by Staff Reporter | Feb 6, 2025 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
It’s taken the better part of a year for vigilant Scottsdale parents, but the vulgar books they discovered will no longer be in their district’s libraries.
Last July, Scottsdale mom Jill Dunican wrote to the Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) governing board about 17 books allegedly containing “vulgar or educationally unsuitable content.” Dunican wrote on behalf of several advocacy organizations and individuals: Scottsdale Unites for Educational Integrity, Arizona Women of Action, Restore Parental Rights in Education, Protect Arizona Children Coalition, A Legal Process, Not In Our Schools, Shiry Sapir, Dan Kleinman (SafeLibraries), EZAZ, Save CFSD, Kids First, Mom Army, and Moms For Liberty.
The contested books were “A Stolen Life” by Jaycee Dugard; “Doomed” and “Haunted” by Chuck Palahniuk; “Lucky” by Alice Sebold; “PUSH” by Sapphire; “Sold” by Patrick McCormick; “Tricks,” “Perfect,” “People Kill People,” “Identical,” and “Smoke” by Ellen Hopkins; “Icebreaker” by Hannah Grace; “A Court of Frost and Starlight” by Sara J. Maas; “Anatomy of a Boyfriend” and “Anatomy of a Single Girl” by Daria Snadowsky; “Breathless” by Jennifer Niven; “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” by Jesse Andrews; and “Lawn Boy” by Jonathan Evison.
Most of these books were only available at the various high schools within the district. One contested title — “Sold” — was available at the Desert Canyon K-8 school.
In her letter to the board, Dunican claimed these books violated Arizona’s laws on furnishing harmful items to minors and Arizona’s parental bill of rights.
“The negative impacts of vulgar material on children include: ‘greater acceptance of sexual harassment, sexual activity at an early age, acceptance of negative attitudes to women, unrealistic expectations, skewed attitudes of gender roles, greater levels of body dissatisfaction, rape myths, and sexual aggression,’ as well as sexual risk taking, mental health problems, decreased academic performance and detachment from family and friends,” wrote Dunican.
SUSD agreed. Following a temporary pull of the books and investigation by a review committee, SUSD found that nearly all of the contested books needed to be kept out of circulation permanently — meaning these texts violated Arizona laws on furnishing harmful materials to minors.
Last Friday, SUSD advised Dunican of the removal of 15 of the 17 contested books. The district determined the other two books — “Sold” and “Stolen Life” — may remain in circulation under the condition of parental consent for checkouts.
In a response email to Dunican, SUSD director Kim Dodds Keran added that the 15 books to be removed from circulation had “very limited circulation,” meaning they were checked out five or fewer times over the past three years.
In an email shared with AZ Free News, Dunican asked SUSD to adopt a policy complementing Arizona law prohibiting public schools from referring students to or using sexually explicit material in any manner.
This law maintains exemptions for works that possess “serious educational value” or “artistic, literary, political, or scientific value.” In those cases, schools must obtain written parental consent on a per-material basis.
Dunican suggested the proposed SUSD policy could have librarians rely on rating services to review book ratings ahead of book purchases.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Aug 6, 2024 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
Parents and community members within the Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) are petitioning for the removal of sexually explicit books from school libraries.
Last week, a coalition of parents’ rights and educational organizations submitted a letter to the SUSD governing board requesting the book removals. Nearly all of the books on their list were only offered at high school libraries, with the exception of one offered at a K-8 school library.
Parents and community members involved with Scottsdale Unites for Educational Integrity, Arizona Women of Action, Restore Parental Rights in Education, Protect Arizona Children Coalition, A Legal Process, Not In Our Schools, EZAZ, SaveCFSD.org, KIDS FIRST, Mom Army, and Moms for Liberty submitted the request. Two individuals also joined the request, Shiry Shapir and Dan Kleinman.
The parents submitted their request to remove all “pervasively vulgar” or “educationally unsuitable” content from SUSD libraries to the Scottsdale Unified Governing Board, citing Arizona laws on furnishing harmful items to minors and the 1982 Supreme Court ruling recognizing that school boards maintain the authority to remove books determined to be vulgar or unsuitable for education.
The groups argued that the books don’t offer “serious educational value,” or any “serious artistic, literary, political, or scientific value.”
The parents and community members also requested that the district employ a book maturity rating system, and to prohibit future purchases of books rated not for minors or aberrant.
“This request is not to ban books,” said the parents. “All of the books mentioned in this letter are widely available in bookstores and other online and brick-and-mortar retail outlets. Schools have a limited amount of library budget and shelf space, thus the question we must answer is which books should be offered to minors and which should not.”
Per the groups, SUSD hasn’t responded to their request.
The sexually explicit books that parents would like to see removed were “A Stolen Life” by Jaycee Dugard, “Doomed” by Chuck Palahniuk, “Haunted” by Chuck Palahniuk, “Lucky” by Alice Sebold, “PUSH” by Sapphire, “Sold” by Patrick McCormick, “Tricks” by Ellen Hopkins, “Perfect” by Ellen Hopkins, “People Kill People” by Ellen Hopkins, “Identical” by Ellen Hopkins, “Icebreaker” by Hannah Grace, “A Court of Frost and Starlight” by Sara J. Maas, “Anatomy of a Boyfriend” by Daria Snadowsky, “Anatomy of a Single Girl” by Daria Snadowsky, “Breathless” by Jennifer Niven, “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” by Jesse Andrews, “Lawn Boy” by Jonathan Evison, and “Smoke” by Ellen Hopkins.
One or more of the books were located at all five high schools: Arcadia, Chaparral, Coronado, Desert Mountain, and Saguaro.
Desert Canyon K-8 school was also on the list for one book included: “Sold” by Patrick McCormick.
These books not only contain sexually explicit material, they contain aberrant depictions of sexual activities such as child molestation, rape, bestiality, sexual assault or battery, incest, adult and child prostitution, and sodomy. The books also contain descriptions of the usage of drugs and alcohol by both adults and minors, as well as suicide and self harm.
Arizona law prohibits the distribution of harmful items to minors, which includes that which contains descriptions or representations of nudity, sexual activity, sexual excitement, or sadomasochistic abuse.
Parents cited the Supreme Court case Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School No. 26 v. Pico to make their case that SUSD had full authority to remove the contested books immediately without review.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Corinne Murdock | Nov 8, 2023 | Education, News
By Corinne Murdock |
A UNICEF club at Desert Mountain High School (DMHS) allegedly told meeting attendees to side with Hamas in the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. Hamas is a terrorist group and the de facto governing entity of the Gaza strip, the heart of the ongoing conflict.
In images posted to X (formerly Twitter), the club declared that Israel was an apartheid state, desired to eradicate Muslims, and was the aggressor in the ongoing conflict.
Specifically, the club declared that Israel has been illegally occupying, taking, and settling on land belonging to Palestinians; that Israel had engaged in ethnic cleansing and apartheid by forcibly displacing and discriminating against Palestinians; and that Israel unjustly tortured and imprisoned Palestinians, including 80 percent of Palestinian children.
The club also notified club members of an upcoming fundraiser to submit proceeds to UNICEF Gaza, and plans to reroute Halloween fundraising funds to Gaza and the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.
A candidate for Arizona Department of Education Superintendent, Shiry Sapir, said that the meeting was an endangerment to Jewish students by issuing a false representation of the Israel-Palestine conflict escalated last month by the terrorist organization Hamas.
“Remind [DMHS] that publicly funded schools aren’t supposed to partake in propaganda and anti-Semitic rhetoric,” said Sapir.
Sapir urged district leadership to implement a preemptive plan to prevent retaliation against Jewish students, and for a representative of Israel come to speak at the school to the students present at the UNICEF club meeting.
Sapir learned of the incident after receiving a report from a parent, who also reported filing a complaint with the school about the club meeting.
“I wish [my daughter] took pics or video but she said all they spoke about was how Israel is the aggressor and Jews want to kill all Muslims,” said the parent. “How Israel took the land illegally and is committing war crimes. Craziest propaganda.”
The principal, Lisa Hirsch, said in a letter to the DHMS community that she reviewed and approved the slide content before the club meeting. Hirsch emphasized that school clubs were optional and intended to be safe spaces that foster inclusivity. However, she noted that school officials would be reviewing club meetings to ensure content aligned with principles of free speech and mutual respect.
“We are dedicated to promoting an environment that encourages open dialogue, the sharing of diverse perspectives, and constructive conversations while respecting the rights and values of every member of our school community,” said Hirsch.
There are four other UNICEF high school clubs in Arizona in addition to DMHS: Basis Chandler High School, Basis Scottsdale, Basis Peoria, and Hamilton High School.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Daniel Stefanski | Aug 23, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona mothers, who are concerned about the future of their children, have a new website to visit.
Last week, Moms for America gave the green light to MomsforArizona.com, which “is designed to provide moms with the information and resources they need to defend their rights and stand up for their children’s well-being.” Moms for America was started in 2004 and is a “national, non-profit 501c3 educational corporation rooted on the principles of liberty and virtue our nation was founded on, and focused on promoting these principles, values, and virtues in the home and family, particularly through the women and mothers of America.”
According to a press release for the announcement, “the leadership team includes grassroots director Shiry Sapir, a small business owner; state outreach coordinator Shelli Bogg, a former educator; and state director Mayra Rodriguez, a former Planned Parenthood director and whistleblower.”
Kimberly Fletcher, the founder, president, and CEO of Moms for America said, “This new website will be an invaluable resource for moms in Arizona who want to fight back against the radical indoctrination of our children and work toward restoring sanity to our education system. The people targeting our kids depend on moms being isolated and ignorant, because they know they don’t stand a chance against moms who are united and informed.”
Shiry Sapir added, “My own experience with the failures of public education – especially the disastrous school closures of 2020 and 2021 – inspired me to take matters into my own hands and fight for my kids. Not all moms have the time or the resources to engage in this fight on their own, which is why I’m excited to work with Moms for America to mobilize an army of moms to take back our rights and give our children the quality education they deserve.”
On the Moms for America website, its leaders outline a three-part mission, which is to “Empower Moms, Promote Liberty, and Raise Patriots.” The group vows to “fulfill our mission by providing educational resources, programs, and events to support moms in nurturing a love of liberty in the home, advance freedom in their communities, and protect it with their vote.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Corinne Murdock | Feb 8, 2022 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Shiry Sapir, a mother of three who decided to run for public office after enduring the current state of K-12 schools in Arizona, became the first Clean Elections candidate for this year.
Sapir’s filing stands as one of the earliest submissions for any candidate, and reportedly the earliest for an Arizona Republican running for a statewide office. A Clean Elections qualification requires candidates don’t receive special interest or high-dollar contributions; for Sapir’s campaign, she had to raise $2,500 worth of $5 contributions. In addition to the clout, candidates may access the Citizens Clean Elections Fund.
Sapir’s qualification occurred despite Secretary of State Katie Hobbs shutting down the E-Qual system, which allows candidates the easier option of collecting contributions electronically.
In the primaries for the superintendent’s seat, Sapir would be contending with the likes of State Representative Michelle Udall (R-Mesa), who stands firm with the GOP on masking, vaccinations, and critical race theory, but departs on unfettered school choice.
Sapir announced her campaign for state superintendent last July. Since then, she’s earned the endorsements of State Representative and congressional candidate Walt Blackman (R-Snowflake); Andy Biggs’ wife, Cindy Biggs; Arizona Corporate Commission (ACC) Commissioner Jim O’Connor; and the AZ Coalition for Medical Freedom.
Incumbent Superintendent Kathy Hoffman ran her initial campaign as a Clean Elections candidate, and pledged last August to do the same this go around.
Sapir appeared before the House Education Committee last month to advocate for HB2495, citing the incident in Paradise Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) reported on by AZ Free News, in which two English teachers assigned a book laden with pornographic and other explicit material, “So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed.”
“To me, this has nothing to do with homosexuality. It really doesn’t. I have nothing against homosexuality. I just don’t want any kind of sexuality coming in front of minors,” said Sapir.
State Representative Daniel Hernandez (D-Tucson) appeared flustered by Sapir’s stance and testimony, offering a backhanded compliment that Sapir would trust State Representative Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek) because he was “obviously an expert in this [issue],” eliciting a chiding response from Udall, the committee chair. Hernandez then asked Sapir if she’s ever “had to defend her straight-ness as a person.” Udall intervened again, deeming Hernandez’s question irrelevant to the bill.
The House passed that bill that spurred Sapir’s back-and-forth with Hernandez last week.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
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