Williamson County School Board votes to keep five books on school shelves

The Williamson County Schools board voted this week to keep five books on the shelves of county high school libraries, after complaints were filed against a selection of young adult novels.

The books "Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky, "The Field Guide to a North American Teenager" by Ben Philippe, "Where the Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens, "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson and "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer were all up for restriction and removal from the county's high schools.

But after a recommendation to keep them by the book review committee, the board members voted overwhelmingly to reject the complaints and keep the books in the libraries.

Board member Eric Welch confirmed for The Tennessean that the first four books were the focus of one complaint by a local parent, who was satisfied with the committee's recommendation to keep them available.

Welch also confirmed that a separate complaint against "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" was filed by a woman with "zero" connection to Williamson County Schools and who had not read the book, but was directed to file the complaint by a political action group out of Florida.

The board voted 8-2 over two votes to keep the books on the shelves.

Board members Dan Cash and Donna Clements voted against the review committee's recommendations on each motion. Both board members were endorsed by conservative political action committee Williamson Families, which was launched by the local Moms For Liberty branch in 2021.

Moms For Liberty has been on the forefront of a number of campaigns against books in public schools, particularly in Williamson and Wilson counties, as well as across the state and nation.

Clements alluded to this effort while stating her opposition to the books, saying that the board has "not paid attention to state law" in keeping the books, and calling the unfettered access to books an "undue burden on parents."

The Wilson County School Board is currently facing a federal lawsuit after a Wilson County resident accused the board, as well as the Wilson County Book Review Committee, of violating the Tennessee Open Meetings Act and the First Amendment by holding secret meetings to determine what books could be restricted or banned.

Read more from Wilson County: Lawsuit: Resident accuses Wilson County library panel of secret meetings to restrict books

The majority of Williamson County board members were supportive of the books.

"These books deal with tough topics, and the way 'Speak' handles them is so thoughtful, empathetic and considerate to those who are going through such things," board member KC Haugh said. "I would encourage everyone to read that book, and think about what the impact would be to those kids who might need that lifeline if you ban it....These books are not promoting horrific activities, they teach kids a way to relate to difficult circumstances and how to communicate it to parents and peers. The power of books is a double-edged sword and I would hate to stifle that."

Ravenwood High School student Dani Morales spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting, stating that the removal of books would only result in a "narrow-minded, homogenous society."

"In my opinion, banning the books that are being challenged here today won’t do anything except make it harder for teens who have experienced topics in these books, such as sexual abuse, assault, depression and suicide to come forward about their experience and to try to seek help for any trauma they have received,” she said. “School has always been a place where students can think freely and explore different ideas and perspectives. By banning books, we are stripping this away and denying students to learn about different experiences.”

Both motions were approved alongside promises from the board members to discuss creating a rating system for books after Cash urged for a better review process in addition to the review committee.

"We keep being told it's an infringement on the right of the children, but no one acknowledges that...this board has the power (to remove explicit things)," he said. "I've said for well over a year that we should have a rating system. If we can't do that, then shame on us. I will vote no on this until we, as board, sit down on a retreat and have a discussion about these sexually explicit and vulgar books."

Board member Jennifer Aprea placed the onus on the parents to opt out of books, rather than the school to censor books.

"Our parents know their kids the best," she said. "It is better for constitutionality and liberty to make sure everyone has access that wants it, and parents have the right to opt out."

The USA Today Network - Tennessee's coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners.

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Williamson County School Board votes to keep five books on school shelves