GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The Forest Hill Public Schools Board of Education is overhauling their book selection process. During a public meeting on Monday evening, board members and parents discussed what books should be available to students through the school district.

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“No books have been banned,” Superintendent Daniel Behm told WOOD-TV. “What we want to make sure is that we have processes in place for parents to make those decisions for their own children.”

Some board members expressed concern over graphic and sexual content in books that fails to comply with Michigan laws. Holly DeBoer, a trustee, reminded the audience that the books they read as kids, such as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, did not contain this type of material.

Vice President Kristen Covelle disagreed that these classic works are more suitable for students. “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn…has some really inappropriate things in it, some really disturbing moments that might not have come to the minds of people who have read passages that are sexual,” she told the Board. “[There are] incredibly racist, incredibly hurtful, dehumanizing passages, and yet that continues to be read in schools.”

Consensus was equally absent among parents. Becky Olsen said it was unfair that a children’s book called My Footprints, in which the main character is the daughter of an LGBTQ+ couple, was not permitted to be read to students. Stephanie Bruin responded that “I have an army of people that would be willing to help weed these books out of our schools and classrooms” and encouraged the audience to stand and show their support.

The school district is planning to develop a handbook with updated guidelines on how they select their books.