May 27, 2015

Christa Hazel, Board Chair

CC: Coeur dAlene Public School Board of Trustees
Coeur dAlene Public Schools
1400 N Northwood Center Ct
Coeur dAlene, ID 83814
chazel@cdaschools.org

VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL

Dear Ms. Hazel and Coeur dAlene Public School Board of Trustees,

As organizations concerned with the freedom to read, the integrity of the public education system, and the
application of First Amendment law and principles to public institutions, we are writing to express our
concern regarding the recommendation by the Ad Hoc Curriculum Committee to demote OfMice and Men
from whole group instruction to small group instruction in the Coeur dAlene School District. The
recommendation, as we understand it, was based on objections to profanity and the dark themes of the
book.

According to our information, an Ad Hoc Curriculum Committee was set up during the 2014-2015 school
year to review novels in the 6-12 grade curriculum. Among them was John Steinbecks OfMice and Men,
currently part of the Grade 9 curriculums list of approved novels for Whole Group Reading. The Ad Hoc
Committee met on April 22, 2015, and voted that OfMice and Men should be removed from the Whole Group
Reading list and placed on the list for small group instruction only. The committee stated, in its 4-1-1 vote,
that the novel was Not appropriate for whole group. Too much profanity. Negative. We understand that this
recommendation was made to the Board at its May 4, 2015 meeting, and will be voted upon at the Boards
upcoming June 1, 2015 meeting after being open to public comment.

OfMice and Men is a seminal work of American fiction by a Nobel Prize-winning author. The books gritty
portrayal of the life of early 20th century migrant workers in America and the complex relationship between
the novels two main characters, George and Lenny, has been adapted into movies, plays, operas, and even
cartoons. OfMice and Men has long been used for instruction in schools across the country and is
consistently listed as a favorite book among students. The dialogue and language is indicative of the time
period and circumstances of the characters, and, as noted in the Coeur dAlene Public Schools own Text
Complexity and Literature Rationale sheet submitted to the Board on January 29, 2015, the novel addresses
higher themes of justice, mental disability, sexuality, and human rights.

While, as the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) notes, materials should be suited to the
maturity level of the students, it is important to weigh the value of the material as a whole, particularly its
relevance to educational objectives, against the likelihood of a negative impact on studentsThat likelihood is
lessened by the exposure the typical student has had to the controversial subject Indeed, singling out
works with profanity and negative themes would potentially deny students exposure to a wide range of
material.


The First Amendment protects the citizen against the State itself and all of its creaturesBoards of
Education not excepted. West Virginia Board ofEducation v. Barnette (1943). As a result, school officials are
bound by a constitutional duty not to suppress unpopular, controversial, or even objectionable ideas. It is a
fundamental First Amendment principle that local school boards may not remove books simply because they
dislike the ideas contained in these books Board ofEducation, Island Trees Union Free School District No. 26
v. Pico (1982). Thus, decisions about instructional materials must be based on sound educational grounds.

Objections to the message, ideas, or content do not provide an adequate basis for the removal ofany book.

One of the basic goals of the public education system is to endow students with the knowledge widely shared
by other students across the country. Confronting complex and dark themes in literature is part of the
educational mission of the schools. A school district puts its students at a distinct disadvantage if it fails to
introduce them to the range of ideas that they will encounter in college and in life. Indeed, Criterion 1 of the
Coeur dAlene Public Schools Policy on curricular choices emphasizes the need to represent diverse eras
and aspects of our culture and other cultures. OfMice and Men is one of the truest representations of the
hardships wrought by the Great Depression, a pivotal period in the United States.

Decisions about instructional materials should be based on sound education groundsthe literary and
pedagogical merit of a whole work versus the sum of its partsnot because some individuals do or do not
agree with the message or content of a particular book. This approach is consistent with constitutional and
educational principles and will serve the interests of both the Coeur dAlene school system and its students.
We strongly urge you to demonstrate your commitment to these goals by rejecting the Ad Hoc Committees
recommendation to demote OfMice and Men and instead keep the book in the curriculum under whole
group instruction.

Sincerely,

Joan Bertin, Executive Director

National Coalition Against Censorship

Chris Finan, President

American Booksellers For Free Expression

Judy Platt, Director

Free Expression Advocacy
Association of American Publishers

Charles Brownstein, Executive Director

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

Millie Davis, Senior Developer

Affiliate Groups and Public Outreach
National Council of Teachers of English

Fatima Shaik, Chair

Children's and Young Adult Book Committee
PEN American Center

Barbara M. Jones, Director

Office of Intellectual Freedom
American Library Association

Lin Oliver
Executive Director
Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators

Cc: Dave Eubanks, Vice-Chair: deubanks@cdaschools.org

Tom Hamilton: tjhamilton@cdaschools.org
Terri Seymour: tseymour@cdaschools.org
Tom Hearn: thearn@cdaschools.org
Mike Nelson, Director of Curriculum and Assessment: mnelson@cdaschools.org
Matthew Handelman, Superintendent: mhandelman@cdaschools.org
Lynn Towne, Clerk of the Board: LTowne@cdaschools.org