Dearborn Public Schools has compiled a list of library books challenged by district parents and residents and created a way for parents to opt their child out of being able to check out any of those books that were allowed to remain.
The Challenged Book list includes 19 titles that were challenged, went through the review process, and were allowed to remain in at least some school libraries. The list also includes seven books (five from one series) that were removed from the school libraries as inappropriate for students. District media center guidelines require that high school library books be appropriate for students as young as 13.
As of Jan 11, 2023, no parent or staff member has asked for a formal reconsideration of a challenged book that was allowed to remain in a school library.
District technicians have also developed a method for parents to opt their children out of checking out any of the books on the Challenged Book list.
Earlier this fall, the district created a formal Opt Out Form parents can use to either prevent their child from checking out specific titles or to prevent their student from checking out any school library materials. District technicians have since developed a way to tag challenged books within the district’s library management system. Now, parents have the choice to opt their child out of those specific books without completing a separate opt out form for each title.
The Opt Out form still cannot be used for categories of books because there is no way to flag books from an entire category in the library management system. Dearborn Public Schools has more than 300,000 titles in its schools, including close to 500,000 books.
Parents can learn more information and resources on the Media Material Guidelines and Parent Opt Out web page.