001call the meeting to order all right I call this meeting to order this is a special called meeting of the Williamson County Board of Education December 9th I want to first say thank you to our deputies Mitchell Brittain Bobby rutage Perry dillah and Donald Mo thank you gentlemen for being here and for your service we will start board members by recording attendance please do so on your devices Mr gorth can you acknowledge your attendance go ahead Mr gorth can you give a verbal yes right right or here CH you may be on mute pull it back up ask ask him pull it back up please Mr galberth can we get a verbal record of your attendance please board members I apologize we need to get this resolved before the meeting presume resumes can you hey
002can you'all hear me yeah yes and I can hear you Mr galberth are you present for the meeting I am present thank you Ryan can you pull the video up please Ryan Florida there are 12 members present pull the video up just the video if I may Mr chair just as a double check if you would please pull the video up Tim now Mr galberth would you mind reaffirming that you're present you need me to say something J yes sir I just wanted you to say something where there's also a visual yeah I'm here okay thank you okay we have 12 present thank you I will'll now move to a pledge of allegiance and a moment of silence please rise I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the
003Republic for which it stands one na God indivisible with liy and justice for thank you may be seated before we move to items of public interest I have asked Lisa Carson one of our attorneys for the school system to come forward and for the benefit of the board also for the benefit of the public to share with us the context for the reason why we're meeting tonight and what criteria we are being bound by in terms of the decisions we'll be making throughout the course of this meeting Miss Carson thank you good evening everyone as you all are aware the purpose of this meeting is to reconsider the placement of five library books in Williamson County Libraries four of them in high school libraries one in high school and middle school libraries these five books
004were initially considered by the Board of Education in June of 20123 challenges were brought to these five library books under a state law called the age appropriate materials act which requires that school library materials be consistent with the educational mission of the schools and appropriate for the age and maturity level of the students who may access them when a challenge is brought the ACT requires that the Board of Education make a determination as to these issues now last June when the board considered these books it accepted the recommendations of two committees that had been appointed to reconsider the books at that time the age appropriate materials act did not have specific statutory criteria in it regarding what was deemed to be age appropriate and what was not and the board very candidly relied upon the
005recommendations of the two committees and voted to accept those recommendations but did not expressly address the questions posed by the act that is whether the materials were age appropriate and whether they were consistent with the educational mission of the schools the board's action was challenged in litigation here in Chancery Court in Williamson County by several citizens and a recent Court ruling requires that this board again review these five books and specifically answer the questions that the ACT poses that is are the books appropriate for the age and maturity level of the students who may access them and are they consistent with the educational Mission the previous request for reconsideration of these books was addressed by the board under a previous version of the law and a previous version of your policy or. 403 which did
006not have as I said specific objective standards for judging when a book was age approp the law has since changed during the pendency of the litigation that involved these five library books and the court has directed that this board apply its current policy and the current amended version of the statute which provides specific categories of materials that are deemed per se inappropriate the new version of the age appropriate materials act which applies to your decision tonight list categories of materials that are per se not appropriate for grad K through 12 these include excess violence nudity satom masochistic abuse sexual conduct which includes patently offensive representations of certain sexual acts sexual excitement which is defined to include condition of arousal of human jals painly offensive material and material appealing the purian interest so those are categories
007that have specific definitions as outlined in Tennessee law and those definitions are incorporated into your board policy if you find that one of those statutory definitions is me Tennessee Law requires that you find that the material is not age appropriate and that it removed alls but that it does not fall within one of these per se prohibitions then as a board you have some flexibility about allowing the books access to those materials at all grade levels where they are currently available or limiting the grade levels where they the court and our maturity levels of students as well as ensuring that the materials that the evaluation of the materials meets constitutional must but the library materials decision tree is a tool that's been developed to assist you what it governs your decision is state law federal
008constitutional law and your policy which the court has found complies with the law as it is Prov the board policy also provides sure all one check e e e test one two test one two test one two three test one two three okay your mic's I'm sorry to ask you to do this but would you mind starting over with your remarks so that we can make sure everyone has a chance to hear all of that clearly sure thank you very much there's nothing a group of people loves better than listening to a lawyer say the same thing twice so U I hope for the sake of the folks sitting out here that they really couldn't hear me the first time so at least when I say it the second time it'll be new board members
009as you know from just a minute ago when I said it the purpose of this meeting is to reconsider challenges to five library books that were initially challenged and considered by the board last summer in June 2023 the challenges that were brought to these books were brought under a state law called the age appropriate materials act which requires that school library materials be consistent with the educational mission of the schools and that they be appropriate for the age and maturity levels of the students who may access them when a challenge is brought under the act the ACT ultimately requires that this board make a determination as to whether the books are age appropriate and as to whether they are consistent with the educational Mission and if they are not either one or both of those
010things they must be removed from school libraries last June when the board considered these books it accepted the recommendations of two committees that had been appointed to to conduct the reconsideration and when the board voted to accept the committee's recommendations the board did not make explicit determinations that the books were or were not age appropriate or that they were or were not consistent with the educational Mission they simply approved the recommendations of the Committees a group of citizens challenged that action in court in Chancery Court here in Williamson County and a recent Court ruling requires that this board again review these five books and answer those specific questions whether these books are or are not appropriate for the age and maturity levels of the students who may access the materials and whether they are consistent
011with the educational mission of the school now the previous request for reconsideration of these books was addressed under a previous version of the statute and a previous version of your policy and that statute at that time did not have specific standards for determining when a book was age appropriate or was not during the pendency of the litigation the law changed and some very specific standards about what is considered to be age appropriate under Tennessee law per our general assembly's directive were adopted the new version of the age appropriate materials act actually lists specific categories of materials that are per se deemed not appropriate for libraries and K through2 public schools in Tennessee these include and they're defined specifically in the statute excess violence well actually in another statute that is referenced in the statute they
012include excess violence nudity satom masochistic abuse sexual conduct which is defined to include patently offensive representations of certain sexual acts sexual EXC excitement patently offensive material and material appealing to the puan interests these categories have specific definitions as outlined in Tennessee law and those definitions are incorporated into your board policy which the court has found complies with the laws it currently exists if you find that any of these books violates the statutory definitions that are per se prohibitions then Tennessee Law requires that you remove the materials from all Williamson County School libraries however if you find that there is mature content in the books that does not rise to the level of a per se violation under the statute then you have the discretion as a board to determine whether that mature conduct content is
013appropriate for any age level and you can allow it for all all age level or all grade levels in a particular band such as high school or middle school or you can limit it to particular grade levels within that band the court has specifically directed that the board apply its current policy which does include a library materials decision tree which is a tool for you to utilize in assessing whether materials consistent with the educational mission of the schools whether it's age appropriate as well as whether it meets removal of it would meet federal constitutional standards that decision tree is a tool that's been developed to assist the board in ensuring that its decisions comply with both the state statute and federal constitutional law but the age appropriate materials Act is the statute that sets the
014question questions that you are to answer tonight and the Court's order directs you in how to do those in terms of following your existing policy and the age appropriate materials act and your policy govern or the controlling authorities governing your decisions tonight the board policy also provides for a recommendation from the librarian at the school from which the challenge first arose and so each of you have received recommendations from The Librarians at Ravenwood and Franklin where these challenges first originated and the court order did not directly require librarian recommendations but the Court's order did require that we follow our policy which does include recommendations from The Librarians those are there for you as a resource just as the decision tree is there for you as a resource but as a board you are directed to
015make the decision taking into account those resources and any other resources that you deemed appropriate in making your determination the Librarians did conclude that each of the five books was consistent with the educational mission of the schools and did determine that they were age appropriate for the students who may access them with a couple of caveats as to particular books as to speak which is the only one of the five novels located in Middle School libraries as well as high schools there was a suggestion from The Librarians that parents of students for whom the material may have be too mature at the middle school level should be made specifically aware of their ability to opt out of their student having access to that book and as to where the cwad sing the librarian's professional recommendation
016was that the book not be removed but the librarian who reviewed the book did acknowledge that there are descriptions of five consensual sexual acts or near sexual acts and one non-consensual act that potentially run a foul of one of the definitions in the state law your task pursuant to the Court's order is to decide whether these books are age appropriate for the M age and maturity level of the students who have access to them and the age appropriate materials act also requires that you address whether the books are consistent with the educational mission of the schools the mission statement of Williamson County Schools is we exist to provide all students with a quality education that supports their intellectual physical emotional and Social Development the vision statement provides Williamson County Schools will provide a supportive environment
017where students are challenged to pursue excellence in academics Athletics and the Arts while the Court's order relates to the state law board members must also be mindful of federal constitutional law which allows you to make decisions regarding which materials are appropriate for the educational environment and which materials are appropriate for specific age levels but limits your discretion to remove materials based solely on Viewpoint or ideology so when applying the state law you must do so consistent with federal law state law and board policy require that a book be removed from Williamson County Libraries if the book is not appropriate for the age and maturity levels of the students who may access it or is not consistent with the educational mission of the schools to remove a book from wison County Libraries where it is currently
018held there must be a majority vote of this board to do so based upon one or both of these reasons that concludes the extremely boring section of this meeting if you don't have any questions I will seed the floor thank you Miss Carson all right we will now move into items of public interest our public comment period we do have 26 individuals signed up to speak we will be allowing one minute per person as normal I will call two names at a time so that you can be prepared for the follow the person in front of you I would ask as always that we show courtesy and respect to each member U of the public who is speaking and limit any kind of U comments in the audience during during the time someone is speaking
019okay we will start with Angela Frederick followed by David Rivera good evening thank you for listening to me I want to acknowledge that you all are put into a very tough position okay this law as written is extremely Broad and in my opinion is unconstitutional it covers way too many topics and if we remove books based on the law we will be trampling on the rights of students I'm going to go ahead and assume that people will come up here tonight and allege that there is obscenity and pornography in our libraries and I want to speak emphatically against that and if you believe that there is such material in your child's school and you're not there making sure that's not happening you need to visit your school you need to talk to your child's teachers
020your child's Librarians nobody came into this profession to you know have children be in the presence of pornography at school it's ridiculous it's untrue and it's harmful to teachers thank you thank you David Rivera followed by Olivia Carroll and I should have U also said that on the monitor on the podium has the time so please be mindful of that thank you thank you sir ladies and gentlemen of the board we are here today because our state representative Gino bullo sued this board on behalf of a group of plaintiffs who may or may not even have children in Williamson County Schools I'd like to remind the board that you do not represent Gina pulso you do not represent moms for Liberty nor do you represent any special interest group political party or religion you represent
021all the people of Williamson County and you tasked with maintaining the Sterling reputation of our schools that reputation is at stake here today if we give in to the culture Warriors here they will be back again and they will not stop with books many people move to Williamson County specifically for the schools when our children graduate and go out into the world what are people going to say about where they come from oh you're from Williams oh you're from Williamson County don't they ban books there removing these books is the opposite of Liberty but here's the good news every parent in the county has the ability to restrict their children from Reading any of these books that they find objectionable what I find objectionable is the people who want to prevent everyone else from reading
022these books thank you Olivia Caroll followed by Cory Martin hi everyone my name is Olivia Carol and I'm here to speak on behalf of my sister Sydney Carol who's at College at my Williamson County private high school speak by Lori Hall Anderson which is about a high school girl being raped by a pier sparked important discussions in my freshman year English classroom about consent and seeking help after sexual violence according to the Journal of adolescent Health one in nine girls and one in 20 boys will experience sexual assault before turning 18 with 42,000 students in WCS that's potentially 3,345 students in our schools that will be affected by sexual violence before they graduate if one student reads speak and learns about consent or finds courage in Melinda's story it deserves a place in WCS libraries
023this book encourages us to speak even when it may be difficult and the odds may be stacked against us I encourage the school board to use their own voices for good and not to silence the voices of characters that while fictional represent the experiences of far too many students in our own schools thank you Corey Martin followed by Sarah Landing thank you Mr chair I'm Corey Martin of one Wilco and I'm asking you to not restrict the five books that are being considered tonight I know that some of you will probably say that you are bound by law to restrict these books I think as Miss Carson explained there is more leeway there I would ask you to ask her if a a declaratory order would be appropriate for for these books tonight I was
024hoping that you'd be able to ask some of the attorneys that are usually here what they think would be the legal ramifications of restricting these books but not only the legal ramifications but what the message would be to our Educators and to our Librarians and to our administrators when we say that we don't trust them to select the books for our students I believe that restricting these books will cause further frustration among our Educators leading to more burnout and more expensive departures I believe a restriction will add to the possibility of more First Amendment litigation I'm out of time please don't restrict these books thank you after Sarah Landing we have Justin Bumpus Sarah Landing District 5 resident parent and teacher I sent an email earlier but as our English department chair I would be
025remiss if I didn't speak publicly tonight so friends Romans countrymen lend me your ears just for a few seconds in To Kill a Mocking Bird attakus tells Scout you never really understand a person until you climb into his skin and walk around in it literature allows us to do just that to explore the Human Condition sometimes The Human Experience is difficult and uncomfortable yet stories also teach us how to overcome sir Philip Sydney said that the purpose of literature is to teach and to Delight we teach skills aligned with standards but we also call on the muses to teach empathy resilience and the beauty of redemption I think of one text that describes all sorts of Horrors including a violent crucifixion even it says let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story those he
026redeemed from trouble but back to Caesar I mourn the loss of the library at Alexandria all that knowledge and art burned pulling books is a slippery slope it starts with five but where does it end I don't know time it'd sort of be like shooting a mocking bird wouldn't it thank you Justin Bumpus and then Bill Petty I'll discuss in book banss and how that phrase is being weaponized when cigarettes and alcohol are not allowed in schools we don't call it a ban removing cigarettes and alcohol from schools is an acknowledgement that they are not appropriate for school children and do not provide any educational benefit there is no difference between the removal of cigarettes and alcohol in school and the removal of the books in question doing the right thing and ensuring these books
027are not in WCS libraries does not ban them removing these books simply empowers those ultimately responsible for a child's education to decide if they want their students reading them these books will still be available at local libraries and book sellers in case there is any doubt on who the ultimate decision maker on a child's education is it's the parent it's not the teachers it's not the principles and it's not the people in the front of this room the parent makes that decision about their child's education I'm asking this board to do the right thing Ure these books do not stay in WC School libraries ensuring parents god-given right to decide what is best for their child's education thank you hi my name is Bill Petty and I'm speaking for myself tonight I just want to
028reiterate what Lisa Carson said she quoted you know chapter and verse this is state law Tennessee code 4963 3803 is quite explicit and I watched last year as you painstakingly rewrote the library policy it's it's completely different than one you had before so you have a policy now you have state law you have Direction last year when the U committees recommended to keep the books their their problem was well we don't have guidance both both committees said that well you do have guidance now so you have to follow the law you have to follow the guidance and it's it's it's spelled out it's explicit and I expect that to happen I'm sure it will so thank you very much we have Joel Malone followed by Anna skat hay hi I'm Dr Joel Malone and approprate
029right there is that appropriate ma'am please proceed Mr M thank you I'm Dr Joe Malone I have a PhD in this area thank you for your service by the way what made makes this issue so difficult is that most of the public does not is not aware of the Adolescent sex hormone explosion that I am and its complexity so I'm going to give you some quick science here adolescence males testosterone explodes by up to 30 times in some cases within two years age 13 to 15 and that puts in 10 to 20 times more than the females same time females estrogen estrogen explodes to 17.5 times the m males oxytocin which is important you know in in bonding increases by by five times in both sexes but it affects the Sexes differently next and probably
030most importantly dopamine explodes during this time period too early sexual conditioning is what we're talking about here we're talking about brain molding we're talking about changes at the genetic level and I think that needs to seriously be looked at I would ask you to please follow the Tennessee law regarding age appropriate materials thank you Anis Gates Haley followed by Genevie phos and I will respectfully ask that we refrain from any distractions in the audience please just out of courtesy to our speakers thank you I'd like to take my time to share one testimony from a student when I first read speak I was in eighth grade and reading an experience similar to mine in fifth grade fifth grade I was sexually assaulted when it happened again 3 years after reading this book I found comfort
031in knowing that there were others like me and that it was not my fault the main character helped me see that we need to keep this novel on the shelves so students know that they can ask for help and receive it when they're ready this book can be removed from shelves when it is no longer socially relevant good luck with that Emily Moran 17 years old limiting students access to books that address complex issues does not protect them from those experiences they happen to fifth graders books can be windows and books can be mirrors they can safely let us into a complex experience we may not have otherwise been able to understand and they can reflect back to us our own experiences in ways that help us to feel less alone while these books not
032may be for everyone for the kids who need a window or a mirror they are everything and for their sake I hope we keep these stories on the shelves thank you after after jev pay host we have David wer good all right prior justification for keeping books with graphic descriptions of rape in our schools was so that students could experience it without experiencing it I don't know about you but I never want my kid to experience rape in any way and I am happy to say that the state law of Tennessee now agrees with me state law provides that any of the following are not appropriate for the age or maturity level of any student 8 through 12 that includes satom masochistic abuse meaning flagellation torture or physical restraint buyer upon a person for the
033purpose of sexual gratification if you read speak you know that is clearly in this book in more than one occasion also in many of the other books but speak is found in multiple middle schools and some of the high schools have over 40 copies of this book and now we have the law behind us to ensure that we can get them out but don't worry if you do believe that this book is beneficial for your child you can still order it on Amazon they will still be able to read it you just won't be able to get it in a public school library anymore and as aside I'm just going to Family Life curriculum would be a great place to have those conversations that's thank you do we have David Weller and then Peg riti
034hello my name is David woer I'm a proud husband of a wcsy employee and father of two WCS graduates it's amazing to me how the state is arguing for Parental Choice with vouchers stating it's important for parents to make the education choices for the kids yet now parental choice is not appropriate for library books I wonder how many of you school board members have contacted any of the WCS school librarians in your district and discuss these books in question did you know that all WCS parents May request any book not be checked out by their student by their child just by a simple phone call or email to the librarian so a guideline is already in place think about this as you make your vote tonight we already have guidelines in place if you don't
035want your child to read the book for those of you who do vote to remove these books which of you plan to contact all the private schools in our County and tell them they must remove these as well wait a second those rules don't apply to the Williamson County Schoolboard the rules you make as Williamson County School boards don't apply to them remember that time thank you thank you Peg riti followed by Katherine mckenny The Perks of Being a Wallflower was recently removed from Rutherford and Knox County Schools in compliance with the Tennessee age appropriate materials act there is good reason this story includes a middle school or suicide and a suicide attempt child sexual abuse mental illness racist and homophobic tropes teen pregnancy non-consensual sex sexual voyerism extensive drug and alcohol use and explicit
036sexual descriptions including oral and anal sex according to the US Department of Justice obscenity is not protected under First Amendment rights to free speech and violations of federal obscenity La obscenity laws are criminal offenses the US court cours use the Miller test to determine if a material is obscene please do look up the Miller test not only does the perks of being a wall flower not belong in WCS due to the Tennessee age appropriate act those allowing children to possess this book and others like it can also be criminally prosecuted under federal law thank you Katherine mckenny followed by Ali MC s hello I'd like to address those on the school board that voted for these books in our schools teachers are supposed to be Role Models they report to a principal who through the
037superintendent reports to you thus Schoolboard members should be Role Models our state legislature had to write a law that only age appropriate materials should be in schools descriptions of rape arousal oral sex it's not appropriate in any K through 12 school Williamson County refused to take that objectional b content out of school libraries so my question is are you telling those below you the students that they should just break laws whenever they feel like it how are you a role model when you disob laws and then have to be sued you fight it you spend $90,000 of my money to to how is that morally or fiscally responsible I'd like to underscore another slient Point here English it's one of the foundations of education math science and English to do well in the world you
038need a good grasp of English which is not just grammar and sentence structure but use of words vocabulary words I'd like to read from you from Mariam whipster the band Banning to prohibit universally thank you Ali McIntyre followed by after Ally Jenny Davis hey good evening I'm Ally McIntyre I'm a mom of three and current WCS employees speaking in my own capacity to remind you that to some of our most vulnerable students these books are more than just ink on paper they are lifelines these stories confront pain isolation and resilience they reflect the struggles our students face every day grief identity trauma and the search for belonging why would we take these mirrors and lifelines away our expert Librarians chose these books with care knowing that literature builds aathy and fosters understanding removing these books
039is not protecting students it isolates them it tells them that their struggles are too shameful their identity is too controversial and their stories are Unworthy of being told our students even here in Williamson County do carry heavy burdens and deserve to see themselves in the pages of a book knowing they are not alone respectfully can we please get back to trusting Educators and the transformative power of stories our libraries are and should remain places of Freedom discovery hope for every student because the reality is keeping some of these books on the shelves May Save a Life Jenny Davis followed by Logan pasquantino thank you so much my name is Jenny Davis I am a parent to two WCS students and today I speak in defense of our school libraries and the critical importance of maintaining
040diverse inclusive reading resources for our students the five books under under review represent more than just stories they are Educational Tools that have been carefully vetted by our professional Librarians some of these books have been a part of our collection for over 20 years each book has significant Merit winning national awards being featured on the AP Literature exam and even winning student voted competitions like Ravenwood High's book Madness if our goal as WCS is to enhance the education of our students removing a book that is on the AP Literature Exam is not a good decision our Librarians unanimously confirm that these books are age appropriate that doesn't necessarily mean that they're appropriate for every single child at that age and that is why we as the parents have the ability to restrict a book for
041our child thank you do we have Logan pasquantino okay we'll move on to Eve Boger followed by Carolyn Brown I do not envy y'all's position tonight and appreciate you being here and listening to all of us it means a lot I do hope that each of you have taken the time to read these five books in their entirety otherwise you are relying on fear based rhetoric taken out of context I assume you have all spoken with students to hear their thoughts on these books for a lot of them these heavy topics represent their lived experiences hard things do happen to kids that is fact reading about difficult topics however can make a student feel like they are not alone it can teach them to think critically and to learn to view others with empathy please
042do not underestimate our students need to develop as individuals and please do not disregard their right to do so I urge urge you to consider other options besides an outright ban things like incorporating age or grade limits and including trigger warnings off continuing the opt out option for parents a complete ban removes any opportunity for parents and students to choose what books their teen reads how can we claim that ws WCS pursues excellence in Academia if we ban all the books that make a select few uncomfortable thank you Carolyn Brown followed by Lisa churich one Kindle reviewer Apple States the field guide to North American Teenager is filled with foul language Rebellion disrespect teen sexual es escapades and alcohol abuse students slip out of school to their cars to do more than just kiss other
043kids who are off having sex as if it's nothing more than a recreational activity another downloading porn on his phone porn is mentioned multiple times according to the addiction help.com 14% of the population is addicted to pornography making it look cool normalizes porn and encourages it exploration as a nurse I can tell you that there is a rise in erectile dysfunction the inability to have actual sexual relations without the use of pornography and a myriad of problems in achieving Intimate Relationships is this the message we want our schools up place that molds our children in the responsible adults to condone please remove this book from WCS school system we are not a counseling service Le Lisa churich followed by John Watts hey y'all I'm thinking maybe y'all may have read these books I hope you
044spend the time to read them I mean this one is kind of a poignant story about a 9-year-old who loses his dad in 911 they made a Tom Hanks movie of it pretty cool everybody says hey this is great no it's not it's really not and I would ask y'all to take this out of the books of of the libraries for whatever reason there's a subplot this gratuitous sex of the grandmother that goes on for generations and it for a couple generations and it talks about it in here and panal sex grabbing somebody's breasts exploring every orifice she has it it's not appropriate if you want a story about a child that experienced something through 911 is trying to find meaning in their in their parents' death I believe there's probably other books that Librarians
045can choose please consider taking this one out of our schools thank you John Watts and then a after John Penny lukanov hi there my name is John Watts I appreciate the privilege to stand here before this board and I appreciate the work you guys do I got to say this I'm hearing a lot of the same P same excuses and reasoning being brought up school library system is not a therapy session and it's not a vehicle for therapy we're here to teach and educate okay and this the fear porn that's going on here about banning that's a complete lie it's a misnomer these books are available if they want them in their in their houses they can get them on Amazon they can go wherever and we can go wherever they want to get these
046books we do not have to provide them and I'll close on this point and I'm looking at every one of you here every one of you one day are going to take your last breath and you're going to step out of the dimension called time into eternity and you're going to be me you're going to be meeting with your maker and Jesus said it right here he says it right here he said to his disciples deciples things that cause people to stumble are bound to come but woe to anyone whom they come from okay it would be better for them to be thrown in the sea with a millstone around their neck sir than to than to be caused one of the little ones to stumble I warn you that's Jesus saying that thank you
047sir thank you sir thank you sir before you start may I just once again Ask the audience to refrain from comments we'll we'll keep time up here we'll handle it from our side but please be respectful and courteous of our speakers even if you disagree with their comments please be respectful and courteous Penny Lucena followed by Stephen Nikki hi I'm Penny lukha from Brentwood I'm here to thank you so much by the way for your service really do appreciate it Extremely Loud and Incredibly incredibly close as an inappro book I believe for the school library as someone else just described it contains very sexual passages which I am uncomfortable reading aloud in public in fact if I did I might violate FCC rules as as someone else has pointed out it contains all kinds of
048graphic oral and anal sex just everything and I believe having a book like this in schools implies that the authority of this educational institution is supportive of this Behavior at this age people might say well kids see this stuff online anyway to which I believe you should say so what we're a school not a Tik Tok video we're a public institution promoting and providing education sound reason and good judgment we are not in the business of promoting early sexual encounters or promiscuity which Studies have long demonstrated all cause all kinds of problems which can affect a child to the rest of their lives thank you s has r Stephen hickey followed by darling Jordan good evening I'm Steve hickey in my email to you all last night I spoke to the need of to do
049your duty for the protection of our children today I speak to you about your need to do your duty for the protection of our nation when I spoke with some of you a year and a half ago about this matter I believe I read a passage from the 1947 newspaper oped titled when will their objectives be met as my time is limited I encourage you to research this piece but we'll share the following excerpt corrupt the young get them away from religion get them interested in sex make them superficial revolutions focus on the youth and they frequently use sex as a tool to radicalize the young to the revolution but whatever is perceived as the cause the issue is never the cause the issue is always the revolution this meeting is Being Framed by many
050in the audience as a fight for the First Amendment what it really is an attempt to keep pushing the boundaries of acceptance further and punishing those who descent I stand before you asking you to do your duty in accordance with the age appropriate materials act and reject the spous emotional arguments presented in opposition to this Duty draw that necessary Line in the Sand thank you hi good evening my name is Darlin Jordan I'm a retired Williamson County school teacher I purchased all five of these books and I would like to say that I have bookmark them I've done my homework for age inappropriate books as well one Franklin High School librarian told me there are gay students who need to have to need to be able to have books to read also no these books
051should not be purchased with taxpayer dollars nor should they be allowed in our library no matter how long they've been in our libraries let the parents be in charge of their own children's books at home one book titled The Perks of Being a Wallflower was also included in the American Library association's 10 most frequently challenged books and this was listed five times in the last 10 years so on page 21 it does say an example of what we've been talking about tonight I will read it says dear friend do you know what masturbation is I think you probably do because you are older than I but just in case I'll tell you ma'am and in Matthew 18:6 like John Watt says do not allow these little ones to stumble thank you the last three speakers
052Amy saki Elliot Franklin Matt Boon good evening my name is Amy Saki and I taught at Ravenwood high for many years and I retired six months ago so thank you for your service others have already spoken about the accolades that these books have have received for the beautiful way that they're written and the empathy and issues very important issues that they discuss the fact that on the AP Literature test for that the College Board authors at Ravenwood last year one of them won them the book Madness award but I would like to speak to you about the effect that your discussion and your decision on this issue has on Ravenwood and all Williamson County teachers and librarians school librarians have a master's degree in library science they are readers they want kids to be readers
053they're passionate about student mental health and student health and they're on the front lines of literacy which is not improving along with their English teachers and English teachers and Librarians do not want these Books banned ma'am instead of oh okay thank you Elliot Franklin followed by Matt Boon those are our two final speakers good evening thank you for your time and for those that responded to my email I think it was very good and we had some good debate I also appreciate the lawyer giving the explanation at the beginning of what of what you're up against again it's not about censorship it's about following the law it's interesting that some comments that have been made about you know you represent the entire District you represent all taxpayers and some of the comments from some of
054the bo members have been no we only represent those who have children in schools if that's the case then there's a lot of people out here that are going to get their tax money back or there's a lot of you that couldn't be serving because you don't have children in the schools currently so I'd like you to remember that again you asked for the law to be clarified which it was it's very strict now it has the definitions of what was read by the attorney I think all five books clearly meet the restrictions of needing to be removed and I would ask that you uphold the law thank you hello my name is Matt Boone I wasn't planning on being here tonight but that's material that came to me and that the the court order
055with with the language in it I I mean I just saw this as smut it just is degrading information that why do our students how can they benefit from this our mission state statement is to challenge them with excellence in academics Athletics Arts what does this have to do with a with Excellence they we're not Banning this we're removing it I think you should remove it I think there's a slippery slope out there that once we degrade our morals our Traditional Values our scriptural values with this kind of stuff it's a slippery so and what comes next I'm sure there's worst books but these worst books are probably going to be coming in next right and the magazines I mean why not I just think we need to uphold our moral values of of Williamson
056County please get rid of these books they're not Banning them get rid of these books thank you all right thank you to all of our speakers we will now move on to approval of the agenda please if you have a motion or a second please do that on your iPad any discussion of the agenda all right we're ready to vote are we queued up on the are we're going to do a Voice vote okay all in favor of approval of the agenda say I any opposed agenda is approved Mr galberth I'm sorry Mr galberth how do you vote vote Yes yeah Mr galri you able to hear us okay in in the absence of hearing from him we'll just Mark him as absent on this vote for the sake of this one let's just record
057him as absent on this vote and we can try to get him ready for the next one do we need to revote you did vote V we did can you can you hear me yes but but I don't know if okay we need to be be on camera though right can you turn the video on Jay can hear me can hear you now we can see you how do you vote okay yeah I okay do you all want to record that vote are we recorded on that vote call the vote can you call the vote call it call the vote the vote is 12 yes Zer no okay agenda is approved thank you all right we'll now move on to new business and as everyone knows we have five books that we'll be talking about
058tonight voting on the first one of those Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close I'm going to read what's on the agenda and then we'll entertain a motion determination of whether the following library book that being Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is appropriate for the age and maturity level of the students who may access the books in Williamson County School libraries and whether the book is consistent with the educational mission of Williamson County Schools is there a motion Mr Bostic has made a motion is there a second you want to State your motion Mr bosk in response to the objection raised to Extremely Loud Incredibly Close I move that the book be removed from Williamson County School's library collections because it is not appropriate for the age and maturity levels of the students who have access to
059it and or is not consistent with the educational mission of Williamson County Schools thank you Dr ders you've seconded that motion yes okay before we get into discussion on this Mr cook do you have any procedural guidance you want to give us as we walk through this item and the subsequent items yeah I think it's important to we go over a couple of procedural issues since we're going to vary just very slightly from how we usually do things you've got five items on the agenda before you tonight as as you've already seen the chairman will read the agenda item a motion will be made we've given the motion understanding what the motion is going to be and then a second will be made once the second is made it's on the floor for discussion so
060that you may discuss it during this period if you want to make an amendment it's this is when you'll make it if amendment is made and seconded you'll vote on the Amendments if the amendment passes then the you'll vote on the motion as amended if the amendment fails you're just voting on the original motion okay now I've advised the superintendant not to make recommendations basically because the law says that basically because the law states that it's the Board of Education that the authority rests with last thing is if there's any question as to what effect a particular vote on a question is please let me know before a vote is taken so that I can clarify any any confusion Mr chairman all right thank you sir okay we do have a motion in a second
061is there any discussion on the motion Miss Wyatt I have read all five books we're reviewing this even even let me start by saying being a teenager is exhausting and exhilarating and I was reminded of those erratic years after reading these books I just wanted to go and hug a teenager my commentary applies to all five books but I'm not planning to repeat it although I understand the concerns about certain subjects I place a higher priority on trusting The Librarians and parents in our community to do their jobs based upon my review considering the state statute and decision tree I think the books are consistent with our educational Mission and appropriate in their current libraries parents do not want us to take away these reading options for their children a small group should not Mr
062would you ask the audience stand okay I'm gonna I'm going to ask again respectfully that we not have any distractions from the audience that includes holding up signs that includes people standing up walking towards the podium we all need to respect each other and be courteous tonight this we have a long meeting ahead of us we have some important discussions ahead of us please once again be respectful of the process Miss White you may resume thank you thank you Mr chair parents do not want us to take away these reading options for their children a small group should not eliminate options for our entire Community the subjects discussed are happening in our world and Community reading prepares our students to think critically and be tomorrow's leaders our professional Librarians and teachers are well trained and
063thoughtful I support those assessment their assessments of these books also we have a policy in place and our Librarians are ready to work with parents who have concerns about certain materials thank you thank you any excuse me any further discussion on the motion Mr Welch thank you MK question of our attorney Miss Carson Miss Carson would you mind approaching thank you Miss Carson thank you for that very detailed and wellth thought out explanation of what we're doing tonight to simplify the purpose here if if you would verify for me is to reconsider these books and we've been mandated to do so by the court is that an acccurate that's correct the court has has directed the board to to answer the questions posed by the age appropriate materials act okay and has the court mandated
064a specific determination for each book that we must vote to remove or retain each book no the court has simply ordered that the board must address the decision in the context of whether the books are age appropriate and whether they're consistent with the educational Mission as to each book but the decision as to the answers to those questions is left to the board okay in of course the court has directed you to comply with the ACT but in the context of the act it is your determination as to whether those standards are met or are not met certainly using the decision tree per our per our policy using decision tree the recommendation polic recommendations of librarians whatever other resources are available to you and applying the state law exactly my recollection is too is that
065you said we are required to assume state law is meets the meets the federal constitutional standard unless proven otherwise right so basically under under Tennessee law you are required to presume that any enactment of the general assembly is constitutional unless a court declares it otherwise that said you are expected when you can to construe a stat to apply a statute in a constitutional Manner and in reality you and your partners have expressed personal feelings that the law itself is actually constitutionally suspect well I've expressed a concern that the law as applied could run a foul of the Constitution thank you questions for Miss Carson thank you appreciate clarification as Melissa Wyatt as Miss Wyatt said I'm not going to repeat everything each time but I also read all five books I would have no issues
066with my own high school children reading any of these books on their own with one exception these are all books at the high school level only and in the high school we're preparing young adults to go out into the world and be full-fledged members of Society myself 3 weeks after I graduated I joined the military so we're preparing adults for a lot of sort of conversation over the past year and past couple years about parental rights and on this I think it's very clear parents have the right to restrict any book from their child that they want to I've voted for that policy repeatedly I support that policy I don't think you even need a reason why if you don't feel a book is appropriate for your child but when you start telling me what
067books my children can't read That's stepping on my parental rights and saying that well you can buy bu the book on Amazon or or somewhere else is for me it's it's a massive misunderstanding of what the purpose of a school library is for I've read all five books I think they meet the support the educational mission of Williamson County schools and I believe their age appropriate thank you thank you Mr Bostic yeah I would there as someone mentioned here earlier I mean there is no constitutional right to obscenity particularly for children in a school setting I find that to be a little you would think it would be obvious but apparently it's not I've asked many people as they've sent emails and conversed with me saying you know we're just reading they're just reading there's
068no it's not like there's pictures it's not like there's video to which my argument would ask them well given your logic is there any limit at all to what a student can read in a school setting in any way to their credit at least they're consistent they would say no I me that's shocking No Limit whatsoever to what a child a minor can read in a school setting let me just give a little excerpt from this book so we all know exactly what we're talking about here this is from page 192 of Extremely Loud Incredibly Close it says he said quote hey Oscar would you rather have a hand job or a from Emma Watson I told him I didn't know who Emma Watson was Matt colber said Hermione I said who's Hermione and I'm
069not mentally David Malin said and Harry Potter boy Steve wicker said she has sweet tits now Jake Riley said hand job or I said I've never even met her I know a lot about birds and bees but I don't know very much about the birds and the bees everything I do know I had to teach myself on the internet cuz I don't have anyone to ask for example I know that you give someone a by putting your penis in their mouth I also know that dick is penis and that is penis too and monster obviously I know that VJs get wet when a woman is having sex and although I don't know what they get wet with I know that VJ is and also ass I know that what dildos are I think but I
070don't know what is exactly I know that anal sex is humping the anus but I wish I didn't that's just one excerpt I've got many here chosen I read the all five books in their entirety not just excerpts didn't just go online and book look it up to see what people are saying I read them all because I wanted the context and everything I don't know how you read that and think that in any way complies with the state law and I don't know how anyone reads that and determines that's appropriate for a minor to read in a school setting and a publicly funded education system and beyond the state law I don't know how that complies with the mission of our school system for Education I think to argue opposite that seems asinine to
071me additionally people say that you know I've heard it argued several times tonight well you don't have a right to restrict my child and parents have different choices on what to expose their kids to and this and that and whatnot and I you can expose your kids I guess to whatever you want in your home I don't think anybody has a right to expose their children to pornography but maybe you want to argue that they do fine I guess if you want to do that in your home you can when it comes to this opt out policy that people are talking about that's incumbent upon every parent to know every single book and its contents in the school if any anything there should be an opt in if anything if we were going to keep
072them in there should be opt in so that you could opt in to subject your child to this in a school setting I'm voting to remove this book Thank you Mr cash before I come to you can I again once again Ask the audience to please limit the outb the reactions I again we've got people on both sides of these issues in the audience we've got people who feel strongly one way or the other that's perfectly fine but we've got a lot of discussion to get through we've got four more books after this one so please if you can keep your feedback and your comments to yourself just for the purpose of getting us through this and out of respect for those who are speaking Mr Cash thank you Mr chair i' I'd like to
073thank my colleague Mr bosk he stole some of my thought but I will say since I've got the mic I've read these books there's some literary value but we've still got a law to stand by and this book goes against the laws and it actually goes against what our mission I feel our mission is so I will be a no vote on this book also thank you are there any further comments on the motion Dr Reeves I do I want to reiterate that this isn't about how we feel about the books in question or whether or not we would let our children read these books we are tasked with not taking a knee-jerk approach but thoughtfully and objectively evaluating each book on the criteria established by the law and so I would like to ask
074each of you as we go through these books if you could specifically State reference the statute and what is it that is makes the book meet the requirement in the law I think that would be particularly helpful to us to us all I also would like to note that you know we do have our librarian's recommendations here and for this particular book it's not clear to me how the Librarians applied the statutory criteria in the law and I'd like to ask if there are future reconsideration requests that it would be very helpful for our Librarians to specifically address the criteria in the law when they make these recommendations thank you Mr Bostic just to U comply with my colleague Miss Reeves here this would be under the law code 39-17 section 14 sexual condent conduct
075meaning patently offensive representations or depict descriptions of ultimate sex acts normal or perverted actual or simulated sexual act is simulated when it depicts explicit sexual activity and gives that appearance of ultimate sexual acts anal oral or genital also show sexual excitement I don't I won't read it patently off offensive there's others and certainly more examples in this book we could give too if that's needed have any other comments I would just say for my for myself just to give my own personal perspective on this if you look at and this goes to the question Dr Reeves asked certainly in our policy section 2D which is also part part of what Mr bosik just referenced I mean despite all of the literary value of this book that there may be and I certainly think there is
076some literary value to it for lots of reasons but if we are holding ourselves to the state law it's unfortunately hard to get around at least a couple of instances of section 2D being violated and again trying to look at it very objectively just one person's perspective any any further comments before we go to a vote Mr Welch I just want to add we should tread very L here as we open up Pandora's Box if the standard that you want to use and label is asinine those who disagree with you Tony is to read one section out of context because it CH because it includes challenging material there is a large list of classical American literature and religious texts that include violence and sexual content this is quite the standard you are setting moving forward
077and I would think through the implications of that Mr galus thank you can you hear me Mr chair yes sir so thank you for for this and sorry for the little bit of technical difficulties so I just wanted to I just want to open and say that we had received feedback lots of it and I appreciate that for everybody to to be emailing in their opinions but I want to say that it was primarily either for removing all the books or not removing quote unquote Banning any of the books and so I wanted to thank one individual who and it's the only it's the only email there may be others but it's the only one that's stuck out to me as being very thoughtful and this individual called upon us to evaluate the books in
078accordance with our policy and all applicable laws quite frankly that's what we're here to do and so I appreciate people who objectively can can look at the criteria and say that they've evaluated each of these books and come to that conclusion but that's what we're here to do and so based on after reading all of these books myself I am thankful that the state provided us with the guidance that was not available to us when we made these decisions initially I want to thank Lisa Carson and all of those who defended our decision that with the best information that we had at the time but and successfully defended the district from removing a long list of books that was part of the lawsuit that were challenged from another state and kept us from being required
079to remove these books as well as those so I do appreciate that effort and I agree that that money those lawsuit money was not was not spent in vain although at any point in time after the new policy was created the plaintiffs had the ability to file a complaint under this policy and completely remove the case from the from the courts but that being said after I reviewed these books and in accordance with all federal and state laws I do find that some of them meet the requirements to to that are age appropriate under our criteria and some do not as it relates to extreme allow I actually when I read the book not only I think lots of these meet the educational mission of the schools as that was not the point at which
080some of these failed for me but in my opinion this does not subjectively represent the patently offensive descriptions of sexual acts even as I even as I listen to the passage from from Mr Bostic it had a lot of the language but what I what I heard there and what I read in the book itself was not did not meet the criteria as as I as I objectively looked at it and subjectively looked at it according to the law so I going to I'm going to vote to keep this book Thank you thank you did you want to speak in okay okay Dr ders I have a question for their attorneys doesn't the law age appropriate materials as amended say if any part of the book is found failing then the entire book fails let
081me call on Miss Carson to come up and answer that please so that you're correct the ACT does refer to in whole or in part but I believe what Mr GTH was referring to was the definition specifically with relation to sexual content doesn't just mean any sexual content it's actually defined as patently offensive representations or depictions of ultimate sexual acts normal or perverted actual or simulated and then it goes on so it's a detailed description that isn't just any mention of sexual acts or even a very vulgar mention of sexual acts it has to meet that specific definition but you are correct that the statute does say if it contains that patently offensive material either in whole or in part it would be in violation of the statute to retain it thank you okay do
082we have any Mr BOS yeah so under the law there's also just section 11 so 14 A and B but section 11 is just patently offensive alone means that which goes substantially Beyond customary limits of Candor in describing or representing such manners I would think of the passage I just read although while you I guess you could argue that it doesn't detail it out explicitly would certainly go against Beyond customary limits of cander all right one more call for comments or questions on this book okay we Mr chair if I there's one other okay one other request sorry Mr Beasley yes right before we vote I was just want to make you to clarify what we're actually voting on after hearing all the commentary I did read all five books and I did use my
083decision-making tree and I know there were some constituents out there that was curious if all board members did that and I think they speciic specifically ask me if I did it and I did so I just want to clarify that thank you thank you and I will do just what you asked when I'm when I'm sure we're don't have any more comments before we vote Mr Golden you have a comment well thank you Mr chair as as as Mr cook mentioned I've I've been advised not to give you any advice and that's unusual for me because if for those of you who come to these meetings you know I regularly do I didn't want to make this one comment thank you all for taking this seriously part of this includes your individual judgment as elected
084officials and I very much appreciate you going through this exercise because it's not simply an exercise this is substantive and I thank you all for for your commitment again Mr cook without me giving a recommendation okay to the question that Mr Beasley asked before we go to a vote what to be clear on what we're doing a yes vote on this motion and I'm going to restate the motion just for every 's benefit the motion was in response to the objection raised to Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close I Mr bosic move that the book be removed from Williamson County Schools Library collections because it is not appropriate for the age and maturity levels of the students who have access to it Andor is not consistent with the educational mission of Williamson County Schools a yes
085vote on this motion agrees that the book should be removed a no vote says that you think the book should not be removed and it would remain in the library accessible to the students who currently have access to it are we clear all right we're ready to vote Mr galberth can you turn your video on and give us a verbal vote please did you hear me yes thank you all right thanks the vote is nine yes three no okay the book is removed from the library all right we will now move on to the second item on the agenda this book is the Field Guide to the North American Teenager I'll again read what we're tasked with determination of whether the following library book is appropriate for the age and maturity levels of the students
086who may access the books in Williamson County School libraries and whether the book is consistent with the educational mission of Williamson County Schools is there a motion if someone has a motion please do so on your device do we have that queued up gentlemen next all right we have a motion by Miss hibma second by Dr Reeves Miss HMA would you please State your Motion in response to the objection raised to hang on a second the Field Guide to the North American Teenager I move that the book be removed from Williamson County School library collections because it is not appropriate for the age and maturity levels of the students who have access to it and or is not consistent with the educational mission of the Williamson County Schools okay that's an appropriate motion you second
087that Dr Reeves okay any discussion on this item any discussion on this item okay we will I'm sorry I'm going to get Mr gber vocal vote vote before we vote it's the only way I can turn is okay Mr galberth do you have a comment or you just queued up to vote I'm ready to vote when when you are okay so do we have okay Dr Driggers to be clear if a book is removed from the library it's also removed from the Holdings in the teachers classroom libraries Mr chair if I may answer that yes if if the based on the nature of this vote if you all determine that it's not appropriate for the age of the students then we will remove it from the school thank you Dr Reeves I feel like it
088would be remiss if you know we didn't have any discussion about this book before taking a vote and so again this is not a fun position to be in but if I objectively apply the law here I did not see any nudity in this book there no discussion of nudity where there are references to kissing and you know making out and kids having sex after promin cars yes but it wasn't explicit it wasn't described in an explicit manner is there a lot of profanity and language in this book yes there is but that's not one of the considerations that's spelled out in the statute so the most offensive thing I found about this book is just it's poorly written I didn't you know I didn't really enjoy it but I don't think that it meets
089any of the criteria spelled out by the age appropriate material act and if anybody disagrees with me I would love to hear why Mr Beasley thank you Mr chair there is some mature content and some of this in the book some vulgar language this is not the main theme of the book therefore it shouldn't it should be kept in the libraries according to the Tennessee age appropriate materials act so that's the way I'm voting thank you Mr galus thank you Mr chair I agree with with everything that the Dr ree said specifically on this book I guess what I would be what I would actually be open to is determining at what age because of the language and the that's involved in here i' I'd actually be I'm really interested if any if anyone is
090open to to just restricting the age band on on this language to something other than High School whether it's 10th grade or above or other if anybody else is interesting in having that discussion but that's that's kind of where my head was at as as I read this it's not it doesn't meet the criteria to remove the book altogether but from a from an appropriateness of age based on the profanity specifically that's where that's where I'm thinking so I'm open to to listen to everybody's discussion as speaking I don't see anyone else who's asked to speak at the moment so speaking as one board member not as the chair I want to say that again if we're consistent on applying the law I did not find a blatant or explicit violation of the law in
091this book but the certainly the language certainly the some of the themes are very mature so I move to amend the motion as as follows in response to the objection raised to make sure I say it right the Field Guide to the North American Teenager I move that the book be available only to grade levels 11 and 12 because while it is consistent with the educational mission of the schools it's not appropriate for the age and maturity levels of the students who have access do it in grade levels below 11 grade 11 is there a second on that motion second by Mr galberth any discussion of the amendment is there any discussion of the amendment okay we're going to proceed to a vote on the amendment and just to be clear a yet miss Wyatt
092sorry thank you Mr chair although I do not think books should be removed I think some access is better than none so I will vote in favor of the amendment allowing access for grades 11 and 12 thank you any further comments on the amendment okay before we proceed to a vote to be clear a yes vote on the amendment is to agree to restrict access to the book to only grades 11 and 12 a no vote is to not restrict to only grades 11 and 12 is that clear just for clarification at this point you're just voting to am the motion to ad right to adopt the amendment that would that would amend the motion yes thank you that okay and Mr chair just for clarity's purposes as well I don't think my microphone is
093on Just for clarity's purposes as well the board shows that Mr Beasley made the motion to amend but in fact you did so just oh you oh you actually hit the button okay no I didn't I didn't see the button to yeah I did the button didn't appear got but I spoke it out got okay okay okay so do you have the motion and the second on the amendment captured I do okay all right we will go to our iPads to vote on the amendment is there is there any just to restate it one more time the amendment would amend the original motion to say that this book would be restricted only to 11th and 12th graders a no vote would say you do not agree with restricting only to those two grades we're ready
094to vote J first can Jay go first and then hit yeah we'll let Jay go first Jay do you want to voice your vote on this vote Yes to the amendment thank you the vote is 11 yes one no okay the amendment is adopted so we're back on the original motion which which is effectively the same as the amendment in terms of the effect of the vote just read so the motion now as amended would be to the book A yes vote is to restrict this book to only 11th and 12th graders a no vote is to to leave the book with the current access it has to all high school students there is not a vote to remove the book from it in its entirety as part of this vote any longer because of
095the amendment is that clear okay one more time okay because of the amend we're no longer voting on removing the book in its entirety a yes vote is either to restrict it to 11th and 12th grade only a no vote is to leave it accessible to all high school age students all right we're ready to vote Mr galberth I vote yes thank you the vote is 10 yes two no okay the motion is adopted this Field Guide to the North American Teenager will be restricted to those students in 11th and 12th grade board members recognizing that we've been meeting now for over an hour hour and a half does anyone desire to take a break now would you rather take a break after the third item on the agenda any strong preference okay we'll take
096a 10-minute break and come back and start on item three e e e okay we are going to resume the meeting with item C which is the book speak once again it's the determination of whether the following library books speak is appropriate for the age and maturity levels of the students who have May access the books in Williamson County School libraries and whether the book is consistent with the educational mission of Williamson County Schools is there a motion Miss Clemens you state your motion please respond to the objection raised to speak I move that the board that the book be removed for the Williams County School library collections because it is not appropriate the age and maturity levels of the students who have access to it and or is not consistent with the educational mission
097of Williamson County Schools thank you Mr Beasley are you the second on that yes sir okay thank you any discussion on the motion Dr Reeves all right so let's speak as I read through speak you know we evaluate these books as a whole or in part and there were two main scenes that I felt needed to pay particular attention to with regards to the criteria spelled out in the law so while there is a violent scene towards the end of the book where the main character faces her attacker I would not Define it as excessive violence meaning the depiction of acts of violence and such a graphic or bloody manner as to exceed common limits of custom and cander or in such a manner that is apparent that the predominant appeal of the material is
098betrayal of violence for violence sake I think that encounter was integral to the book and to the character deciding to live her life and come out of the depression she was in from experiencing a traumatic event and so then the other scene in the book which we need to pay particular attention to is the description of of the rape and I also did not find that met the criteria spelled out in the law it wasn't graphic in any way it did not describe any sexual acts it did not describe sexual excitement it is not patently offensive material meaning that which goes substantially Beyond customary limits of cander in describing or representing such matters so that is where I made my determination I think that this book should stay but I would like to amend the
099motion to as follows in response to the objection raised to speak I move that the book be available only to high school students grades 9 through 12 because while it is consistent with the educational mission of the schools it is not appropriate for the age and maturity levels of the Ste of the students who have access it sorry it is not appropriate for the age maturity levels of the students who have access to it in grade levels below 9th grade that is a proper motion is there a second second by Miss HMA any discussion on the amendment Miss Wyatt thank you Mr chair once again I will vote in favor of the amendment because I would rather have some access than none thank you thank you Mr Cash thank you Mr chair I see a
100lot of violence in the description from this book slamming slamming the chest and knocking me back into the closet the light flicks on the door opens and he's she's trapped by this guy if that's not violent I don't know what is he's big she's describing him he's you know of course he's aggravated because of spreading lies to save time I'm not going to read every bit of it but there yeah you're one strange now that now that a freak I can't believe anyone listens to you he grabs her wrist I try to pull them back and he squeezes so tight it feels like my bones are splintering he pins me against the claws closed door my May angelar looks at me she tells me to make some noise I open my mouth and take a
101deep breath you're not going to scream you don't scream before you didn't scream before you liked it you're jealous that I took out your friend and not you I thank you I know what you want his mouth on my face I twisted my head teeth knocked against my cheekbones I pulled my arms again and slammed his body against mine I have no legs my heart's wobble wobbles his teeth are stuck in my neck the only sound I can make is whimper he fumbles to hold both my wrists in one hand he wants a free hand I remember I remember metal hands I mean do we go on and finish this whole article here this page I followed the sound pushing Off the Wall pushing Andy Evans off balance stumbling into a broken sink he cursed
102and turns his fist coming and coming an exp explosion in my head and blood in my mouth he hit me I scream I scream a bowl I throw it at him it bounces to the floor my book he swears again the door is locked the door is locked he grabs me pulls me away from the door one hand over my mouth one hand around my throat he leans me against the sink my fist mean mean nothing against him just little rabbit Paws and this is the good part my fingers wave overhead looking for a branch a limb something to hang on a block of wood the base of my turkey bone sculpture I slam it against May Maya's poster I hear a crunch it doesn't hear it breathes like a dragon its hand leaves my
103throat attacks my body I hit the wood against the poster the mirror under it again shards of glass slid down the wall into the sink it pulls away from me puzzled I reach and wrap my fingers around a triangle of glass I hold it to Andy evans's neck he freezes I pushed just hard enough to raise one drop of blood he raises his arms over his head my hand Quivers I want to insert the glass all the way through his throat I want to hear him scream I look up I see the stubble on his chin a Fleck of white in the corner of his mouth his lips are paralyzed he cannot speak that's good enough me I said no he nods someone pounding on the door do unlocked swings open and Nicole is there
104along with the lacrosse team sweaty and angry there's all kinds of violence in this and the same for the rape the first time around so I mean there's a it does it does hit on a horrible subject and whatnot but again we have a law and this is Extreme in my opinion thank you Mr Welch thank you I also like to read a little bit from the book but I'm going to read from the epilogue from the author what have you learned from your readers reactions to this book it a speak is a book about depression that is why it has resonated so deeply for so many readers today's teens have to cope with massive amounts of stress and conflict way too many of them understand the pain of not feeling like they can speak
105up this book reflects their experience and offers them hope this book reflects their experience and offers them hope and then have any readers ever asked questions that shocked you said I've gotten one question repeatedly from young men these are guys who like the book but are they honestly confused they ask me my Melinda was so upset about being raped first dozen times I heard this I was horrified but I heard it over and over again I realized that many young men are not being taught the impact that sexual assault has on women Iden sexual injury in the media and often come to the in conclusion that having sex is not a big deal there no doubt is why the number of sexual assaults is too so high I am also shocked by adults who feel
106that rape is an inappropriate topic to discuss with teenagers according to the US Department of Justice 44 4% of rap victims are under the age of 18 and 46% of those victims are between the ages of 12 and 15 it makes adults uncomfortable to acknowledge this but our inability to speak clearly and openly about sexual issues and dangers our children it is not immoral to discuss this with them I would dare say that everyone in here probably knows at least one person that's been the victim of sexual assault just statistically looking at the length of the room I would I would say that we probably have at least one or more people here who are victims of sexual assault themselves which is horrible and awful and I wish that wasn't the world we lived in
107I wish we didn't need books like speak I really wish we didn't but the reality is you know we live in this world as we were talking about these books got multiple emails from sexual assault survivors speaking in favor of speak like just read a couple short excerpts from this with the permission of the individuals who emailed me and without revealing any of their specific information the first was from a graduate of Williamson County Schools who was groomed online by an older man said when I finished the book I cried I cried at what I realized my Lost Innocence I cried for the old me the one who smiled and said what was on her mind when it was on her mind who wasn't afraid of the Shadows in the hallway I cried for the
108new me the one who knew it was her turn to regain her ability to speak I held on to the book for so long as I could attempt to glean some sort of Courage from Melinda this is from another another recent graduate I had a bad experience with a boy in my age who took advantage of me without my full consent after months of keeping it to myself and fighting this intense depression I finally told my parents my mom later gifted me the book speak about a girl in high school who is sexually assaulted and learns to speak up this book means a lot to me and still does it made me feel less alone and validated my experience when I saw it was being banned all I could do is feel the Injustice for
109the girls who needed to be encouraged to speak up about these things these real things last one was not from a student but from a parent of young kids if you are concerned about content I would ask you to consider that there are students in your District that may have experienced sexual abuse or rape at the hands of a classmate adults or family members as a child sexual abuse Survivor I was silent about my abuse because the shame was over overwhelming and I felt that I somehow contributed to my abuse I was eight our society has a history of blaming females for their abuse and not holding males accountable did not feel like I had agency or control in my life I feel this is a very appropriate book I feel it meets the educational
110standards but I also feel it's an important book it's an important book to have in our libraries and I feel it's an important book to have in our Middle School libraries it's important for those individual students that need something like this when you vote to take this book out of the library you are voting to take this book away from those students that emailed us and said I was sexually assaulted I needed this resource to help me find my own voice to help me speak and those individuals that emailed us and you got them too you got their emails as well sent to the full board those are the individuals that spoke up there's a lot more out there that we don't know about who haven't spoken up who feel that sense of sh shame
111who feel as the mother told us that they had somehow contributed to their abuse which they didn't I'm 52 certain generation and Sh a personal story years back my wife and I sat down with our son and we watched on TV 16 Candles it was a movie from when I was I think a lot of us probably the same thing it was a you know the Molly Ringwald you know Children of the 80s what have you and as I'm watching it with my son the funny scene where or supposed to be funny scene where the nerd takes the girl in the car and she's drunk and they wake up the next morning and it's all good and my son turns to me and goes he raped her and he did in that movie that was
112a date rap very clearly he took it in the movie The Anthony Michael Hall character took advantage of a young lady that's was unable to give consent and my generation when we watched it and everything it was just a funny moment because we knew it was okay because the director told us the next day that it was okay because she liked it thank God we're not like that anymore and we've seen the earr of ways and this is not about cancel culture or anything like that this is about correcting errors in our culture acknowledging that there are bad things that happen in the world and we don't want them to happen but they do happen and the way that we deal with them shouldn't be we hide our heads in the sand and we don't
113tell our children to be cautious that's not good parenting that's not responsible adulting to do that also heard heard that from some described speak as pornographic because it contained a rape scene now it contains sexual content there's there's no doubt about that 100% so I went and I looked up the deinition of pornography this is the Maran Webster if anyone else wants to pull it up themselves material such as books or a photograph that depicts a I behavior and is intended to cause sexual excitement so intended to cause sexual excitement not just nudity or what have you the rape scene comes on page 135 135 of a book that's less than 200 pages in at this point we know about Melinda we've made emotional connections to her we know that she is's suffering emotional trauma
114we know what she's going through we know that her friends have turned on her that her parents and teachers don't understand all because of this trauma that she's some trauma that she suffered we don't know what it is on page 135 we had we find out we were on the ground when did that happen no no I did not like this I was on the ground he was on top of me my lips Mumble something about leaving about a friend who needs me about my parents worrying I can hear myself I'm mumbling like a drained drunk his lips lock on mine and I can't say anything I twist my head away he is so heavy there's a boulder on me I open my mouth to breathe to scream and His Hands cover it in my
115head my voice is clear as a bell no I don't want to but I can't spit it out I'm trying to remember how we got to the ground and where the moon went and Wham shirt up shorts down and the ground smells wet and dark and no I'm not really here I'm definitely back at Rachel's crimping my hair and bling on fake nails and he smells like beer and mean and he hurts me he hurts me he hurts me and gets up if you read that and you think that is intended to cause sexual excitement seek help seriously if you read that passage and you think that's erotic and meant to sexually arouse me seek help it is not it is meant to illustrate something that actually happens that happens to our students we have
116emails from them it happens to our students and hiding our heads in the sand pretends it doesn't happen and saying well they can go and they can get the book on Amazon if they want it's not leadership and courage and it's not just for women it's for young men no man has ever raped a woman because of this book but we just might stop a date rate because of it so I find this book very supportive of the educational Mission I find it appropriate for all grade levels but I'll be honest even if I didn't I still would vote to keep it in the library because it's an important book that our kids need and they've told us it themselves in their own writings to all of us so please do not take away this
117resource from our sexual assault survivors Dr Reeves I'm sorry Mr Cass I just wanted to respond to you and I agree there is violence in the book but the definition of violence per the statute is excessive violence meaning the depiction of acts of violence in such a graphic or bloody manner as to exceed common limits of custom and cander and so unfortunately as objective as we try to be about these things there is a little bit of subjectivity in it and you and I clearly disagree on what the definition of excessive violence means for this book so that's all I wanted to say I stand by my motion that I wanted to respond to you Dr ders yeah I'd like to add to Dr Reeves and Mr Welch we all got the message he referenced
118but I also got a telephone call Private call from a mother whose daughter was sexually assaulted in the willson County School System and she said that she and her daughter read this book and it helped them so my question is I'm in favor of keeping the book in all grades in the high school because these girls were both sexually assaulted as freshman what 9th grade and one in 11th grade so how do we balance that with what Dr Reeves proposed that we limit it to the 11th or 12th grade her motion is to to limit to high school students only so 9th 9th through 12th oh okay I'm done Sor address question to me as well no we had the same message than Dr Johnson and this question may be for the lawyer in the
119law it talks about sistic abuse but it defines it as means flagellation or torture or physical restraint by or upon a person for the purpose of sexual gratification of either person does that include sexual assault and rape if you're physically restraining person Miss Carson I think that's really something this is going to sound like a real lawyer answer but but ultimately thank goodness the citizens of Williamson County didn't elect me to make the determination I think that's something that you have to decide for yourself my reading of the statute because of the way that it breaks apart the different per se prohibited categories would not be that any discussion of rape is prohibited SATA masochistic abuse I read that portion of the statute as a presentation of graphic detail about torture porn kind of discussion
120but it's certainly open to interpretation I think that if you took it to the to the most literal extreme any book that even mentioned a sexual assault would be prohibited and while I can't speak for the legislator's intent that would that would remove a lot of classic literature and so my opinion is it's certainly a reasonable interpretation not to extend the definition of St of masochistic abuse to apply to any discussion of rap okay and then this isn't for you this is just a statement having three children from adoption and knowing how trauma affects people I know when I read pages 135 and like I said knowing what I know about particularly foster children adop ion children children who have faced trauma this would be very triggering for them and that would be a concern
121that I have for this book Mr galus thank you Mr chair I just want to I want to point out the fact that we based on based on the law case law says that we can't restrict this book because of the because of the content the subject matter and so I think so I guess but we also can't keep it just because of the of the importance of that subject matter to our to our students so the manner in which the author describes these delicate topics I think was rather Tastefully done was definitely not was definitely not patently offensive description of these acts it I've read a lot of materials and kind of reviews on on this topic and I guess everybody there's there's not there's no didn't take anybody's necessary review as my as
122my own but but I think the a lot of people agree with that with that explanation and especially as we're talking about the next two books and I look at these the depictions are and the way in which they're depicted are very important so the the subject matter itself I mean just lends itself that you're going to have to have some descriptions of these things in in some amount of detail but to me it did not meet the it did not violate the standards set by the state and so but I but I agree with Dr ree's motion that it should be limited to to nth grade and above thank you Mr Beasley yes sir Mr chair so do I need to speak to the amendment now or if I have comments regarding the mo
123the first motion do I need to wait until we go back to that motion in order for me to give comment on that yeah any comments now would be on the amendment which is to restrict to high school students only yes sir thank you Miss Clemens oh okay that was fast you know this book was powerful it was heavy and I could understand where pulling it out of the Middle School shelves but again when you when we touch on a subject as rape I really want to tread lightly because it can be triggering for people it it we've all known people very close to us that have experience this and so I know this is not a possibility in this meeting but I think it this might be something that we would want to consider
124having for a mature or parental approval and I say this because at the end of the book they interview the author and they said what would you say to those parents who are pushing for speak to be banned she said I would ask them why are they afraid to talk to their kids about sexual violence parents must face up to their responsibilities to prepare their children for the dangers of the world they must get over their own squeamishness about discussing human sexuality in order to do so if more boys were taught by their parents what what sexual consent is and what it and that is always required we will have less sexual violence if girls and women felt safer to speak up after a sexual assault and the J judicial system was prepared to consistently
125prosecute and punish rapists then we begin to see an end to these these horrible numbers go down so some parents at the idea of talking to their kids about these things I have no patience for that who do they want to be educating or miseducative or is in J in jail after being found guilty of sexual assault speak opens up the doors to some of the most important conversations a family will ever have and this is a very heavy topic and I know we can't tonight put this on a parental approval list but knowing just what data tells us about sexual assault and what even young children are exposed to it would be really pertinent for parents to have knowledge that their child is reading a book about rape and about date rape and so
126I know that I just want to put a pen in that for future going forward thank you any further comments or questions on the amendment okay then we are ready to vote on the amendment Mr galberth we'll take your vote first just to just to be clear yes that sorry I didn't I didn't say it in time just to just to State for the record a yes vote on the amendment is to restrict access to this book to high school only a no vote is to leave it as the current access to middle school and high school I still vote Yes all right thank you the vote is 8 yes four no the motion carries so we are now back on the original motion as amended so the motion on the floor as amended is
127to allow the book to remain in the libr in the school libraries for high school students only are there any comments on the main motion Mr Beasley thank you Mr chair I think I think our library should be a free space for kids to go explore and learn about different topics maybe they're embarrassed about or maybe embarrassed about topics that they don't want to completely asked their parents about right off the bat but I thought this was a great book personally myself I think youth should be in form I think speak does an excellent job of addressing the content of sexual assault rape without being aggressive or violent in nature or inappropriately in explicit so I would vote that we keep the book on the shelves thank you any other comments on the motion okay
128we will proceed to a vote and just again to State for the record the a yes vote on the motion as amended is to keep the book in the libraries access to high school students only a no vote is to keep it access to high school and middle school am I saying that right okay Mr galberth yes I vote Yes a yes vote is to restrict keep access to the book only for high school students a no V is to allow it to remain accessible to both High School and Middle School Mr galberth yes thank you the vote is 8 yes four no okay eight yes four no the motion passes so the book Speak will be accessible will remain in the libraries accessible to high school students only okay we will now move on
129to item D Perks of Being a Wallflower determination of whether the following library book The Perks of Being a Wallflower is appropriate for the age and maturity levels of the students who may access the books in Williamson County School libraries and whether the book is consistent with the educational mission of Williamson County Schools is there a motion Mr bosik will you state your motion please in response to the objection raised to Perks of Being a Wallflower I move that the book be removed from Williamson County School library collections because it is not appropriate for the age and maturity levels of the students who have access to it and or is not consistent with the educational mission of Williamson County Schools thank you Miss Clemens do second all right motion is on the floor is there
130any discussion any discussion of the motion to remove Perks of Being a Wallflower entirely from the libraries okay then we are ready to vote Mr galberth yes okay if it if it wasn't clear this motion is to remove the books this book entirely from the libraries yes vote would would do that a no vote would allow the book to remain in the high school libraries only where it's currently accessible Mr galbert votes yes let's rest of us please proceed to vote the vote is 10 yes yes to no motion carries Perks of Being a Wallflower is removed from Williamson County schools libraries our final item item e where the croad sing determination of whether the following library book where the cwad seeing is appropriate for the age and maturity levels of the students who may
131access the books in Williamson County School libraries and whether the book is consistent with the educational mission of Williamson County Schools is there motion Mr bosik and response to the objection raised to where the crwad saying I move that the book be removed from Williamson County School library collections because it is not appropriate for the age and maturity levels of the students who have access to it and or is not consistent with the educational mission of Williamson County Schools thank you m Dr Johnson you second okay any discussion of that motion Dr Johnson one thing I want to share with everyone is even the librarian who reviewed this book she recognized that under the recently passed state law that it would meet the requirement that is not appropriate for age and maturity level of a
132student in any grades K through 12 Mr Welch sorry I'm finding the u space the librarian who reviewed where the croad sing for question eight is this material age appropriate for the age of maturity level of students at X material well let me start here say you know is the material suitable for and consistent with the educational Mission yes critical reading and writing think required students dig deep into complex text students will be immersed in the novel's powerful story while challenged by themes imagery and writer's craft curriculum uses for the book includes text analysis summary character Theme Mr W can you speak up just a tad please I'm sorry is that better yeah thank you okay The Librarian actually and I'm sorry I've I've missed my place I wasn't ready for that to the point
133that the librarian said it wasn't suitable my understanding is the librarian actually said it was age appropriate for the age but questioned but did question whether it would comply with the current law so I think that's fair they she did here it is my professional recommendation is that we're the croad saying is appropriate for high school students so I I think we should probably clarify that her professional recommendation was not that it wasn't age appropriate she did say however I recognize under recently passed state law it would meet the requirement that is not appropriate for age IM maturity level so she gave her legal opinion that it was inappropriate she gave her professional opinion as a librarian that it was appropriate for high school students and while I appreciate the legal opinion of the librarian
134it's it's not what we asked her to do we have legal counsel for that so I think that's important clarification we should make on that the librarian did not say that it was inappropriate for high school students Mr bosic this is from page 134 he took her shoulders and pushed her firmly against the tree holding her arms along her sides he kissed her his groin pushing against hers since Christmas they had kissed and explored slowly not like this he had always taken the lead but had watched her questioning for signs to desist not like now he pulled away the Deep golden brown layers of his eyes boring into hers slowly he unbuttoned her shirt pulled it off exposing her breasts he took his time to examine them with his eyes and fingers circling her nipples
135then he unzipped her shorts and pulled them down until they dropped to the ground almost naked for the first time in front of him she panted and moved her hands to cover herself gently he moved her hands away and took his time looking at her body her groin throbbed as if all the her blood had surged there he stepped out of his shorts and still staring at her pushed his erection against her when she turned away in shyness he lifted her chin and said look at me look at me in the eyes Ka Tate Tate she reached out trying to kiss him but he held her back forcing only her eyes to take him in she didn't know raw nakedness could bring such want he whispered his hands against her inner thighs and instinctively she
136stepped each foot to the side slightly his fingers moved between her legs and slowly massaged parts of her she never knew existed she threw her head back and whimpered Page 184 drifting offshore on a hot day a few months after they met he said it was a perfect time for a swim I won't look he said take off your clothes and jump in then I will she stood in front of him balancing in the boat but as she pulled her t-shirt over her head he didn't turn away he reached out and ran his fingers lightly across her firm breasts she didn't stop him pulling her closer he unzipped her shorts and slipped them easily from her slender hips then he took off his shirt and shorts and pushed her down gently onto the towels kneeling
137at her feet without saying a word he ran his fingers like a whisper along her left ankle and up the to the inside of her knee slowly along the inside of her thigh she raised her body towards his hand his fingers lingered at the top of her thigh rubbed over her panties then moved ac across her belly light as a thought she sensed his fingers moving up her stomach toward her breasts and twisted her body away from him finally he pushed her flat and slid his fingers to her breast slowly outlining the nipple with one finger he looked at her unsmiling and he moved his hand down and pulled at the top of her p an's she wanted him all of him and her body pushed against his but seconds later she put her hand
138on his come on K he said please we've waited forever I've been pretty patient don't you think Chase you promised damn it Ka what are we waiting for he sat up surely I showed you I cared for you why not there's some other passages as well but I think that probably gets the point across are there any other comments Dr Reeves I just want to mention that in contrast to the librarian's review for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close I appreciated this librarian's review because she actually did go through each criteria of that's spelled out in the statute and she did find that yes there are descriptions of five consensual sexual acts or near sexual acts and one non-consensual act of violence and that was under the criteria about sexual excitement meaning the condition of human
139male or female gen tools when in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal and that is what the law requires us to do any other comments Miss Wyatt I just wanted to reread in entirety what the librarian said at the end my professional recommendation is that where the craw dad sing is appropriate for high school students however I recognize under the recently passed state law it would meet the requirement that it is not appropriate for the age and maturity level of a student in any of the grades K through 12 after the decision two years ago to keep the books in question parents in the grade band were emailed with instructions to opt their student out of those titles three Raven wood families decided to opt out of some or all of the five titles
140for for some or all of their children three at any time a student who has access to the book may choose to stop reading not every book is the right fit for every student Ravenwood annually has a book Madness contest like we heard about earlier similar to March Madness where the 32 the top 32 circulating titles of the year are matched up against each other in a bracket students can complete a bracket to choose who they think will win then students vote on their favorite books in March of 2023 where the C where the craw dad sing won the championship round with 98 of 172 votes Mr bosik I mean I have no doubt that where the cwad Singh was probably voted as a favorite for pubescent teens in school that's not shocking to me
141I also once again as it comes to the question of parents opting in you have to ask yourself that is the position of a school one of education and protection or is the position of the school one of exposure to things that are offensive or explicit I would argue that it's to educate and protect children not expose them to sexual themes I don't see any other requests to speak I'm just going to make a comment again not as the chair but as a board member that one of the things that this book probably of all the five to me has the most literary value and probably the most important story to tell but again because we're Bound by the state law it's pretty clear to me that at least section 2E and probably section 2
142D are violated by multiple passages in this book and again that's what we're being charged with is applying the state law so in spite of how good the book may be and there certainly is a lot about the book that's very important and and good and all the ratings would would verify that unfortunately we're Bound by the state law and I think there's too many very too many explicit instances of violation of that law okay if if there no other comments we are ready to vote again a yes vote on the motion is to remove the book from our school libraries a no vote is to let it remain in the school libraries with access to high school students only Mr galberth how do you vote yes thank you rest of us can proceed to
143vote the vote is 10 yes two no okay the motion carries the book where the cwad seeing is removed from Williamson County schools libraries that does complete our agenda thank you to the board members and to the members of the public who came out we are adjourned thank you