Four more sexually explicit books have been removed from Cobb County School District library shelves.
Superintendent Chris Ragsdale made the announcement Thursday as he delivered lengthy prepared remarks similar to those he made with the removal of books last September that generated a noisy controversy.
As then, he said the books recently removed contained lewd, vulgar and sexually graphic content, and that “the sexualization of children can never be allowed to become normalized.”
He identified the four books by title (see below for more) and reiterated previous comments that the district would protect children from materials that are not age-appropriate and that this is “a battle between good and evil.”
Ragsdale didn’t say if the books were the subject of parental complaints or what schools had them in their libraries.
The four books removed are as follows:
- Novelist Alice Sebold’s 1999 memoir “Lucky” has won awards in the children’s literature category, but also was pulled by its publisher in 2021 after a man she accused in the book of raping her was exonerated in court. The book’s graphic depiction of the alleged assault prompted a number of school removals across the country.
- Best-selling author Colleen Hoover’s “It Ends With Us” is aimed at adult readers, and includes sexual content and depictions of an abusive relationship.
- “Thirteen Reasons Why” is a 2007 young adult novel by Jay Asher about a high school freshman who commits suicide, and includes sexually explicit content. It’s been widely challenged on the grounds of not being age-appropriate.
- “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky, addresses themes like teen sex, drug use, sexual abuse and abortion, and has been subject to a number of school library removals.
Ragsdale has come under fire from critics alleging a book ban, but he took umbrage in his remarks Thursday.
“We are no more ‘banning books’ than we are banning rated R and NC17 movies,” he said. “What we are doing is not forcing taxpayers to fund students having unrestricted access to materials that are so sexually explicit and graphic they could not be read aloud in the board meeting without violating FCC regulations.
“What we are doing is giving parents peace of mind in knowing their children will not have unrestricted access to this content while at school.
“What we are doing is assuring Cobb County educators will not be forced to assume the heavy burden of incorporating lewd, vulgar, and sexually explicit materials into instruction and student conversations.
“What we are doing is refusing to force Cobb County taxpayers and educators to facilitate and advance the sexualization of children.”
(The Cobb school district later Thursday sent out a full release with a transcript and video of his comments that you can read and watch by clicking here.)
Micheal Garza of East Cobb, parent of a first-grader and a frequent critic of Ragsdale, issued a lengthy response on social media Friday, insisting that “not a single book has ever sexualized a child in Cobb schools,” nor has one endangered a student in school.
“You know what has? Guns. Weapons. Racism. Antisemitism. Islamophobia,” Garza wrote. “Yet the Superintendent spent more time last night talking about porn than he has talked about school safety or bigotry collectively in the past two years.”
Others on a Facebook group page devoted to school matters suggested starting a loose book club to read the books removed from Cobb schools, and discuss there.
Also on Friday, Cobb school board chairman Randy Scamihorn responsed to the latest book in his “Just the Facts” column, backing Ragsdale’s insistence that books aren’t being banned.
“The School Board doesn’t have the authority to decide what you and your family read, and the majority of us believe those are choices you should make at home,” he said. “On the other hand, the Board is responsible for doing everything we can to keep your children safe.”
The Cobb school district also sent out Scamihorn’s comments Friday afternoon in a separate press release.
Related:
- New principals named at East Cobb MS, Garrison Mill ES
- Cobb schools propose FY2025 budget with staff pay raises
- Former Walton educator named Bartow deputy superintendent
- East Cobb high school students named Georgia Scholars
- Wheeler students to perform at Woodruff Arts Center concert
- Cobb school board chairman blasts stormwater fee proposal
- Mt. Bethel Christian appoints theater director
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