Cherry Hill superintendent says district won’t require permission slips for ‘sensitive’ books
An internal memo had suggested that students would need parental permission in order to check out books with "sensitive" material. The memo was sent to school media specialists.
Cherry Hill Schools Superintendent Kwame Morton is seeking to reassure parents that the district has no plans to ban or censor library books, after an internal memo suggested that students would need parental permission to check out “sensitive” books.
At a school board meeting Tuesday night, Morton attempted to ease concerns from parents and librarians over the memo, which was sent to media specialists by the district’s director of curriculum and instruction on Oct. 31 and obtained by The Inquirer. It was quickly blasted by library associations as an attempt to censor students.
“The district is not seeking to censor or ban any books. We are not providing or requiring any parent permission slips or anything of that nature,” Morton said.
He made similar reassurances in a statement to the school community last week after an Inquirer story.
Morton also noted that he met with some school media specialists Tuesday, who gave him suggested protocols on book selection, though he didn’t provide specifics.
“We support our media specialists wholeheartedly,” the superintendent said. “We believe in them.”
During the public comment portion of Tuesday’s board meeting, parent Darby Malvey, a media specialist in another district, said she still had concerns about why the issue was under discussion. Several parents addressed the board on the topic.
“I’m really happy to hear that the district is committing to not engaging in policies of outright censorship, but the fact remains that the memo was written and distributed,” said Malvey, adding that “processes could be coming that complicate access to materials.”
Another parent, Cathy DeCampli, a librarian at the Haddonfield Public Library, expressed concern, and thanked Morton for addressing the issue.
“We want to make sure that while you aren’t trying to censor books, we don’t want any unintentional barriers between kids and books,” she said. “That is sometimes what can happen when we have policies like this.”
Morton said the district wanted to ensure that the libraries were stocked with age-appropriate reading materials. Cherry Hill enrolls 11,000 students.
Amy Penwell, vice president of the New Jersey Association of School Librarians, has said the protocol outlined in the internal memo, if implemented, would violate students’ First Amendment rights.
Penwell said it would also conflict with the state’s Freedom to Read Act, which takes effect in December and prohibits arbitrary book banning in public and school libraries. It also protects library staff from bullying and intimidation.
Board president Gina Winters said current board policies comply with state law.