9 library books now restricted after Beaufort Board of Education meeting

BEAUFORT, SC (WTOC) - A new chapter begins in the battle over banning books in Beaufort County.

Friday, the school board voted on what to do about nine more books and whether they should stay in school libraries.

It was a packed and contentious meeting, where you had one parent asking for nine separate books to be banned or restricted from area schools against residents who want them to stay on the shelves.

“Our students already face countless external influences that can encourage harmful or risky behavior,” said Elizabeth Szalai, Proposed banishment of books. " Introducing age-inappropriate material in the school library only compounds this risk.”

Nine books, which primarily sit on the shelves in high school and middle school libraries for students to check out, were back on the chopping block.

Among them, Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye”, 13 Reasons Why, and The Lovely Bones.

“Our hard work of actually examining the materials is being dismissed for one woman, who no longer has a child in the system,” One concerned resident said.

Some parents and students pushed back.

“I’m here to explain to a room full of adults, who should be empowering, me to read more books, why one parent should not have the power to dictate which books 22,000 Beaufort County public school students do and do not get to read,” said Bria Parker, Beaufort High School student.

A few years ago, these books were cleared to sit on the shelves, but under a new state rule that went into effect last year, Elizabeth Szalai was able to appeal the decision to the state school board, which asked Beaufort County to make a decision once again.

Under the new statute, anything containing “depictions of sexual conduct” is no longer allowed.

“There is a huge difference between taking a passage out of context and then seeing where that passage goes as a whole to develop,” said one concerned resident.

Szalai and the state say the books shouldn’t be allowed, no matter the context.

The board voted to keep the books in the libraries but require students to get permission from their parents before they check them out.

The motion passed with 9 votes for and 2 votes against.

“We are venturing with this regulation some freedom of speech issues, some student agency issues, and I think that is a dangerous slope for us to start down,” Beaufort County School Board member, Ingrid Boatwright said.

Even with these nine books not being taken off the shelves, South Carolina still has the most banned books in the country.

[ORIGINAL STORY] 9 library books will be challenged on August 22, 2025, in a Beaufort County Board of Education Work Session meeting.

The public meeting will take place both in-person and virtually at 9:00 a.m. and public comments can be made either in-person or over the phone.

The 9 books being challenged at this meeting are:

• Sold by Patricia McCormick
• The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
• The Duff by Jody Keplinger
• The Freedom Writers Diary by Erin Gruwell
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
• The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
• Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
• Tilt by Ellen Hopkins

According to the agenda for the meeting, the Board chair will let the public know the appropriate time to call to give comments on each specific title.

The call-in number for this portion of the meeting is 843-322-2441.

For each book, one person will be able to speak in favor of the material for up to 3 minutes and one person will be able to speak against the material for up to three minutes.

This does not include the original complainant, who is also allotted three minutes per library book.

Other topics on the Beaufort County Board of Education’s agenda include going over the school district’s process from bringing new curriculum and a review of the fiscal year 2025-2026 annual work plan.

You can view the full plan for the meeting below:

Anyone interested in attending can do so via the website www.BeaufortCounty.tv or in person at the District Educational Services Center’s Media Center at 2900 Mink Point Blvd in Beaufort, SC, 29906.

WTOC also plans on attending and will bring you more information on the consequences of the meeting as it becomes available.