St. Francis School Board agrees to walk back book ban
St. Francis Schools have paused new book bans for the moment, but not before taking 11 off the shelf and preparing to remove more. (FOX 9)
ST. FRANCIS, Minn. (FOX 9) - The St. Francis Area School Board voted back in December 2024 to have a conservative-aligned parents’ group decide which books would be allowed in their school libraries.
Six months later, the school board walked that ban back in a meeting Monday night. The board voted 4-3 last December to ban books rated by "Book Looks" anything above a 3 on a 1 to 5 suitability scale.
Anoka County book ban ratings and concerns
An Anoka County school district is allowing a conservative-aligned national group to decide which books are allowed in its libraries.
A pair of lawsuits followed, and the school board has agreed to settle those.
Passionate public comment at school board meeting
What they're saying:
The St. Francis Area School Board took about 20 minutes of public comments during its meeting Monday night. Most of that time was spent by parents in the district talking about how important it was to reverse the book ban. Here's a sample of what they had to say.
- "When I first heard about this, I felt frustrated, angry, confused, maybe a little embarrassed at first and maybe a little scared. Watching parents sacrifice their time and energy to come up, on top of full-time jobs and raising kids, to stand up and defend their student’s right to access to educational materials, that sense of embarrassment is replaced with a sense of pride that I can be part of that community."
- "I wanted to speak to how important books are for students in this district, how absolutely important it is for them to read good, challenging books. This is for them. Our students reading incredibly challenging and hard books that deal with challenging subject matter makes them much better people and much better at taking care of the community. I want well-educated, smart, challenged people doing that."
- "I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt and hope that you not use the site as an easy button to protect the children and not as the racist and homophobic tool that some seem to use it as. With my boy in middle school, I worry about what adult things he might come across in books as his third grade score had reading at an early high school level. I constantly stalked his backpack and discouraged without permitting, as I think that would only increase his interest, books that I felt were too mature for him. He soon lost interest in reading, and certainly lost interest in discussing books with me. I’m the first to admit I was wrong. We should be encouraging and even begging our kids to read challenging materials, and we should be reading it with them."
- "I’m paying more for people to be incarcerated and less for people to be educated, and I find that deeply offensive. Investment in education, it increases wealth in our community."
St. Francis School Board Chair reacts
Nathan Burr, the chair of the St. Francis Area School Board, released a statement on Tuesday about the settlement.
"After thoughtful discussion and legal counsel, the district and all parties have agreed that resolving these lawsuits is in the best interest of our students, staff, and community. This agreement allows us to move forward with a renewed focus on our shared mission: to equip all students with the knowledge and skills to empower them to achieve their dreams and full potential while becoming responsible citizens in a dynamic world. While the process has been complex, we remain committed to transparency, open communication, and ensuring that our policies and procedures reflect both community values and align with applicable laws. We appreciate the engagement and feedback from our families, staff, and community members throughout this process. Our district continues to uphold its responsibility to provide students with access to age-appropriate, educationally sound resources while honoring the rights and voices of all stakeholders."
Settled lawsuits
What we know:
As part of the settlement agreements, the district agreed to a new policy for books in libraries that requires a super majority of the review committee to remove material. If the school board were to make a decision that contradicts the recommendation of the committee and superintendent, the board must do so in writing and be acted on in a meeting.
They also must give the public at least three days' notice. The settlements agree to revise the policy and associated procedures, restoring the books that were removed under the ban. The district must pay $750 in mediator and out-of-pocket expenses, and the lawsuits are dismissed with the assurance that the policy won’t change for at least three years.