South Carolina Lawmakers to Reject New Restrictions to Evaluate Books in Public Schools

June 3, 2024

Open letter to South Carolina legislators

To South Carolina’s legislators,

We, the undersigned advocacy organizations, publishers, and authors, are writing with grave concern about proposed regulations that will lead to the removal of books and literature across South Carolina’s public schools. As expressed by students, parents, educators, librarians, and experts on free expression, these proposed regulations pose a threat to the freedom to read, to the detriment of students across South Carolina.

We are writing to urge South Carolina’s legislative body to halt Regulations 43-170 which are slated to go into effect on June 25th unless the General Assembly amends the Sine Die resolution to include language that tolls the period of review for state agency regulations. The proposed regulations will impose a “two-part test to evaluate if materials are age and developmentally appropriate, and if they are educationally suitable and aligned with the state’s instructional program.” These regulations also added an additional appeal process to the State Board of Education whose decisions will affect all school districts across the state.

Our concerns raised in this letter are two-fold. First, if the regulations are enacted, this statewide policy mandates that any instructional materials that contain descriptions of “sexual conduct” will not be considered “‘age and developmentally appropriate’ for any age” through grade 12. This is alarming as we have witnessed how similar language applied in states like Iowa has resulted in mass book bans affecting classics, 20th-century masterpieces, books used in AP courses, and contemporary Young Adult novels.

Authors, librarians, and educators already have sensible systems in place that ensure students have access to a range of age- and developmentally-appropriate materials in public school libraries. Adding government-mandated “tests” for age appropriateness will only chill speech and restrict access to literature for students across South Carolina.

Second, these regulations will efficiently eradicate an already narrow space for education in public schools regarding sexual violence, abuse, and consent. To make books with “sexual conduct” unavailable for all students—when districts serve students who range in age from 5 to 18—is to cut off a lifeline and put students at further risk.

Experts on sexual violence and abuse have repeatedly reported on the values of young people’s access to literature that introduces these issues. By learning about the signs of abuse and what consent means, young people are more likely to know how to speak up in harmful situations, reach out for help, or be able to recognize past instances of abuse they have experienced.

Over 100 books have been banned in South Carolina schools since 2021, a number bound to increase should these regulations come into effect. Librarians and educators are already well-placed to curate libraries, as they have done in South Carolina for decades, making additional “tests” an unnecessary government mandate.

As signatories of this letter, we represent a diverse group of experts and advocates working on supporting free expression, civil rights, and the rights of survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. While some policy-makers have expressed their beliefs that this is a well-intentioned attempt to monitor books in schools, ultimately, these policies will do far more harm than good.

The freedom to read is the lifeblood of our democracy. Literature can open doors, hearts, and minds, helping prepare young people for the world they navigate. For these reasons, and more, we urge you to stop these regulations from moving forward.

Young people deserve access to literature, the same as they have had for years. Books aren’t harmful – censorship is.

Signed:

Author Signatories

Organizational Signatories

Publisher Signatories

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