SOMERSET COUNTY, MD — A drafted policy revision by the Board of Education seeks to remove certain books from Somerset County Public Schools (SCPS) and alter the selection process for new materials.
Revisions to Board Policy #500-19 would transfer the power to select and approve new books or digital materials away from librarians to the Board of Education members.
Current Board Chair Matthew Lankford said reading a book assigned in his son's ninth-grade English curriculum was the impetus for his campaign to join the Board, "All Boys Aren't Blue" by George M. Johnson.
Lankford described the contents as "pornographic." He took his concerns to then board members by playing an audio reading of excerpts from the book.
"They almost crawled under their seats," Lankford said of the Board's reactions. "They could not believe what was in these books."
The proposal has drawn strong opposition from the Maryland Association of School Librarians (MASL).
Advocacy Co-Chair Jacob Gerding contributed to a letter MASL sent to the Board expressing their concerns.
Gerding said this is the most aggressive proposal of its kind he has seen in the state.
"This is so much more far-reaching," Gerding said. "In addition to sexually explicit content, there are about 20 other items in the policy that they would rather the libraries not include."
The drafted language includes an extensive list of themes and character traits the SCPS Board of Education deems educationally unsuitable. Words including "profanity, vulgarity and violence," as well as "victimhood, rebellion, futility and lawlessness."
Gerding struggled to think of any classic literature that would not fall under broad categories as broad as "futility."
"If they're just taking it at face value," Gerding said of the verbiage in the proposal, "the people that know the libraries and know the books are saying, what's left in the school library once this is done?"
Lankford said the goal is to keep students focused on age-appropriate content conducive to improving SCPS's academic standing.
The revised policy also seeks to weed out certain identity-based instruction in the classroom. Lankford said a gender-meter activity done in an English class was of particular concern to him.
"That's not really education," Lankford said. "That's something different and we want to give our children an education."
In its letter to the Board, the MASL called the policy's legality into question.
MASL asserted that the policy changes may violate the Freedom to Read Act, which Governor Wes Moore signed into law last year, and may even amount to a First Amendment issue.
"The whole purpose of the First Amendment is to protect freedom of speech and the freedom of access to information for all people," Gerding said.
Lankford acknowledged that some content would require a more nuanced review than others, but he said the Board must further define what crosses the line if the revisions are ultimately made.
Governor Wes Moore's office declined WBOC's request for an interview.
The SCPS Board of Education will again consider the drafted Revisions to Board Policy #500-19 during its next meeting on April 15, 2025.