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Students ask to join book-challenge process after McKinley Elementary removes children’s title
Summary
High school students and GSA members pressed the district to include student representation when reviewing challenged books after staff quietly removed The Rainbow Parade from McKinley Elementary, and the superintendent said the district will review procedures and consider student representation.
Several Abington High School students and GSA members addressed the school board on May 13 about the recent removal of the children's book The Rainbow Parade from McKinley Elementary’s library and asked that students be included when the district evaluates challenged materials.
Neely Murphy (recorded in the transcript as "Newly Murphy"), an 11th grader and GSA president, told the board she and other students were not consulted and asked how students would know which books had been removed. "If the school district quietly removes books without telling the students, then the students who need these books the most don't have access to them," she said.
Other student speakers echoed those concerns and argued that books serve as both "windows and mirrors" for children and that students should have representation on committees that review challenged materials. Mariela Odhner, also a member of the high school GSA, described how limiting access can put marginalized students at risk and asked the district to add student representatives to the review process to ensure outcomes consider student perspectives.
Superintendent Dr. Fetcher responded directly. He thanked the students for their suggestion and said the current process — which includes bringing a challenge to a committee that then issues a recommendation to the superintendent — was designed so one individual would not make unilateral decisions. Fetcher said the district would evaluate committee membership and consider whether to add student voices to the challenge process to ensure broader representation.
Why it matters: students and families said they want transparency when materials are removed and to be part of the process. The superintendent agreed to review procedures and noted that the district's elementary libraries currently have varying numbers of titles representing LGBTQ families; he asked staff to examine equity across collections.
Ending The board did not reverse the removal at the meeting. District leaders said they will review the book-challenge procedures and consider adding student representatives to the committee that evaluates challenged materials.
