Jun 18, 2009 9:03 am US/Eastern
N.H. Parents Fuming Over High School Reading List
Assigned Stories Addressed Homosexuality, Drugs, Abortion
LITCHFIELD, N.H. (WBZ) ―
They may not be burning books, but a group of parents in Litchfield, New Hampshire are irate over what their children were reading for English class.
A couple dozen parents appeared before the school board Wednesday night, raising objections to several short stories their high school students were assigned to read. Among the topics covered: homosexuality, drug use and abortion.
The protest started when one parent found the stories in her son's backpack.
According to the Union Leader, the short stories were in a textbook that was part of a Love/Gender/Family unit at Campbell High School.
The titles the parents objected to included "I Like Guys" by David Sedaris, which deals with homosexuality; "The Crack Cocaine Diet" by Laura Lippman, which includes explicit sexual material, and "Survivor Type" by Stephen King, which tells the tale of a heroin addict stranded on an island.
It is school policy to inform parents when their children have been assigned sexually explicit material. That apparently did not happen in this case.
One parent said she was assured by the school principal that the material was being pulled from the curriculum. The school board is now reviewing the case.
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