In Academy District 20, where parents and educators alike emphasize the importance of strong literacy and diverse perspectives, one recent incident at Village High School should alarm every family, taxpayer, and community member.
Without warning, dozens of books were quietly removed from Village’s shelves, not by a committee, not by a transparent review process, but by a single district librarian.
No public notice.
No written complaints.
No policy compliance.
This is book censorship, and it violates the very rules meant to safeguard students’ right to read, along with continuing the educational authoritarianism the school board is becoming known for.
Village High Has No Library
Village High School is unlike most schools in the district. It doesn’t have a library. The books available to students there exist because our community donated them. Parents, neighbors, and even students themselves gifted those titles to fill a void the district never did.
These weren’t obscure or fringe selections. The stacks included:
- Award-winning memoirs
- Acclaimed novels
- Titles that frequently appear on national banned book lists, precisely because they represent LGBTQ+ youth, students of color, and survivors of trauma
In other words: the very stories most needed by students who rarely see themselves in traditional curricula.
To have those donated books removed without consultation isn’t just poor judgment. It’s a direct breach of public trust.
Policy Ignored, Procedures Violated
District 20 policy leaves no ambiguity about how instructional materials can be challenged or removed:
- Policy IJL R 2: Books can only be removed through a defined, educationally justified process.
- Policy KEC: Requires a formal written complaint and a review committee before any material is withdrawn.
- Policy IJL R 1: Commits the district to instructional materials that foster diverse perspectives and critical thinking.
- Policy KBEA: Recognizes and protects the value of community donations.
None of these requirements was followed. Instead, a single employee made a unilateral decision, disregarding both district procedure and the community that provided these books in the first place.
That’s not just irregular. It’s a textbook case of D20 book censorship.
The Impact on Students
Removing books at Village doesn’t just reduce the quantity of reading materials. It sends a chilling message:
“Some stories aren’t safe. Some voices don’t belong.”
In a time when schools are trying to figure out why students aren’t reading, this act strips away:
- Representation for marginalized students
- Empathy that comes from walking in another’s shoes
- Choice in what and how students read
- Trust between the district and the public it serves
At Village, where every donated book makes the difference between access and absence, the harm is magnified.
What the Community Can Do
This isn’t about politics. It’s about policy, process, and every student’s right to read.
Here’s how you can respond:
- If you donated books, demand to know where they are and why they were removed.
- If you believe in intellectual freedom, call on the Board of Education to investigate who authorized this action.
- If you care about transparency, insist that all removed books be reinstated until a proper, public review process takes place.
District 20 cannot claim to value literacy and equity while tolerating shadow censorship. Village’s students deserve better and so does the community that entrusted those books to their care.
The Bottom Line
Book bans and censorship often begin quietly. A shelf cleared here. A title pulled there. By the time the community notices, access has already been eroded.
At Village High School, we are seeing this unfold in real time. D20 book censorship is not just a headline, it’s a breach of trust, a violation of policy, and a direct threat to every student’s right to read freely.
It’s time for D20 to stop pretending this didn’t happen, own up to the mistake, and restore the books that belong to the students and community of Village High.
