Petition to Uphold Decency in Required Reading Assignments in Blue Valley

WARNING! Many books assigned for a grade in the Blue Valley school system include graphic and vulgar descriptions of sexual acts, murder, rape, incest, pedophilia, bestiality, child molestation, and torture of people and animals. In addition, some contain an excessive use of profanity. Many parents are currently unaware of this situation, and the books are assigned without prior parental notification of this offensive adult content.

We, the undersigned, petition the Blue Valley School Board to remove the following books from the required curriculum that do not pass the selection criterion of Blue Valley policy 4600 which states: “The absence of vulgar language, sexual explicitness, or violent imagery that is gratuitously employed.” A list of educationally rich replacements is provided.

REMOVE – Offensive Titles				Suggested Replacements include…
Book	Grade	Book	Grade	(most recommended from CollegeBoard.com)
All the Pretty Horses	11	Hot Zone	12	The Count of Monte Cristo			Moby Dick
Animal Dreams	12	I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings	10	David Copperfield	The Narrative of Frederick Douglass
The Awakening	11	Lords of Discipline	12	Don Quixote	One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
The Bean Trees	10	One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest	11	The Good Earth	The Return of the Native
Beloved	12	Song of Solomon	11	Ivanhoe	Robinson Crusoe
Black Boy	11	Stotan	9	The Last of the Mohicans		Silas Marner
Going After Cacciato	12	Boy’s Life	10	The Mill on the Floss		Treasure Island
						Uncle Tom’s Cabin

What has the U.S. Supreme Court said about this issue? In the 1982 case, Board of Education v. Pico, the U.S. Supreme Court recognizes the legitimate authority that school boards have in removing materials from the educational settings of school libraries and classrooms that are “pervasively vulgar” or “educational unsuitable.” The Court maintains that the school board actions should reflect “community interest in promoting respect for authority and traditional values be they social, moral, or political.”

Signature	Printed Name	Street Address	Zip Code	Date of Signing
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