Some Virginia Schools Incorrectly Using State Law to Remove Library Books, Study Reveals

Letters to the Editor: Mom shocked by child’s library prize: Book about sex

My kids partook in the Summer Reading Club at the Chippewa River District Library System. My 11-year-old picked a prize book that said on the back, ages 8-12. Later, she came to me & said the book was inappropriate. As I started flipping through I was shocked to see “sex,” “birth control,” “condoms,” “Sexually Transmitted Diseases,” “doing it without protection,” within the first few pages. My kids LOVE to read & were excited to get their prizes…

223 book titles pulled from school library shelves in Virginia, but 75% were in just 5 places

Across Virginia over the past five years, 223 different books have been removed from school library shelves, many of them by more than one school system. However, those removals have been concentrated in a relative handful of communities. Hanover County has removed more books from its school library shelves than any other locality in the state — 125 in all. That one county accounts for more than one-third of the book removals in the state.  Alon…

Virginia schools removed 200+ different books from libraries, report finds

Open the article to view the coverage from The Virginian Pilot

Some Virginia schools incorrectly using state law to remove library books, study reveals

RICHMOND, Va. A new study from a nonpartisan government agency revealed that while most Virginia school divisions are not removing any books from their libraries, some are incorrectly citing a 2022 state law to justify removals.The study, released Monday by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), found that 344 books (243 titles were removed, with some being removed in multiple school divisions) have been removed from school l…

Report: Virginia book removals concentrated in few school districts

(The Center Square) – Most Virginia school divisions haven’t removed any books from their libraries in recent years, but a small number of districts accounted for nearly all the documented

Report: “Virginia Schools Removed 200-Plus Different Books From Libraries, Report Finds”

From The Virginian-Pilot: Most Virginia school divisions surveyed by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission did not remove any books from school libraries based on content in the last five years. But a handful of divisions account for the vast majority of the 223 different book titles that were removed based on content during that time. [Clip] “The top five divisions accounted for 75% of all book removal activities,” said Justin Brown…