Avenues for Engagement? Testing the Democratic Nature of Library Book Challenge Processes
Fuente:
ERIC Institute of Education Sciences
Salvato in:
| Autori principali: | , |
|---|---|
| Natura: | Recurso educativo Open Access |
| Lingua: | en |
| Pubblicazione: |
2024
|
| Soggetti: | |
| Accesso online: | |
| Tags: |
Aggiungi Tag
Nessun Tag, puoi essere il primo ad aggiungerne!!
|
| _version_ | 1867181340378529792 |
|---|---|
| author | Pamela Catherine Callahan Joel D. Miller |
| author_facet | Pamela Catherine Callahan Joel D. Miller Pamela Catherine Callahan Joel D. Miller |
| collection | Education Resources Information Center |
| contents | Avenues for Engagement? Testing the Democratic Nature of Library Book Challenge Processes Pamela Catherine Callahan Joel D. Miller School Libraries Public Schools Censorship Constitutional Law Freedom of Speech School Policy Library Materials Board of Education Policy Student Rights Citizen Participation Background or Context: Public school library book challenges have garnered ample media attention in recent years as many school districts and advocacy organizations have reported record numbers of book challenges. Book challenges are not a new phenomenon, historically speaking, but they have often illuminated values clashes in communities and raise questions about the rights and freedoms of public school students. Judicial rulings and school district policies that address book challenges could provide insights for many members of school communities (including, but not limited to, school board members, students, parents, and teachers) as they experience challenges, but these aspects of the legal record and their influence on responses to book challenges remains underexamined in scholarship. Purpose, Objective, Research Question, or Focus of Study: The 1982 Supreme Court case "Island Trees School District v. Pico" remains the lasting judicial precedent for interpreting public school students' First Amendment rights as they interact with school library books. We examine the extent to which school district book challenge policies align with court precedent set in "Pico" (1982) and the implications for students' rights and democratic participation during book challenges. Research Design: Drawing on elements of the law and society framework as well as political analysis categories, this study uses qualitative methods to illuminate specific elements of district policies that govern book challenges. Specifically, we examine 29 policies in school districts that experienced a publicly reported book challenge between 2017 and 2021 to understand relationships between school district book challenge policies and the "Pico" (1982) precedent. Conclusions or Recommendations: Our findings reveal ample space between judicial rulings and school district policies we examine. In fact, we find a broader array of relevant actors in book challenge processes than conceived by the courts and raise implications for students' constitutional rights and protections related to who policies indicate may or must be involved in these processes, the settings in which book challenge decisions are made, and the limited roles for public involvement during school library book challenges. |
| format | Recurso educativo Open Access |
| id | eric_EJ1435382 |
| institution | ERIC Institute of Education Sciences |
| language | en |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| record_format | eric |
| spellingShingle | Avenues for Engagement? Testing the Democratic Nature of Library Book Challenge Processes Pamela Catherine Callahan Joel D. Miller School Libraries Public Schools Censorship Constitutional Law Freedom of Speech School Policy Library Materials Board of Education Policy Student Rights Citizen Participation Avenues for Engagement? Testing the Democratic Nature of Library Book Challenge Processes Pamela Catherine Callahan Joel D. Miller School Libraries Public Schools Censorship Constitutional Law Freedom of Speech School Policy Library Materials Board of Education Policy Student Rights Citizen Participation Background or Context: Public school library book challenges have garnered ample media attention in recent years as many school districts and advocacy organizations have reported record numbers of book challenges. Book challenges are not a new phenomenon, historically speaking, but they have often illuminated values clashes in communities and raise questions about the rights and freedoms of public school students. Judicial rulings and school district policies that address book challenges could provide insights for many members of school communities (including, but not limited to, school board members, students, parents, and teachers) as they experience challenges, but these aspects of the legal record and their influence on responses to book challenges remains underexamined in scholarship. Purpose, Objective, Research Question, or Focus of Study: The 1982 Supreme Court case "Island Trees School District v. Pico" remains the lasting judicial precedent for interpreting public school students' First Amendment rights as they interact with school library books. We examine the extent to which school district book challenge policies align with court precedent set in "Pico" (1982) and the implications for students' rights and democratic participation during book challenges. Research Design: Drawing on elements of the law and society framework as well as political analysis categories, this study uses qualitative methods to illuminate specific elements of district policies that govern book challenges. Specifically, we examine 29 policies in school districts that experienced a publicly reported book challenge between 2017 and 2021 to understand relationships between school district book challenge policies and the "Pico" (1982) precedent. Conclusions or Recommendations: Our findings reveal ample space between judicial rulings and school district policies we examine. In fact, we find a broader array of relevant actors in book challenge processes than conceived by the courts and raise implications for students' constitutional rights and protections related to who policies indicate may or must be involved in these processes, the settings in which book challenge decisions are made, and the limited roles for public involvement during school library book challenges. |
| title | Avenues for Engagement? Testing the Democratic Nature of Library Book Challenge Processes |
| topic | School Libraries Public Schools Censorship Constitutional Law Freedom of Speech School Policy Library Materials Board of Education Policy Student Rights Citizen Participation |
| url | https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1435382 |