Rockingham County School Board permanently bans 6 more books from classrooms, libraries
The Rockingham County School Board voted to permanently ban six more books Monday night. The move comes over a year after the board voted to temporarily remove nearly 60 books from classrooms and school libraries.
Since the board’s initial removal, members have been reviewing individual titles and voting whether to ban them permanently or return them to shelves.
Students at Rockingham County Public Schools will no longer be able to access popular novels like “Red, White & Royal Blue” by Casey McQuiston, “The DUFF” by Kody Keplinger and “Felix Ever After” by Kacen Callender.
Superintendent Larry Shifflett recommended removing “Red, White & Royal Blue” for its sexually explicit content, as defined in RCPS Policy II-ABA.
Of the seven titles proposed to be banned Monday, “Stars in Their Eyes” by Jessica Walton was the only one to be retained. The novel, which centers around an LGBTQ+ relationship, was retained at Shifflett’s recommendation, but only at the high school level, as per request of board member Hollie Cave.
Cave motioned to ban the other three titles Shifflett proposed to retain: “Felix Ever After,” “The DUFF” and “Fade” by Lisa McMann. The three motions were passed in a 4-1 vote, with Jackie Lohr as the only board member to vote against the motion.
“Tricks” and “Tilt,” both by Ellen Hopkins, were banned with a unanimous vote, along with “Red, White & Royal Blue.”
The 57 books listed for temporary removal in January 2024 were flagged for “sexually explicit content, explicit language and violence,” said board member Matt Cross, who was chairman at the time.In an interview in 2024, Cross said the list of titles came from parent complaints, and not from interest group Moms For Liberty. However, when cross-referencing the school board’s list with a book review database from a Tennessee chapter of Moms For Liberty, WHSV found that the majority of the books on the list were also on the Moms For Liberty database.