Greenville County School Board votes 9–3 to remove Ellen Hopkins’ Tricks from district media centers after heated public comment

The Greenville County School Board voted 9–3 on June 25 to remove the novel Tricks by Ellen Hopkins from district school media centers, overruling a unanimous recommendation by its high-school Materials Review Committee.

Supporters of keeping the book told the board during public comment that the title — purchased for high-school media centers in 2010 and not part of required curriculum — offers a cautionary account that can help vulnerable teens. "This book describes the lives of some teens in no way does it glorify drug use, sex or prostitution," said Heather Bigga, a parent who said she had read the book in full and urged the board to respect the students and volunteers on the Review Committee.

Miss Sarah Fletcher, a committee member, summarized the panel’s May 21 deliberations and its unanimous vote to retain the book after reviewing age range (grades 9–12), purpose, educational value and community standards. "The committee was made up of parents, students, counselors, librarians, teachers and a clergy member," Fletcher said, and concluded the book has redeeming literary qualities.

Board members who supported removal said the book’s graphic depictions of sexual violence and drug use make it developmentally inappropriate for high-school media shelves without stronger safeguards. "I read this in its entirety ... there's a description of a young man who is being anally penetrated," said Dr. Presley, describing the passage as an example of content that, in her view, lacked an explicit adult framing that would make clear the conduct is wrong. Several board members urged creating restricted access or a parental-permission checkout, but noted existing district systems do not support per-title approvals at scale.

After debate, board member Miss Duan offered a substitute motion to overturn the Review Committee’s decision and remove Tricks from all Greenville County School media centers; that motion was seconded and carried on a roll-call vote. The roll call recorded nine votes in favor and three opposed (Miss Goodwin Carwell, Miss Middleton, Miss Morrison). The board clerk read the motion as: "to overturn the decision of the high school Materials Review Committee and remove the book Tricks by Ellen Hopkins from all GCS school media centers." The board then implemented that action.

The discussion repeatedly referenced a new state-level procedure for reconsideration of instructional materials from the South Carolina Department of Education; board members said the new state rules (described in the meeting) add a layer of review beyond the local process. Administration staff had told the board the committee’s charge is to weigh whether a work has "redeeming value" that counters potentially rough material, and that the Review Committee had reached that conclusion in this case.

The removal decision follows extensive public comment from parents, teachers and committee members representing both positions. The board did not vote to ban the title from public libraries or bookstores; the motion applied to district media centers. The district administration will carry out the logistics of removal and any follow-up communications to schools and families.

The board also discussed potential policy or procedural changes to how mature-content titles are selected and managed, including a resolution the board later approved urging a national rating system for books and discussion of restricted-access shelving or parental-permission processes; no immediate district-wide sequestering protocol was adopted as part of this vote.

The board’s action was the final item on the book challenge; there was no further vote to reinstate the book during this meeting.