URBANDALE, Iowa — The Urbandale Community School District has dropped more than 300 titles from its list of banned books, according to documents obtained by nonprofit book advocacy group Annie's Foundation.
The district previously listed over 380 books that could be removed from school library shelves in compliance with SF 496, which requires schools to remove books describing or with visual depictions of a sex act.
Since the law's implementation in July, education officials and school districts across Iowa have been waiting for more details on how to proceed.
In an email sent out to Urbandale families on Thursday, the district claimed it misunderstood the law's intention and included books which also dealt with gender identity and sexual orientation, leading to such a broad list initially.
The message reads in part:
"We have determined that there is ambiguity regarding the extent to which books that contain topics related to gender identity and sexual orientation need to be removed from libraries. As such, we will pause removing books that reference gender identity and sexual orientation until we receive guidance from the Iowa Department of Education. In doing so, we have worked to determine the books that are believed to violate 'any material with descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act as defined in section 702.17' and at this time have identified a total of 65 titles in our collection that will be removed to comply with the law."
The district also said it "reviewed book lists from other states who had passed similar laws as a starting point." Local 5 has reached out to Urbandale and other central Iowa school districts to learn more about their plans, but we have yet to hear back.
You can read the full list of prohibited materials below:
The ban comes as similar regulations sweep across the nation, with book bans and restrictions hitting a record high in 2022.
Des Moines Public Library Director Sue Woody said that, even as books are deemed inappropriate across the country, there are ways for kids to read them: public libraries.
“We challenge censorship in all of its forms. And if that makes us a target, so be it. We’re willing to take on that challenge ... We have to read these books, because they are so important. They give us history. This is how we learn empathy," Woody said.
She also said that kids and teens might see a ban as a challenge, adding: "If you think a book has some scary ideas in it, well, you better be careful at what they are looking at on their phone, because that’s really scary.”
What titles are no longer banned in the Urbandale Community School District?
With more than 300 books leaving the list, plenty of literary classics and fan favorites are back on the shelves.
Though, some of the now-approved works do include the very things SF 496 aims to shield children from. George Orwell's science fiction novel "1984" contains multiple depictions of sex acts, and "Lolita" describes the kidnapping and repeated rape of a young girl.
Here are a few of the books removed from the list:
- "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov
- "Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky
- "As I Lay Dying" by William Faulkner
- "Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
- "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult
- "1984" by George Orwell
- "Sophie's Choice" by William Styron
- "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" by Judy Blume
What books are still banned in Urbandale schools?
In total, 65 books remain on Urbandale's list of banned titles. Many of the books reference LGBTQ+ relationships, sexual content and sensitive topics, like suicide or self harm.
Here's a look at some of the books that are still on the chopping block:
- "Forever" by Judy Blume
- "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston
- "Milk & Honey" by Rupi Kaur
- "13 Reasons Why" by Jay Asher
- "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green
- "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
- "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker
What other changes were made to the list?
Of the 65 still banned from school shelves in Urbandale's public system, more than 20 were not on the first list.
Newly-added titles include André Aciman's "Call Me By Your Name", a gay romance set in 1980s Italy with explicit sexual scenes; "Identical" by Ellen Hopkins, which contains sex, inappropriate language, suicide and more and soon-to-be movie "Red, White, and Royal Blue" by Casey McQuiston, which contains depictions of sex between two men.