Oct 25, 2023 - Education
Waukee schools considers banning 22 books from shelves
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Waukee school librarians are in the process of removing 22 books from shelves before Jan. 1, 2024.
Driving the news: The move comes as schools work to be in compliance with Senate File 496, a new law that bans books containing "sex acts" from schools.
- Penalizations for not following it start Jan. 1.
State of play: The following is a draft list of books that could be marked for removal, Waukee schools spokesperson Kayla Choate tells Axios.
- Books include both modern texts and classic novels.
The titles:
- "Gender Queer" by Maia Kobabe
- "Lawn Boy" by Jonathan Evison
- "All Boys Aren't Blue" by George M. Johnson
- "Sex Plus" by Laci Green
- "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman
- "Let's Talk About It" by Erika Moen
- "A Court of Mist and Fury" by Sarah J. Maas
- "A Court of Wings and Ruin" by Sarah J. Maas
- "A Court of Silver Flames" by Sarah J. Maas
- "It" by Stephen King
- "Looking for Alaska" by John Green
- "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker
- "Everything I Never Told You" by Celeste Ng
- "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher
- "Milk and Honey" by Rupi Kaur
- "Home Body" by Rupi Kaur
- "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
- "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" by Gregory Maguire
- "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Piccoult
- "Shout" by Laurie Halse Anderson
- "Empire of Storms" by Sarah J. Maas
- "The Haters" by Jesse Andrews
Of note: The Iowa Department of Education has set deadlines on its long-awaited guidelines for Senate File 496 but it is still unclear when schools will receive them, per the Register.