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School Summer Reading List Draws Conflict

book cover

CHESTERFIELD, Va. (AP) - The decision to pull books from a Chesterfield County summer reading list has drawn the attention of a state senator and criticism from national free-speech advocacy groups.
 
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that during a June School Board meeting, Chesterfield Schools leader Donna Dalton said the division revised a summer reading list after parents expressed concerns over some of the books.
 
Some parents and state Sen. Amanda Chase say books removed from the list - like "Tyrell" by Coe Booth and "Dope Sick" by Walter Dean Myers - contain pornographic scenes and profanity. Chase says the division should label books based on their content.
 
Several organizations, including the National Council of Teachers in English, say that labeling the books is a "blatant form of censorship."
 
     A committee is reviewing the books and is expected to deliver a report to the superintendent by September.
 

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.