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School apologises for ‘poor judgement’ in book cancelling culture war

Principal of Virginia high school taking ‘appropriate action’ after being accused of ‘doubling down on big FU to parents’

Justin Vallejo
New York
Wednesday 16 February 2022 18:45 EST
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'Maus' hits Amazon bestseller list in wake of Tennessee school board ban

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One of the schools at the centre of Virginia’s culture war has promised "appropriate action" for promoting books considered inappropriate for younger ages.

The move came after Fairfax County Board of Supervisors tweeted an image from the Langley High School library showing a collection of books with the sign - “Stuff Some Adults Don’t Want You to Read”.

The display included Gender Queer, Maus, V For Vendetta, Brave Face, and Roots of Racism, among others.

"Wrong on so many fronts," said board member Pat Herrity.

Carrie Lukas, president of the Independent Women’s Forum, said the display showed the district "doubling down on their big FU to parents."

"This display was for a rising 8th grader parents night. What books a library holds is debatable, but this is just "nah nah!’childishness’," she said in a tweet.

Gender Queer: A Memoir was one of two books initially removed from the library after parents complained of sexually explicit content, and then later reinstated.

Maus, about the Holocaust, was banned from a Tennessee school district while V For Vendetta and Brave Face were both removed from a Texas school district.

Langley High School principal Kimberly Greer told parents the sign had been removed and the school would review its procedures to avoid anything similar happening again, according to an email tweeted out by Ms Lukas.

"The sign was incongruent with the beliefs of our school and our school division," she said. "Poor judgement was used in its display and for this I take full responsibility. Appropriate follow-up action will be taken."

The Independent has reached out to Ms Greer for comment.

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