BOISE, Idaho — On May 11, the Nampa School Board voted to remove 22 books permanently from libraries across the district, as reported by our news partner, the Idaho Press.
According to a board meeting document, the 22 challenged books were brought to the attention of the district and board for allegedly containing “pornography."
Committees composed of staff and parents were in the process of conducting a review of the books in question, but the vote effectively ended that. However, trustees expressed interest in crafting a formal process for reviewing challenged books in the future.
KTVB has reached out to other school districts in Idaho through public records requests to identify challenged or removed books in districts during the 2021-2022 school district outside of Nampa. A comprehensive breakdown of each district's status is included below, listed in alphabetical order:
This list will be updated as more districts report back.
Blaine Co. School District:
Removed: 0
Challenged: 0
Boise School District:
Removed: 0
Challenged:
- "Shout," by Laurie Halse Anderson
Bonneville School District:
Removed: "Move the content to a school or platform with an older student demographic."
Challenged: "The story of Harvey and the Rainbow Flag"
Caldwell School District:
Removed:
Challenged:
Coeur d'Alene School District:
Removed: 0
Challenged: 0
Idaho Falls School District:
Removed:
Challenged:
Kuna School District:
Removed: 0
Challenged: 0
Lewiston School District:
Removed: 0
Challenged: 0
Mountain Home School District:
Removed:
Challenged:
Nampa School District:
Removed:
- “Kite Runner,” by Khaled Hosseini
- “Leah on the Offbeat,” by Becky Albertalli
- “The Prince and the Dressmaker,” by Jen Wang
- “Thirteen Reasons Why,” by Jay Asher
- “The 57 Bus,” by Dashka Slater
- “Drama,” by Raina Telgemeier
- “Looking for Alaska,” by John Green
- “The Bluest Eye,” by Toni Morrison
- “The Handmaid’s Tale,” by Margaret Atwood
- “l8r, g8r,” by Lauren Myracle
- “Out of Darkness,” by Ashley Hope Perez
- “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky
- “Crank,” by Ellen Hopkins
- “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian;” by Sherman Alexie
- “City of Heavenly Fire,” by Cassandra Clare
- “Clockwork Princess,” by Cassanrda Clare
- “Eleanor and Park,” by Rainbow Rowell
- “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” by Jonathan Safran Foer
- “Sold,” by Patricia McCormick
- “Speak,” by Laurie Halse Anderson
- “33 Snowfish,” by Adam Rapp
- “It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health,” by Robie H. Harris.
Twin Falls School District:
Removed: 0
Challenged: 0
Weiser School District:
Removed: 0
Challenged: 0
West Ada School District:
Removed:
- "Gender Queer: A Memoir," by Maia Kobabe
- "This Book is Gay," by Juno Dawson
Challenged:
- "Gender Queer: A Memoir," by Maia Kobabe
- "This Book is Gay," by Juno Dawson
- "Fairy Tale, Volume 45," by Hiro Mashima
- "Who Was Harriet Tubman," by Yona Zeldis McDonough
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