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Controversial books no longer banned from Chesterfield reading list

Posted at 1:38 AM, Sep 14, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-14 01:38:36-04

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- Chesterfield County Schools decided Tuesday that three controversial books on the summer reading list would not be banned.

During a School Board hearing on June 16, a number of parents raised concerns about the content of "Eleanor and Park," "Dope Sick," and "Tyrell."

All three books were on the summer reading list for county middle school students.

summer-reading

In August, the books were pulled from list after some parents complained of sexually explicit language and violence.

Since that time, the Chesterfield County Superintendent says a committee has reviewed the content of the books, and deemed them to be appropriate.

Tuesday, Chesterfield County Schools Superintendent James F. Lane followed the committee's recommendation and decide to put the books back on the summer reading list.

Chesterfield County School spokesperson Shawn Smith released a statement to CBS 6 that read:

“The Superintendent and the School Board would like to thank the parents, teachers, and staff on the committee that reviewed the three books.  We would also like to thank the parents who brought forward these concerns.  We have an amazing community and think that we had an informative community conversation.

We recognize that everyone may not agree with the committee’s decision, but will move forward with their recommendations.  We hope that the increased parent engagement in this topic will bring us each closer to our families and our students.

We have revised our summer reading list and feel like we addressed the parent concerns related to the lists.  As it relates to the books in the libraries, we encourage parents to work directly with their school librarians to help choose the best books for their child.”

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