Edmond school board votes unanimously to keep controversial book on shelves

EDMOND, Okla. (KFOR) — A controversial book will stay on the shelves of Edmond high school libraries.

"The Glass Castle" is featured in many high school libraries across the country, but it's also frequently challenged for some of its mature themes, including sexual abuse.

Amid concern, Edmond school board members ultimately decided to keep it in libraries.

The decision follows longtime controversy over the book, including last year when the State Department of Education (OSDE) demanded the book be removed claiming it's "pornographic".

The district fought back and asked State Supreme Court justices to decide who has the power to remove books, the court decided its the school district's job.

Now, a community member challenged the book, triggering a review process, ultimately leading to the school board's decision.

"When I read the book, I did not see that they were glorifying child predators... I felt like it's a biography and that it was her experiences growing up," said Marcus Jones, president of the EPS Board of Education.

Board members also praised the school district's policy allowing parents to opt out their children from checking out any book.

"We very much believe that choice is important, knowing that not everyone's values and choices would be the same. You know what I might choose for my student could be very different from what another parent would choose for for their student and we respect those decisions," said Jeff Bardach, executive director of communications for Edmond Public Schools.

Bardach says full library catalogs are also posted online for parents to access at anytime.

"Then if there's a book that any parent doesn't want their student to read, all they need to do is contact the library media specialist and they flag it in the system, so their student cannot check out that book," said Bardach.

To view the catalog, click here.

Since OSDE has been vocal with criticism of the book, News 4 reached out for comment and received the following response.

Oklahoma parents want age appropriate materials in our schools. Some materials are not appropriate for younger age groups, and should not be accessible without parents' permission.

Oklahoma State Department of Education