Consequential Issues of Censoring Curriculum: Who Has the Right to Ban What’s Read?

Abstract

Ms. Sampson, a White eighth-grade teacher in a predominately White suburban school district in the southern United States, decided to include several books in her lesson plan. Selected books were from the school’s library and had been previously approved by stakeholders as instructional resources for the district. One parent, a school board member, became enraged when he heard about the readings during a Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) back-from-spring-break celebration and contacted the district superintendent. A book was subsequently removed from the library and Ms. Sampson was placed on administrative leave without pay. This case centers on the critical race debate in public schools and how school leaders and other stakeholders address a teacher’s decision to diversify curriculum and instructional resources amid stakeholder pushback.