Howard-Suamico School District is the subject of ACLU records request after removing 33 books

HOWARD — The Howard-Suamico School District is the subject of a records request from the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin for information about removing books from the district's library.

The Green Bay Press-Gazette found in November that the district has removed over 30 books from school libraries since 2019 in response to community requests and as part of regular auditing. The Howard-Suamico School District cited low circulation, old books and "age appropriate reviews" as reasons for removing some of the titles.

The Press-Gazette submitted a subsequent open-records request Nov. 2 for requests to review books and the rationale for removing a book or not. That request has yet to be fulfilled.

The ACLU of Wisconsin submitted a records request to the district Wednesday, along with five other school districts, seeking information about the removals, according to the organization's media release.

“Under the guise of protecting students from ‘inappropriate’ materials, school districts that remove books are violating students' First Amendment rights to receive information from various viewpoints, even challenging perspectives and views that may not sit well with conservative majorities,” Tim Muth, interim legal director of the ACLU of Wisconsin, said in the release.

More: These 43 books have been banned from school libraries in Wisconsin in 2023

The other districts include Menomonee Falls, Waukesha, Elmbrook, Elkhorn and Kenosha Unified. In Wisconsin, 43 books were removed from schools in the 2022-23 school year, according to PEN America, a nonprofit that advocates for freedom of expression.

The Press-Gazette submitted records requests earlier this fall to all of Brown County's eight school districts. West De Pere is the only other district that's removed books since 2019. It removed "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson from grades seventh and below and "Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl" by Jesse Andrews from the middle school.

The Howard-Suamico School District did not respond to the Press-Gazette's questions by the time of publishing.

What books have been removed?

The books removed from Howard-Suamico's Bay Port High School Library were:

• "A Court of Frost and Starlight" by Sarah J. Maas

• "A Court of Mist and Fury" by Sarah J. Maas

• "A Court of Thorns and Roses" by Sarah J. Maas

• "A Court of Silver Flames" by Sarah J. Maas

• "A Court of Wings and Ruin" by Sarah J. Maas

• "Almost Perfect" by Brian Katche

• "Beloved" by Toni Morrison

• "Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out" by Susan Kuklin

• "Crank" by Ellen Hopkins

• "Deogratias: A Tale of Rwanda" by Jean-Philippe Stassen

• "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer

• "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov

• "Marriage of a Thousand Lies" by SJ Sindu

• "More Happy than Not" by Adam Silvera

• "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult

• "Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon

• "Rainbow High" by Alex Sanchez

• "Real Live Boyfriends" by Emily Jenkins

• "Sloppy Firsts" by Megan McCafferty

• "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein

• "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison

• "The Carnival at Bray" by Jessie Ann Foley

• "Tricks" by Ellen Hopkins

• "What Can't Wait" by Ashley Hope Pérez

The books removed from Howard-Suamico's Bay View Middle School were:

• "l8r, g8r" by Lauren Myracle

• "Looking for Alaska" by John Green

• "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie

• "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

• "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky

• "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher

• "What Can't Wait" by Ashley Hope Pérez

The books removed from elementary schools were:

• "Drama" by Raina Telgemeier

• "Something Happened in Our Town: A Child's Story About Racial Injustice" by Marianne Celano and Marietta Collins

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Danielle DuClos is a Report for America corps member who covers K-12 education for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact her at dduclos@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @danielle_duclos. You can directly support her work with a tax-deductible donation at GreenBayPressGazette.com/RFA or by check made out to The GroundTruth Project with subject line Report for America Green Bay Press Gazette Campaign. Address: The GroundTruth Project, Lockbox Services, 9450 SW Gemini Drive, PMB 46837, Beaverton, Oregon 97008-7105.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Howard-Suamico Schools subject of ACLU records request after removing 33 books