Schools

Protesting Book Ban, Hundreds Walk Out Of Montco High School

The proposal would remove sexually explicit content from the school library. Opponents excoriated it as the "erasure of student humanity."

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PERKIOMEN VALLEY, PA — Hundreds of Perkiomen Valley High School students walked out of school on Monday in protest of a potential book ban.

The ban would restrict books with anything labeled "sexually explicit" content from being placed in the school's library. It's nearly identical to the book ban that was adopted by the Central Bucks School District in 2022, considered by some to be the strictest ban of its type in all of Pennsylvania.

"This entire process of removing texts creates a message of misinformation within the schools, but it also promotes the ostracization and erasure of student humanity," Perkiomen Valley junior and student organizer Aspen Bradley said. "Youth and young adults are at some of their most vulnerable moments, so neglecting to nourish them or limiting their exposure to support in that state is irresponsible and dangerous."

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RELATED: Bill Would Ban 'Highly Sexual' Material From PA School Libraries

The group of students, many carrying signs decrying the proposed ban, walked from the school's gym to the stadium just after 1:30 p.m.

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Widely shared posters around the school and the nearby community quoted Oscar Wilde: "the books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame."

Bradley and others have argued that the ban will significantly harm English, art, and history curricula, alienate families and the best teachers, and ultimately lower property values.

The incident was met with pride and support from PV Forward, a coalition of left-leaning school board candidates.

"We are so proud of the Perkiomen Valley High School students who stood up for what they believed in during yesterday's walkout," the group shared Tuesday. "Bravo to these young people for knowing how to make their voices heard on proposed school district policy through peaceful demonstration."

Defenders of the measure, including multiple members of the Perkiomen Valley School Board who will decide the fate of the proposal, say that books with sexual content are inappropriate for students given their age, are not related to the fundamental knowledge and goals of classes, or both.

The controversy over where the power of censorship should lie, and what role which levels of governments should play in adjudicating related disagreements, has taken center stage in school boards and state legislatures around the nation since 2020. In Pennsylvania, legislation enforcing a similar ban to Perkiomen Valley's proposal has been introduced at the state level.


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