sue the Fallbrook district on grounds that it
weighed in on the controversy, asserting that
had violated Malia's civil rights.8
"both sides ought to be properly taught . . . so
people can understand what the debate is
Like intelligent design, freedom of expres-
about."7 We found that last year in at least 18
sion was a flashpoint for controversy in
200506, with a minimum of 20 states expe-
states school districts, state school boards, or
riencing conflicts over it.
state legislatures debated how evolution
Book Banning. From Huckleberry Finn to
should be handled in public schools.
The Catcher in the Rye, fights over what books
Freedom of Expression. The fundamental
should or should not be in school libraries or
conflict in freedom-of-expression battles is
taught in classes have been a permanent fea-
between students' rights to say or wear what
ture of public schooling. The basic problem is
they want, and other students' ability to
this: Government has the right neither to cen-
obtain the education to which they are enti-
sor speech nor to compel people to support
tled (and for which taxpayers have paid) with-
the speech of others, yet public schooling does
out disruption or feeling threatened. In these
both. Whenever a school district buys a book
cases, the federal constitutional prohibition
with public funds, it forces every district tax-
against government choosing what expression
payer to support the speech contained in it,
is acceptable collides head-on with the
and whenever it removes a book from a library,
schools' obligation to provide children with
it condemns that speech.
the education to which they are entitled.
Nowhere did book banning prove more
Included under this heading are such com-
divisive last year than in the Miami-Dade
mon grounds for dispute as dress codes,
school district. There, the school board ordered
administrator oversight of student journal-
the removal from bookshelves district-wide of
ism, and simple student speech.
Vamos a Cuba, a book charged with portraying
By far the biggest cause of free expression
Castro's Cuba in far too rosy a light, as well as
fights last year was the series of immigration
all the other volumes in the 24-book collection
protests that swept the nation. Numerous
to which it belonged. The removal did not
schools and districts struggled with how to
occur, though, until tempers in Miami had
discipline students who skipped school to
reached feverish levels.
attend rallies, and many others faced chal-
Ethnically diverse Miami, however, was not
lenges maintaining peace on school grounds
the only site of book banning conflict last year.
as students took sides in the highly flamma-
Relatively homogeneous Carroll County,
ble debate.
Maryland, was also beset by a censorship con-
A situation that illuminated the quandary
troversy when, at the request of some district
school administrators found themselves in
parents, Superintendent Charles I. Ecker
last year occurred at Fallbrook High School in
pulled The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round
Fallbrook, California, where student Malia
Things from schools' shelves. The award-win-
Fontana had an incident report placed in her
Government has
ning book depicted such things as self-mutila-
file after a school security officer saw an
tion and date rape that the aggrieved parents
American flag in her back pocket. The district
the right neither
thought inappropriate for children. After a
had prohibited students from displaying flags
to censor speech
great outcry from members of the community
on the heels of a violent student demonstra-
nor to compel
who wanted the book restored, however, Ecker
tion at the nearby Oceanside school district, in
consented to returning the book to high
which students threw milk cartons and other
people to support
school shelves while maintaining the ban in
objects at police, and police responded with
the speech of
middle schools. Still, at least one student
pepper spray. School officials believed that
intends to fight on for a complete ban. "I'm
various flags had become powerful--and dan-
others, yet public
not going to accept a [committee's] decision
gerous--symbols in immigration-related ten-
schooling does
that is stacked against the values of Carroll
sions and banned their display to help main-
County," said 17-year-old Joel Ready.9
both.
tain order. The ACLU, however, threatened to
4