OCEANSIDE, Calif. — Community members are calling on the Oceanside Unified School District to remove certain books from school libraries saying they are age-inappropriate. Many of the books surround LGBTQ topics.
Supporters of LGBTQ students and rights were also at Tuesday’s school board meeting.
The issue first drew attention after requests were made at last month’s meeting, calling on the board to remove a handful of books in schools. After no action was taken, those same demands were made on Tuesday, but they were also met with strong support to keep making those books available to students.
Though the topic was not on the agenda, Oceanside Superintendent Dr. Julie Vitale addressed it by telling the crowd there is a process in which instructional materials can be formally challenged by staff, district residents and parents or guardians of students in the district.
“Of the 11 books on the list, four were in our library previous to this board being seated and one goes back as far as 2010. We do have a board policy that outlines the process for a request for reconsideration of instructional materials,” Vitale said.
Many of the people calling for the removal of the books were criticized for not living in the area or not having children belonging to the district.
Supporters of LGBTQ youth included educators in the district and community members, but also people without students in the district.
Other than the concerns raised at the board meetings, the district says it has not received any formal challenges to books available in its schools.
The district tells FOX 5 there is also an option available to parents to prevent their own child from checking out certain books at the library if they choose.