Sumner County Commissioners once again passed a resolution at their January 23rd meeting calling on the local school board to follow state law and ensure that the Sumner County School environment is free from obscene and provocative material. The resolution, similar to one passed in November, comes on the heels of the Sumner County School Board voting to keep the book “A Place Inside of Me” on its shelves.
The book about a young Black boy who’s upset about a police shooting in his neighborhood includes a poem and illustrations showing a child navigating his emotions in the aftermath of a police shooting. Critics of the book felt that a book depicting police wielding billy clubs preparing to hit people is inappropriate for six-year-olds. The book’s defenders argued that for some, this is reality.
Based on recently passed legislation, the book is in violation of governing policy dictating how schools can discuss race and sexual orientation. That legislation restricts teachers from discussing 14 concepts deemed cynical or divisive. Among the concepts included are that the United States is fundamentally or irredeemably sexist or racist and that an individual is inherently privileged, racist, sexist, or oppressive because of race or gender.
School board members voted 7-3 to keep the book available to students after hearing from citizens voicing concerns on both sides of the debate. The vote upheld the decision of the review committee from a local elementary school but flew in the face of concerns voiced by County Commissioners.
The previous resolution sparked a lawsuit challenging the legal authority of the Community Commissioners, with opponents further arguing that they violated open records laws in passing the resolution. Despite that lawsuit remaining unsettled, Commissioners passed a new resolution aimed at bringing the school district into compliance with state law.
In an email exchange with The Tennessee Star, Professional Educators of Tennessee (PET) Executive Director JC Bowman said, “This is the next phase of the ongoing debate on content and curriculum. This could be construed as blurring the lines and overreach by this County Commission on the local education agency.”
Bowman added, that in this case, “It appears that they have done a good job to not infringe on LEA statutory authority while citing graphic examples that violate Tennessee law. The litmus test is whether the actual examples meet definitions of current state law.”
The newest filing again asserts a violation of TCA 39-17-911, a state obscenity law regarding minors, and cites the book “Lawn Boy”, which was found in two Sumner County high schools. Text found in the book has a grown man thinking about graphically narrated sex between two small boys:
“He talked about all the times at the church but never mentioned our penises, or the fact that he never said ten words to me after our little foray in the bushes. Not a single reference to holding or tugging or sucking d**ks. All I could think about while he was chatting me up over the rim of his cappuccino was his little salamander between my fourth-grade fingers, rapidly engorging with blood.”
Currently in Summer County, as in most Tennessee counties, books are reviewed by a designated committee. If a parent is unhappy with the committee’s review, they can take it up with the school board. If a complainant is unhappy with the school board’s verdict, the next step remains nebulous.
Local districts are still awaiting guidance on the appeals process for a local school district’s ruling. Lawmakers have charged the Tennessee State Textbook Commission with developing a state appeal process for parents unhappy with local decisions. That process was due to be codified in December 2022. The Textbook Commission, citing a lack of funding, staff, and legal advice, has yet to deliver on its duty.
The textbook commission was established in 1983. It has no offices, no full-time staff, and no independent lawyers with whom to confer. Most members have full-time jobs and lean on administrative support from the Tennessee Department of Education for support in fulfilling the body’s core responsibility of approving textbooks and instructional materials.
Current Commission Chair Linda Cash has informed the Governor and his cabinet “that it is imperative” the commission hire an executive director, an attorney, and administrative support to help it carry out both its old and new responsibilities. She reiterated the need for a policy adviser and additional support from the state education department at the last Textbook Commission meeting.
A lack of guidance from the state and increased parental concerns likely set up future courtroom battles. Referring back to the Sumner County resolution, Bowman said, “The curriculum violation examples cited are probably not protected speech, nor do they likely violate the first amendment. In the end, this will continue to be debated across the state and in the court of public opinion. I fully expect this ends up in the legal arena and the creation of even more laws.”
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TC Weber is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. He also writes the blog Dad Gone Wild. Follow TC on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected]. He’s the proud parent of two public school children and the spouse of a public school teacher.
Photo “Teacher” by RODNAE Productions.
The school board is wrong in keeping this book on the shelf. They are a bunch of rubber stamps for the district’s administrators.
I have searched as best I can to learn how the 7-3 came about.
Who voted to keep the nasty book and who voted to take it off the shelf?
Can anyone fill me in?
This is just starting to heat up as the Sumner County citizens are learning more and more about the dysfunctional school board and district administrators.
Our morally rotten Academic institutions are broken. Their perverted desire to remake children into adults and easy prey for pedophiles is sickening. This is not education, this is a complete breakdown of decency.