A K-8 school in Miami-Dade County issued banned three books and one poem for elementary students after a parent complained, claiming they included topics that were inappropriate for students and should be removed “from the total environment.”
Only the kids who are middle-school aged are allowed to access the books.
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Books which were written for ages five and up, are now I g being pushed out of elementary school and into middle schools if not banned altogether according to Stephana Ferrell, the director of research and insight at Florida Freedom to Read Project.
“Books written for students grades K-5 are being pushed to middle school [libraries and] out of reach for the students they were intended for,” she said. The books aren’t being banned from the district, she argued, “but they’re banned for the students they were intended for.”
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Daily Salinas, a parent of two students at at Bob Graham Education Center in Miami Lakes, challenged The ABCs of Black History, Cuban Kids, Countries in the News Cuba, the poem The Hills We Climb, which was recited by poet Amanda Gorman at the inauguration of President Joe Biden, and Love to Langston for what she said included references of critical race theory, “indirect hate messages,” gender ideology and indoctrination, according to records obtained by the Florida Freedom to Read Project.
According to reporting from the Miami Herald, he titles were deemed “better suited” or “more appropriate” for middle school students, despite acknowledging that at least one book, The ABCs of Black History, was written for ages 5 and up. The books would be kept in the middle school section of the media center, the review concluded.
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No information was provided by the review committee citing was was considered “inappropriate” for elementary students within the books.
The parent stated she wanted to see the titles banned for all grades as “they do not support the school’s curriculum.”
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