Board keeps '13 Reasons Why' available to eighth-graders with parental permission

Spearfish School District 40-2’s board voted March 9 to retain the novel 13 Reasons Why on the middle school library shelf but restricted to eighth-graders with explicit parental permission.

The decision followed public comment from Reverend Doctor Thomas Brown, a Spearfish pastor and father of eight, who urged removal. "This book... details the 13 reasons why Hannah Baker chose to kill herself," Brown said, warning that the novel contains "vivid" and "graphic" depictions of sexual assault and that to a struggling teenager it could signal adults "will fail you too." Brown told the board he had tried to email excerpts to administrators but the district’s email blocked the content.

A board member who moved the motion to retain the book said a review committee read the novel in full, held “very powerful conversations,” and unanimously recommended keeping it available for eighth-graders with parental permission and added safeguards. "We did reach the decision unanimously to leave it to where it's at," the committee member said. The committee also said librarians will place a sticker linking to 988, the suicide-prevention hotline, on copies.

During discussion the superintendent and a board member referenced legal standards the board must consider. The superintendent summarized the Miller obscenity test used in courts: whether material appeals to prurient interest, is patently offensive per community standards, and lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value. Board members emphasized procedural limits, noting district policy 6420 assigns final responsibility for library media inclusion to the board and that a judicial appeal is possible under state law.

Board members clarified access: the title is kept behind the librarian’s desk and students cannot simply take it off the shelf without parental permission. After discussion, the board voted on the motion to retain the book with the current eighth-grade restriction and parental-consent requirement; the chair announced, "Motion carries." The meeting record shows a voice vote; no roll-call tally for yes/no votes was provided in the transcript.

The board’s action leaves the title available only under the committee-recommended restrictions and with an added 988 sticker; the board did not remove the book or impose additional restrictions at this meeting. Next procedural steps were not specified beyond the vote.