During the 2021-2022 school year, parents within Madison County Schools raised concerns about a number of book titles throughout the school libraries that may contain inappropriate materials for some students. In the upcoming board meeting, these parents are hoping to receive an answer on how the board will be moving forward.
Rylon Thompson is a parent of students at Madison Avenue and is hoping this upcoming school board meeting provides the parents with more transparency from the school board and an answer about the 22 books that the board has been reviewing for the last several months. One thing that is also important to Thompson and other parents is that public access continues for the parents to see the list of books available to their children in the school system.
“There was a public access portal online where anybody could go and look at what books were in which school library and then, once they found out that parents were using that system to search out possibly illicit or inappropriate books in the school system, they revoked that access,” Thompson said. “Assistant Superintendent Richard Burge stated in an email to my wife, Brandi, that the reason they revoked the public access to the online portal was that it was being used outside of its intended use. My question to the school board has been ‘What possible other use could there be besides giving parents the ability to see what their kids have access to in the school system?’ They are not responding to that.”
Thompson hopes this school board meeting will result in their public access being reinstated. Parents are also frustrated that the ones who brought the books to the attention of the board were not asked to participate on the review committee at all.
“We want this to be an ongoing thing where books are reviewed in a closer manner to determine whether or not the content is appropriate,” Thompson said. “At least one of the books was read a few months ago in a meeting, and it had some very sexually explicit material in it. I feel like most parents would find that material inappropriate, and they would not want their child to have access to that material without them approving it.”
Thompson said they aren’t trying to take the books out of the school system but rather restrict access to all the students.
“If they still wish to have what I would deem inappropriate content in the school library, to have them in a section where any student can’t just walk in there and check the book out,” Thompson said. “A parent or guardian would have to sign that book out for the student.”
Thompson said they want their kids to be protected from illicit content.
“We want to hold them accountable to put policies in place that protect our children and allow us to have a part of the process of reviewing the books because ultimately we are responsible for raising our kids and for what our kids are being taught,” Thompson said. “We just want to have a part in that process.”
With such a hot topic issue, the process is not without mistakes. Thompson said on the way to the last school board meeting, his daughter who was with him asked why they were going to the meeting. He explained that some of the books in the school library were inappropriate. Her response was suggesting a book that she thought may fit into that category.
“The first book she thought of was a book by Louis Sachar, There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom,” Thompson said. “Of course, now after having the opportunity to review it and talking to other people that have read it, I realize the seemingly innocence of the book, but I think it is obvious the title of the book could be misleading, especially considering the current ongoing conversation that we’ve been having with the school district and the current state of affairs in America.”
Thompson brought it up in the school board meeting as an example without reviewing the book and said he will have to live with that decision now.
“I wish I had time to review it before mentioning it, but I was aggravated that my daughter remembered that the title was seemingly inappropriate after school had been out for at least two months,” Thompson said. “I wanted the board to know that our kids know what is right and wrong, and they have a good memory. What they read and learn about matters.”
Thompson said they want accountability and transparency with the school district’s policies, private classroom libraries, and the district libraries.
“Our children are the future, and it is ultimately our responsibility and God-given role as parents to raise the children in a Godly fashion,” Thompson said. “When access is given to illicit books and confusing situations, it confuses children and those are conversations that are at least for older school age children, if not adults. When you’ve got school aged kids that have access to these books, it is just unnecessary.”
Jennifer Miller, another MCSD parent who has previously spoken on the issue, said this board meeting should be the next step in the process.
“The August school board meeting is going to be interesting because the district committee that has been reviewing the problem books will be giving their report. This could be a watershed moment over how Madison County schools handle exposing our kids to books that contain patently obscene material.”
The board meeting will be on August 1 at 5 p.m. located at 476 Highland Colony Pkwy, Ridgeland.
