Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Book Bans topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents and librarian urge Gilbert board to resist book bans in schools and libraries
Summary
Two public commenters — a resident and a librarian-parent — urged the Gilbert Public Schools board to reject book removals, saying targeted titles disproportionately affect authors of color and LGBTQ writers and that removing books denies students opportunities to learn and process complex issues.
Two speakers during public comment on Tuesday urged the Gilbert Public Schools governing board to resist calls to remove books from district schools and public libraries.
"Keep books on our school library shelves and let parents, not pressure groups, decide what books that their children can read," said Isabel Guzman, who identified herself as a resident of the Gilbert Public Schools district and said she votes in school board elections. Guzman cited data from PEN America and the American Library Association and said many challenged titles are written by people of color and LGBTQ authors.
Liz Costanzo Lee, a librarian and parent with 25 years' experience, told the board that removing books "is not education, that's erasure," and warned that bans limit students’ ability to process difficult topics in an educational setting. She cited the book 19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult as an example of a challenged title and said students already face real-world exposures — including gun violence — that books can help them understand.
Both speakers asked the board to trust educators and families and to preserve access to diverse stories and viewpoints. The board did not take action on the comments during the meeting; the public-comment admonition read by Dr. Blake Robeson reminded participants that board members may ask staff to review matters but cannot take legal action on items not properly noticed for discussion.
The board thanked the speakers after their remarks and moved on to the next agenda items.
