades.

What the York review committee concluded

The review committee responded in a three-page document that outlined why it deemed "It's Perfectly Normal" to be a valuable resource for students, as well as addressing some of Huntsman's concerns.

The committee cited the school’s responsibility to prevent sexual abuse of children as among the reasons to keep this book in the library collection, noting that the book defines "the various forms sexual abuse can take," "emphasizes that abuse is never the victim's fault" and outlines way to get help.

Nearly three-quarters of adolescents who have been sexually assaulted were victimized by someone they knew well, often by a family member, according to a U.S. Department of Justice 2003 National Institute of Justice report. Nearly a third of the assaults occurred within the victim's home, the report states.

Furthermore, the committee said the book aligns with the typical age of puberty onset, which is between 8 and 13 for females and 9 to 14 for males.

“This means that information about puberty is, in fact, age appropriate, crucial and timely for students in middle school," the committee wrote. "Their bodies are changing and they have a normal and healthy need to understand their own development."

Part of something broader?

Harris, the author, said Tuesday, Nov. 30, that her book has been a source of controversy since its publication in 1994, and that she fields calls almost every week with inquiries from various media outlets, libraries and schools. In recent years, the book has come under even more scrutiny, which Harris attributes to increasingly organized efforts from conservative groups.

Letter: We shouldn't ban books from the York Middle School library. Let's seek compromise.

Huntsman she said she’s involved with a few conservative groups, including three local groups that meet regularly to discuss the York school system, hash out concerns and make plans to address them. Huntsman said she and others plan to protest several initiatives in York schools.

“It's certainly not just this book,” Huntsman said.

Goscinski said Thursday that no other requests for removal have been submitted to the school department since Huntsman’s in November.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: York grandmother files appeal to pull sex ed book from YMS library