Canby parents and students upset after 36 books pulled from school libraries

By Soyoung Kim

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    CANBY, Oregon (KPTV) — People are demanding answers after the Canby School District pulled dozens of books from school library shelves after some parents questioned their content.

Parents and students spoke out against what they said was a lack of a proper review process before the books’ removal.

People voiced their opinions on both sides of this contentious issue at the Canby School Board meeting on Monday. At one point, the school board meeting at Canby High School did get a bit heated over how the district is handling the books in question.

Dozens showed up to the Canby School Board meeting Monday. The hot topic was how the district is handling complaints regarding dozens of books on school grounds.

“Two angry parents, 0.01% of Canby’s population, that is all it took to remove over 30 books from our school library,” a Canby High School student said.

A spokesperson for Canby School District said it pulled these books from Canby High School and middle school libraries after receiving written requests for reconsideration of 36 books in school libraries. The district said those books are being held out of circulation until they can be reviewed.

One of those parents spoke up at the meeting.

“Some of these books as I got into them have really explicit sex, a lot of it. It isn’t about anyone’s race, it isn’t about anyone’s gender, it isn’t about being transgender, it isn’t about being LGBTQ+, I didn’t look at any of those things,” a parent said.

Other parents and students said they do feel certain topics are being targeted.

“Just because you don’t understand something or you don’t like it doesn’t mean it’s obscene or inappropriate,” a parent said.

Many community members said they have an issue with the district’s process of prematurely pulling the books before completing a review.

“One parent’s view of what they feel is right for their child should not interfere with the rights of the remaining student body,” a community member said.

“Anyone who supports the removal of those books is reaching beyond their realm of control and is now trying to act as a parent for all Canby students,” a former teacher in the Canby School District said.

The district said it plans to complete the reconsideration by this summer.

Books that received a request for reconsideration:

“A Court of Mist and Fury” by Sarah J Maas “A Court of Silver Flames” by Sarah J Maas “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J Maas “A Court of Wings and Ruin” by Sarah J Maas “Allegedly” by Tiffany D. Jackson “Beloved” by Toni Morrison “Beyond Magenta” by Susan Kuklin “Breathless” by Jennifer Niven “Crank” by Ellen Hopkins “Heartstopper” Volume one by Alice Oseman “Heartstopper” Volume two by Alice Oseman “Impulse” by Ellen Hopkins “Perfect” by Ellen Hopkins “Eleanor & Park” by Rainbow Rowell “Empire of Storms” by Sarah J Maas “Fade” by Lisa McMann “Homegoing” by Yaa Gyasi “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter” by Erika Sánchez “Lolita” by Vladimir Nabokov “Looking for Alaska” by John Green “Me Earl and the Dying Girl” by Jesse Andrews “Milk and Honey” by Rupi Kaur “Monday’s Not Coming” by Tiffany D. Jackson “My Friend Dahmer” by Derf Backderf “None of the Above” by I.W. Gregorio “Out of Darkness” by Ashley Hope Perez “Sold” by Patricia McCormick “The Art of Racing in the Rain” Garth Stein “The Bluest Eyes” by Toni Morrison “The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls “The Handmaid’s Tale: A Graphic Novel” by Margaret Atwood “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood “The Nowhere Girls” by Amy Reed “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky “The Truth About Alice” by Jennifer Mathieu “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen

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