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Board votes 5–1 to keep STAMPED removed from AP English classroom instruction; leaves copies available in high school libraries
Summary
After receiving a curriculum committee recommendation to lift the temporary removal of the book STAMPED from AP English language instruction, the full board voted 5–1 to instead keep STAMPED out of AP English instruction but retain it in high school libraries. Committee members had previously returned a 7–2 recommendation to lift the restricting
The board addressed the reconsideration request for Stamped (referred to in the meeting as STAMPED) during the agenda review. The curriculum committee had surveyed AP English teachers and reported a 7–2 committee vote to lift the temporary removal and rely on teachers’ professional judgment without additional restrictions. The committee recorded mixed teacher responses: one teacher reported prior classroom use; others used alternative texts to teach rhetorical skills.
During the agenda review the chair (Trustee Pat Bradford) moved that the board not reinstate STAMPED into district course content for AP English language and composition classes but to leave the book available in high school libraries. Bradford moved the motion: “Not reinstate STAMPED into district course content, but leave it in the high school libraries.” The motion passed 5–1 on a roll call. Trustee Tim Merrick cast the lone no vote.
Trustees’ debate referenced AP program guidance (College Board/AP opposition to censoring AP course content) and the committee’s internal process; several trustees and committee members said committee procedures and voting membership needed clarification for future reviews. The curriculum committee had been asked to propose a balanced companion text when the reconsideration request was first made; committee materials included suggested alternate titles and teacher‑supplied substitutes for teaching rhetorical skills. The board did not adopt a balanced‑book list at the agenda review meeting.
The board’s vote is a policy decision that leaves STAMPED accessible in library collections while continuing to restrict its use as an AP class instructional text unless the board changes course in a future vote.
