The Bible is off the shelves at elementary and middle-school libraries in a suburban Utah district, after a parent's complaint, writes AP's Sam Metz. It remains in high school libraries in Davis School District north of Salt Lake City.
A 2022 state law requires districts to include parents in decisions over what constitutes “sensitive material,” writes Metz.
A copy of the complaint obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune through a public records request shows that the parent noted the Bible contains instances of incest, prostitution and rape. The complaint derided a “bad faith process” and said the district was “ceding our children’s education, First Amendment Rights, and library access” to Parents United.
The review committee decided the Bible isn't indecent, but also isn't suitable for younger children.
On Friday, a complaint was received about the Book of Mormon.
"The Bible has long found itself on the American Library Association’s list of most challenged books and was temporarily pulled off shelves last year in school districts in Texas and Missouri," Metz reports.
By the way, a Florida K-8 school did not ban or restrict access to Amanda Gorman's The Hill We Climb, reports Jordan Liles for Snopes. After a parent's complaint, the review committee noted that Gorman is National Youth Poet Laureate and the youngest poet to read at a presidential inauguration. It found the book has "educational value" and "historical significance." The book, which is classified as "young adult" by its publisher, is in the middle-school section of the media center, where it's available to all students.
Like so many other things, this should be democratic. If most parents feel the Bible is too intense for younger children (and it does have some pretty dicey spots, if you know where to look), then either restrict it to older children or only stock one of the gentler translations. Apply exactly the same rules as you would for any other books.