Pinellas panel agrees to keep ‘The Artivist’ in elementary schools

Author Nikkolas Smith’s illustrated book encouraging children to use art to promote social change will remain in Pinellas County schools.A committee of Pinellas parents and teachers unanimously rejected a request from four Curtis Fundamental Elementary families to remove “The Artivist” from elementary school libraries because of its political views. The members found the book suitable for student needs and appropriate for the age group it was available to.“There is nothing objectionable in this book. This is fine to read,” said committee member David Schell, a Curtis teacher. “It’s not telling anybody what to think. It’s allowing the community to think.”Committee member Kristina Montalvo, a parent at 74th Street Elementary, said she might not show all the book’s topics to her own children. But that didn’t mean it should be taken out of the schools, she said.“Are there some subjects I might look at as something I am not sure about? Yes. Is that enough to remove the book? No,” Montalvo said. “I can’t justify this book has to go because I don’t agree with every aspect in it.”The complaining families, who did not attend the hearing, raised questions about pages in which a young artist is portrayed supporting transgender youth, opposing police violence and stating that children’s lives are worth more than guns.In a written statement, parent Tracy Mueller said the book depicts conflicts among groups and other topics that could influence impressionable youth.“Parents have the right to introduce topics of social justice to their children at a time and in a manner that is appropriate for them,” Mueller wrote.Two other complaining parents also submitted statements, suggesting that schools should not be exposing children to controversial issues.School and district media specialists recommended keeping the book, saying it met state academic standards and provided important messages. North Shore Elementary media specialist Tammy Gramlich said she and others chose the book after hearing the author present it at a conference.“This book shows that anyone, no matter how young or old, can use their creativity to make the world a better place,” Gramlich said.About three dozen members of the public turned out for the hearing. Most favored keeping the book in the schools.“It teaches kids about good things,” fourth grader Alexander Wilson told the committee, pointing to the page on trans kids as his favorite. “Why are people telling me what I can read or not read? The only person who can tell me what to read is my mom.”Speakers pointed out that parents have the right to restrict access to library books for their own children, and said they should not be able to make decisions for others. They also praised the book for promoting a positive message of understanding the world as it exists and standing up for what is right.“Live and let live,” said Paul DeFazio. “Let’s ban the bigots and not the books.“A couple of speakers called on the panel to remove the book. They said the schools should not be exposing elementary children to ideas that are best left to families.“This book fosters victimhood and tells children the only way to make things better is to be an activist,” said William Allen, a Clearwater author, who attacked what he called the transgender movement.He said the book is filled with scary images that inspire divisiveness.“Why would we want to instill such hate and turn children into activists against things they don’t comprehend?” Allen said.The committee’s decision is final, according to school board policy. Unlike in other counties, the board has chosen not to consider individual book challenges itself.The action comes after an election cycle in which voters turned back board candidates who had made statements about the need to pull more books out of schools based on what they considered objectionable content.They had suggested that the district staff should remove titles even without receiving complaints from the community.The board majority has held that the process developed by administration, which includes formal objections followed by public reviews, addresses book concerns in an even-handed manner.It has led to the removal of books such as “Invisible Monsters” by Chuck Palahniuk, which a committee unanimously found pornographic according to state standards. A team of district media specialists later removed five additional books by Palahniuk over the summer as part of an annual review of library holdings.The process also has led to the retention of books that committees found to have literary merit despite references to sex and violence, such as “The Lovely Bones” by Alice Sebold .Compared to other parts of the state, Pinellas has seen few book challenges. Florida led the nation in school book removals during the past year, with the bulk of them coming from a small number of people in a handful of districts.Gov. Ron DeSantis and state lawmakers have over several years made it easier for parents and community members to get schools to pull materials off the shelves, including changing definitions of permissible content, among other steps. They argued that they are not seeking to ban books, but rather to ensure pornography does not get into children’s hands.After some districts complained that they were being inundated and the reviews were taking away from other work, though, they placed limits on the number of challenges that nonparents may file.

Pinellas panel agrees to keep ‘The Artivist’ in elementary schools

MORE FOR YOU

ONLY AVAILABLE FOR SUBSCRIBERS