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Public raises concerns about inclusion of The Kite Runner and district compliance with HB 805
Summary
Members of the public read from The Kite Runner and urged the board to re-evaluate its inclusion in high school curriculum; other commenters said new North Carolina law (HB 805) requires policy changes to classroom library transparency and parental notice.
Public commenters at Tuesdays Wake County Board of Education meeting criticized the presence of Khaled Hosseini's novel The Kite Runner in a high school English curriculum and urged the board to adopt policies to comply with recent state law changes, including HB 805.
One speaker read a selection from The Kite Runner and described the excerpt as "deeply troubling," saying the novel's content is too dark for high school students and leaves readers with a "profound sense of hopelessness." The speaker called for the board to adopt alternative, more uplifting titles and said she looked forward to district policies that would allow parental exemptions where assigned readings conflict with personal beliefs.
In a separate comment, Becky Lou Hobbs cited HB 805 and said the district must revise local policies to comply with the law, which she summarized as requiring that (1) parents be given advanced notice about specific classroom instruction, discussions, activities and assigned readings so they may opt students out; (2) online access to library catalogs be available from a schools homepage; and (3) private spaces for children be provided on overnight field trips. Hobbs said the policy committee discussed some changes but that "many critical policies remain untouched" and the district was not yet fully compliant.
Why it matters: The comments reflect community concern about curriculum content and parental notification. Board members earlier acknowledged the state law changes and said some policy revisions were under way; a speaker cited a recent Wake County Educational Committee decision that denied a parent's request to remove The Kite Runner from a high school curriculum.
Board response and next steps: The transcript records that the policy committee discussed required changes and that some policy revisions will appear on a future board agenda for first reading. No additional board action was taken at this meeting beyond public comment and the committees prior work; the public urged faster, broader compliance with HB 805 and better online access to classroom and library materials.
