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This week, Oklahoma Attorney General announced an investigation into obscenity in books throughout the state’s schools and libraries. Fifty one titles were presented for review, the bulk coming from complaints by the group Reclaiming Oklahoma Parent Empowerment and the Tulsa chapter of Moms For Liberty. The entire list of titles under review are available here.
Though Oklahoma legislators are still pushing for reforms in school curriculum and oversight into the books in classrooms and school libraries, Attorney General John O’Connor dropped his investigation.
“I received complaints from several parents about books in public school libraries which the parents found obscene. I will always listen to the complaints of Oklahomans. I recommended that they present their objections to the school boards. I also recommended that they talk with the legislature regarding how Oklahoma law defines ‘obscenity,’” O’Connor said in a statement Thursday. “Our office is not conducting an investigation in this matter at this time. I understand that there is proposed legislation that has been introduced in this new session to address these parents’ concerns.”
O’Connor emphasized the need to bring these complaints to the individual school boards, as control of those decisions — for now — lies in their hands.
More information about the current censorship and “parental oversight” legislature in Oklahoma is available at this Frontier article.
Find more news and stories of interest from the book world in Breaking in Books.