Parents May Opt Out Children From Specific Books

by Melissa Wilkinson

In response to recent discussions on books available to students in Kirkwood School District libraries, the district has introduced new forms for parents to opt out their children from specific books.

To assist families in research and decision making, the district has compiled an aggregate list of book titles from the American Library Association’s annual Top 10 Most Challenged Books list between 2001 and 2021. The list has been cross-referenced against each school’s collection.

School-specific opt out forms — available at www.kirkwoodschools. org/Page/10753 — contain a list of all challenged books available at each school, as well as a brief description of why that book is controversial, including violence, sexual themes, political themes, LGBT content and racial/cultural concerns.

Parents can select individual books to restrict their child from checking out of their school library, or they may tick a box to select all titles. Parents can also add additional titles not listed on the form.

Parents can use Destiny Discover to explore books and other resources within a library collection at www. kirkwoodschools.org/destinydiscover.

“Nonsense”

For some Kirkwood parents, the new forms are not enough. A public comment from Stacy Winters read at the Kirkwood School District Board of Education meeting on Aug. 22 accuses the board of placing the onus on parents to sift through available books for inappropriate content.

“I hope no one is patting themselves on the back for this nonsense,” wrote Winters. “No parent should have to filter through the inefficient Destiny Discover database to explore the books on a frequent basis to then fill out an opt-out for their children in order to ensure they are only provided books that actually meet the existing rules and laws.”