Challenge news: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

Brunswick County, NC: The second (third, if you count the appeal to the first decision) challenge to Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian has been resolved:

Brunswick County Schools rejected a grandmother's second challenge to the book "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian." The rejection is due to timing: Appeals to a book the school board has previously ruled on will not be considered for two years.

For more on that one, see these posts.

Waterloo, IA: In mid-March, copies of Part-time Indian were pulled from all middle school classrooms in response to a parent complaint: 

The debate over whether the book should be pulled from classrooms has been eclipsed by questions of whether the decision was made in violation of district policy.

The district administration maintains the book is “inarguably inappropriate” for middle schoolers and therefore does not require a review process.

Some teachers disagree, arguing district policy calls for a review of the book before a decision can be made.

Ah, yes. Because skipping the review process—not following your own rules—is alwaysssss an awesome precedent to set, not to mention setting a GREAT example for the students. 

Choice quote from the article: “If you ask yourself if maybe a text might be controversial, then it probably is,” Lee wrote, “so don’t use it.” 

Another choice quote from the article: “If people in Ms. Lee's position can decide for themselves what is appropriate and not appropriate in the classroom, without involving at least a ‘book reconsideration committee’ ... where does something like that stop?" Copeland said in an email.

The NCAC, ALA, and NCTE have all released statements about the book's removal:

“Although we are often tempted to shield students for as long as possible from the world’s more difficult realities,” the ALA letter reads, “limiting access to books does not protect young people from the complex and challenging world that confronts them. Rather, it can deprive them of information that is important to learning and development as individuals.”