Hutchinson School Board approved two policies during its Jan. 8 meeting outlining how the public can request removal of a book, textbook or other instructional materials from district schools.
One policy allows a school district employee, student, residents of the school district or a parent or guardian of a student to submit a request to remove a book or resource from the library. The request is reviewed by the media specialist, who is a licensed library media specialist.
The media specialist works with a committee appointed by the superintendent that would include the superintendent or their designee, principal of the school, two teachers of the school and a school board member. This committee would relay its decision to the requester and the School Board, at which time the board can approve or veto the decision.
Parents and guardians can request that their child or children not have access to certain materials without processing a request for the materials’ removal.
The second policy works similarly but with textbooks and instructional materials, and the director of teaching and learning handles most of the process.
Two speakers attended the Jan. 8 meeting to voice their concerns.
Sandy Juffer, a resident of the school district, said her concerns are that young people are “being left with no standards to hold on to."
“There’s no definition of what is right or wrong,” she continued. “It is determined by how everyone feels. People are being measured not by their ability to achieve. The next generation needs protection and direction. But they also need to be taught values and ways to strengthen their character to be able to stand for what is right and good in this world. I’ve been told that someone made a comment about the article on the last school board meeting that we’re trying to ban books. To the contrary, we’re trying to keep our schools from providing pornographic material as defined by the Minnesota Legislature to our students.”
Lori Krenik, a community member, also had some concerns.
“I’m a mother of an elementary school teacher and a daughter of a retired middle school teacher, and I cannot stress enough the importance of and reliance on our school media specialists,” she said. “They are well educated, trained, experienced and are given specific guidance on how to choose library materials. I am asking that the policies 606.5 and 606.5F allow them to do their job fully and completely in the selection and review of any materials in consultation with the superintendent or his designee, principals and our teachers.”
Board member Michael Massmann and Chairman Garrett Luthens said the policies were being tailored to the community.
“The policy that was written by MSBA removed even more authority and responsibility from our media specialists who I think this board and our community put a lot of trust in,” Massmann said. “This was tailored to enable that individual to do their job without being burdened by people on the board. We trust our specialists, (and) we’re going to have their back if we make a decision to support them.”
