Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Book Flamer topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents and educators urge Harford County Board to reinstate library book 'Flamer'
Summary
Dozens of residents, librarians, teachers and students urged the Harford County Board of Education Sept. 8 to reinstate the book Flamer, saying the library reconsideration committee followed required procedures and that the book can support vulnerable students.
At the Sept. 8 meeting of the Harford County Board of Education, more than an hour of public comment centered on the board's recent removal of the YA novel Flamer from school library collections. Dozens of parents, retired librarians, teachers, a student member and public-health professionals urged the board to reverse the decision or to restore the title at least to high-school collections.
"The reconsideration committee reviewed Flamer," said Neil Thompson, citing the Maryland Freedom to Read Act and arguing the board should respect the committee's trained recommendations. "Respect their recommendations. Respect the law." Several speakers said the committee had followed state-mandated procedures and that the board's action amounted to policy-making in a forum intended for appellate review.
Public-health professionals and others emphasized the book's potential mental-health benefits. Tiffany Wandi, who identified herself as a public-health professional with suicide-prevention experience, said Flamer "can literally be life saving" for LGBTQ+ students and urged the board to reinstate the title.
Speakers who had read the book described it as a story about bullying, identity and survival rather than gratuitous explicitness. "If this book could save one life, don't you think it's worth it?" said Kevin Smith, a parent. A fifth-grade student who spoke in person said Flamer is not in her elementary school but argued that "books should not be banned" and that librarians should handle age-based placement.
Some commenters urged procedural fixes rather than only focusing on the single title: Delaine Lewis of Together We Will, Harford County, said the board's move transformed an appellate review into a fact-finding, policy-making action and asked the board to reopen the process publicly so community feedback can be part of any systemwide changes.
Librarians who spoke — including a virtual comment from a HCPS librarian — said professional review placed Flamer in high-school collections, and they urged the board to return it to high-school shelves where professional judgment recommended placement.
The board did not take immediate action on the book during the meeting; the chair noted listening sessions scheduled for Sept. 30 to provide a forum where the community and board leadership can discuss items outside the immediate business agenda.
