10 Governors Oppose Censorship Of School Books

TRENTON – Following news of textbook publishers agreeing to censor their educational materials at the behest of state governments like Florida, nine governors joined New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy in sending publishing companies a letter to make it clear that censorship will not be supported in schools in each of their states and territories.

The full letter reads:

“We are deeply troubled by the news of some textbook publishers yielding to the unreasonable demands of certain government representatives calling for the censorship of school educational materials, specifically textbooks.

“We write to you out of concern that those

Wildfires:

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Wildfi re” incinerated 5,000 acres. It closed local roads as well as several miles of the Garden State Parkway.

In situations like this, fi refighters set up structure protection to shield nearby homes and other buildings. They monitor changes in wind direction and speed, to predict where the fi re will spread. They also use backfi ring to burn away underbrush so that a wildfi re has less fuel to feed on.

NJ Forest Fire Service Assistant Division Warden Trevor Raynor said Jackson fi re “was discovered under Red Flag fi re weather conditions. The National Weather Service puts out that alert. A red flag warning means that the forest and the fuels and the weather is all combined to be conducive to a rapid spread of wildfi res.”

“We get that messaging out ahead but who are charged with supporting the education of this country’s students, such as yourselves, may be tempted to water down critical information to appeal to the lowest common denominator. We urge any company who has not yet given in to this pressure to hold the line for our democracy. unfortunately there was a fire detected and it is burning under these more severe conditions,” he said. “The fi re is burning a little more aggressively than it would this time of year. June is typically our green (flag) season but things are dry out right now, having a lack of rainfall.”

“Our country’s future is at stake. You hold enormous influence in shaping how our great nation’s history is told, and the consequences of your actions will reverberate for generations to come. Honestly grappling with our legacy has long been a cornerstone of American patriotism. If we are to continue striving for a more perfect union, then we must carry out our duty of ensuring future generations understand our full history as well as the contributions of all its people. That includes learning from our mistakes. These lessons are vital to preparing our youth to fully engage in a free and fair democracy.

Officials reported Stage 3 restrictions in place for northern and central New Jersey which means that no fi res of any kind are permitted.

Stage 2 restrictions remain in place for southern New Jersey which means all fi res in wooded areas will be prohibited unless they are in an elevated prepared fi replace.

The fire officials stressed the lack of significant rain fall in the previous three weeks. It was also stated that a 30% increase in fi re activity has been recorded in New Jersey so far this year.

Red flag warnings are serious and not many are issued per year so when they are

“Sanitizing our educational texts for the mercurial comfort of a few today ultimately limits the next generation’s ability to make informed decisions for themselves. Moreover, the negative impact that censorship and book-banning has on this nation’s students – many already marginalized and underrepresented in society – cannot be overstated during a time when we are facing an unprecedented youth mental health crisis. Each and every single student in the United States of America has the right to exist, to be seen, and to be represented.

“It is an important priority of our administrations to ensure that any educational materials censored to appeal to political pressure do not negatively impact our educational goals and values in our states. As such, please know that we will be working closely with all of our school districts to ensure they are fully informed of which texts include comprehensive and accurate educational information – and which have been inappropriately censored – when they issued residents should heed those warnings, officials said.

Greg McLaughlin, the chief state fi re warden for New Jersey Forest Fire Service, said “keep in mind that spring is fi re season in New Jersey and if some of the elements of the weather come together, low humidity and wind, that is enough to have a significant fi re start and spread. Red Flag warnings bring in all the parameters of weather, wind, temperature, humidity.”

“The continuing impacts of climate change consider procurement of instructional materials for the nearly nine million students our states serve.” mean our state is experiencing more severe weather conditions, storms, wind and drought that can result in a longer wildfi re season, which is why it is more important than ever that the public exercise caution and take steps to help protect their homes and property,” Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette said prior to forest fire season. “Preventing wildfi res also helps avoid catastrophic releases of carbon that contribute to and exacerbate climate change.”

In addition to Murphy, the governors who signed onto the letter are: Delaware’s John Carney, Illinois’ J.B. Pritzker, Maryland’s Wes Moore, Massachusetts’ Maura Healey, New Mexico’s Michelle Lujan Grisham, New York’s Kathy Hochul, Rhode Island’s Dan McKee, Washington’s Jay Inslee and Albert Bryan, governor of the Territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The letter was sent to nine publishers who sell K-12 textbooks and educational materials, as well as the Association of American Publishers, which represents the leading book, journal, and education publishers in the United States.

The publishing companies that received the letter are: Cengage Learning, Goodheart-Willcox, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw Hill Education, Pearson, Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, Savvas Learning Co., Scholastic, and the Teachers Curriculum Institute.