Scholastic is reversing its decision to allow schools to exclude a collection of books about LGBTQ+ characters and Black characters when hosting its book fairs.
The children鈥檚 book publisher said that it was a mistake to segregate books about diversity and that, starting in January, the collection will not be offered at book fairs at all, according to a statement Scholastic issued on Oct. 25 that EdWeek obtained.
鈥淲e understand now that the separate nature of the collection has caused confusion and feelings of exclusion,鈥� the statement says. 鈥淎s we reconsider how to make our book fairs available to all kids, we will keep in mind the needs of our educators facing local content restrictions and the children we serve.鈥�
Ellie Berger, Scholastic鈥檚 president, sent the letter to authors and illustrators, committing to finding 鈥渁n alternate way to get a greater range of books into the hands of children.鈥�
Scholastic initially attributed the optional collection to pending and proposed laws restricting what books students can and can鈥檛 read in 30 states, according to a statement released last week.
Four public school librarians and two literacy experts previously told EdWeek that they found the publisher鈥檚 initial decision to group those titles into an optional collection disheartening, especially considering that the company had against the proliferation of challenges and bans across the country, largely related to books about race, racism, and LGBTQ+ characters, which have been on the rise for the past two years.
The reversal of the decision was a step in the right direction, the librarians and experts said.
鈥淪cholastic recognized that, as difficult a bind as this pernicious legislation created, the right answer was not to become an accessory to censorship. Scholastic is an essential source of knowledge and a delight for countless children,鈥� said Jonathan Friedman, the director of PEN America鈥檚 Free Expression and Education program in a statement to EdWeek. PEN America is a free speech organization that tracks book bans nationwide.
鈥淲e are glad to see them champion the freedom to read.鈥�
Royel Johnson, an associate professor of education at the University of Southern California, said that how Scholastic proceeds will determine its commitment to diverse books.
鈥淚n a time where access to BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ authors and stories is under constant threat and erasure, it is more important than ever for publishers like Scholastic to be firm on their commitments to DEI and not sway to political pressures,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his reversal is promising, but how they move forward is the real test.鈥�
Books about diversity still available at Scholastic fairs
Last week, when Scholastic to isolate the 64 titles related to stories about fictional Black characters such as Black Panther and activists such as Malala Yousafzai and Ruby Bridges, as well as LGBTQ+ characters, the company attributed the decision to 鈥渆nacted and pending legislation in more than 30 U.S. states prohibiting certain kinds of books from being in schools鈥攎ostly LGBTQIA+ titles and books that engage with the presence of racism in our country,鈥� according to that announcement.
Whether the 64 titles will be featured in book fairs once the optional collection is dissolved next January is unclear, but Scholastic is now figuring out how to make diverse titles available at book fairs without the additional collection, Anne Sparkman, the vice president of corporate communications for Scholastic, said in an update on Wednesday.
In a previous interview, Sparkman said even without the optional collection, Scholastic still offers books about neurodiversity, physical diversity, people of color, and by authors and illustrators of color throughout the fair.
鈥淭here is diversity of many different types of representation throughout the entire fair; it is not that all of the diverse titles are in this one collection,鈥� she said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just that this collection is the starting point with the [books] most likely to be legislated, and then it was filled out with additional diversity,鈥� she said about the so-called 鈥淪hare Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice鈥� collection.
How state laws can impact school book fairs
Despite Scholastic holding state laws and bills responsible for making the diverse collection optional, only three states had passed legislation that dictate the kinds of books schools can make available to students as of May 2023: Florida, Missouri, and Utah.
However, directly or indirectly, these laws have led to thousands of book bans and now are impacting a large publisher such as Scholastic, which runs book fairs in all 50 states, according to Kasey Meehan, the freedom to read program director at PEN America.
In most states, Scholastic was 鈥渁ccommodating something that hasn鈥檛 happened and probably won鈥檛 happen,鈥� said Debby Vandersande, an elementary school librarian from Fairfax County, Va., who has been organizing Scholastic books fairs for 15 years.
鈥淎nd in the places where there is legislation, the librarian can pull [a book] to protect themselves as they really need to, but it鈥檚 not the publishers and booksellers鈥� job to not provide it and to accommodate this type of censorship,鈥� she said.
Missouri鈥檚 law, passed in 2022, has resulted in hundreds of book removals, both temporary and permanent. A provision in the law specifically bans any depiction or description of sexually explicit material, which can apply to graphic novels or picture books, too, depending on how districts interpret the measure. It can also potentially apply to book fairs, said Thom Bober, a librarian at Ralph M. Captain Elementary School in Missouri and the president of the Missouri Association of School Librarians.
However, librarians have done their due diligence to understand the law and remove from fairs any books that may fall under the ban, Bober said.
鈥淪chool librarians are still the most responsible to make those clear decisions about whether a particular book is in violation of a specific law,鈥� he said.
A step in the right direction
Four librarians EdWeek spoke with said they were initially concerned that making optional books representing historically marginalized students would send a message that censorship is the right decision.
All four said Scholastic鈥檚 reversal of the optional collection was a step in the right direction and should be attributed to the objections authors, illustrators, and librarians raised when they heard about the optional collection.
鈥淭he turnaround was swift, and I鈥檓 thankful to every author, illustrator, publisher, and librarian that spoke out against Scholastic鈥檚 decision to make this change happen,"Bober said.
鈥淚鈥檓 glad the priority for students鈥� right to read a diverse selection of books exists.鈥�
Vandersande and Amanda Jones, a librarian from Louisiana, said the 鈥淪hare Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice鈥� collection did not need to be completely removed from book fairs.
鈥淭hey could have just sent the case without it being 鈥榦pt in.鈥� And nobody would have been alarmed,鈥� Vandersande said.
鈥淏ut it is best practice to not separate 鈥榙iverse鈥� books because it makes them an 鈥榦ther.鈥欌��
The reversal shows that Scholastic is on the same page as librarians and is focused on making all kinds of books available to students, said Barbara Johnson, a librarian from Connecticut and a past president of the Connecticut Association of School Librarians.
鈥淚 hope all publishers stand with librarians and help combat legislative efforts to ban and restrict books,鈥� she said.
鈥淚 think the lesson learned is that we鈥檙e all on the same team on getting books into the hands of children who need them.鈥�
Some librarians may still distance themselves from Scholastic fairs
Jones had previously cancelled her school鈥檚 Scholastic fair following the announcement about the optional collection.
鈥淚t sent a message to me that Black voices need to be segregated and opted into, and that鈥檚 not something I want to be associated with,鈥� she said.
Now, she鈥檚 waiting to hear from the authors and illustrators who were impacted before she makes a final decision.
Bober鈥檚 school has already stopped using Scholastic, because other vendors have been more responsive to the requests for diversity in their book fair offerings, among other reasons.
鈥淎s librarians begin to see the selections that Scholastic offers, and the diversity of that selection will be able to tell whether the company is providing a wide variety of books for all readers to choose from,鈥� he said about future fairs.
Vandersande will keep using Scholastic for her school鈥檚 fairs, primarily because students in her district benefit from the large selection of $3 books they can buy there and the school raises enough money through profit sharing with Scholastic to buy books for any students that could not partake in the fair, she said.
She said she feels much better about the decision to partner with the publisher after it reversed its decision.
