A Utah school district that pulled the Bible off elementary and middle school library shelves this month, citing concerns over the text’s age appropriateness, unanimously reversed that decision Tuesday following appeals from the community.
The Davis School District chose to remove the King James version of the Bible from elementary and middle school libraries after a review committee found it included elements of “vulgarity or violence,” CNN affiliate KUTV previously reported. The vote came after a community member asked the district to review the Bible’s inclusion in school libraries, a district spokesperson told CNN.
Within days of announcing the book’s removal, the district received multiple appeal requests, district spokesperson Christopher Williams said.
The board’s vote on Tuesday followed the recommendation of an appeal committee that determined the Bible has significant, serious value for minors that outweighs the violent or vulgar content it contains, Williams said.
‘Now we can all ban books’
Book removals from school libraries have become a heated debate topic recently as school boards have removed books exploring concepts including race and LGBTQ experiences, based on challenges from some parents.
The initial decision from Davis School District leaders to remove the Bible came after a complaint from a person who criticized the state’s processes for removing books from school libraries, according to KUTV.
“I thank the Utah Legislature and Utah Parents United for making this bad faith process so much easier and way more efficient,” the person wrote, according to the affiliate. “Now we can all ban books and you don’t even need to read them or be accurate about it. Heck, you don’t even need to see the book.”
That book review process was set out in a 2022 law that “prohibits certain sensitive instructional materials in public schools” and requires a “local education agency to include parents who are reflective of a school’s community when determining whether an instructional material is sensitive material.”
The text of the law defines “sensitive material” as “instructional material that is pornographic or indecent material.”
“As with any new policy, the district’s library review process will likely require some revisions, but the Davis School District stands by the process currently in place,” the district said in a statement. “The process takes time and it isn’t perfect, but it is working.”
To date, 60 books have been reviewed by the district, resulting in in the full removal of 37 books and partial removal of 14 others, according to the district.
Earlier this month, the district also received a request to review the Book of Mormon for removal – another religious text used by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is headquartered in Salt Lake City.
“I recognize that our policy could use some refinements and improvements,” said school board President Liz Mumford, who voted to reinstate the Bible based on her “deep personal belief that the Bible has serious literary, artistic, historical, and political value for minors.”
“Books are more than the sum of their parts. Books have power,” said Allison Farmer, an elementary school librarian. “As much as I hate to see any book removed at all I feel like it’s important that there’s not an exception made because that’s the law as it was.”
“If we’re going to look at one book, let’s look at them all,” another community member said during the meeting.