South Dakotans rage at school board meeting over 'pornographic' book
South Dakota locals expressed outrage during a school board meeting over novels they deemed inappropriate and 'pornographic' that were once slated to be taught in Rapid City Area Schools.
South Dakota locals expressed outrage during a school board meeting Tuesday over novels they deemed inappropriate and "pornographic" that were once slated to be taught in Rapid City Area Schools' (RCAS) 12th-grade English.
For example, a graphic novel called "Fun Home" depicts nudity and sex acts, and "Girl, Woman, Other" follows the journey of women of various sexual and gender identities.
"The pictures in ['Fun Home'] … are graphic and depict two women performing oral sex, images of masturbation and drug usage. I do apologize if there are children [present]," a local woman said. "There is a difference between teaching what sex is and teaching how to engage in it. And that's what's happening in this book."
A local speaks at Rapid City Area Schools board meeting on May 3, 2022. (Rapid City Area Schools/Screenshot)
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"The person or persons responsible for bringing this book into the schools with the intention of assigning this book … needs to be under investigation," she continued. "I just don't know what guidelines, what allowed this particular book to be put through the public K-12 schools. The sex acts in these books are clearly pornographic, and it's why it's on the list to be removed."
The school board decided to pause on a decision to destroy the excess books that were once slated for the 12th grade English class. School administrators deemed the titles inappropriate, according to RCAS Director of Teaching, Learning and Innovation Valerie Brablec Seales.
The school board released a statement to Fox News Digital which said, "We are having our attorneys looking at the content and with their advice, we will come to a final decision on what we can do with the books. These books are not available for students within our district buildings at this time."
Some attendees, including teachers, voiced their concerns about destroying the books as they believed it could set an alarming precedent.
Speaker at Rapid City Area Schools board meeting on May 3, 2022.
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"Destroying brand-new books is unnecessary and arguably questionable in the eyes of United States case law," a teacher claimed.
Another speaker at the meeting said the books "have merit in our curriculum" because they highlight marginalized voices such as "Black and brown characters … [and the] LGBTQIA+ community."
Florence Thomas, the president of South Dakota Parents Involved in Education, said, the overall picture was that of a "Marxist revolution."
"It's not this little issue. It's not this little book or this little school or this little district. This is all going on all over. And these books are not here by accident," she said. "Our education system has been taken over to a large extent from the federal level … and we need to start saying no at the local level. We're not going to do this to our kids. We're not going to do this to our community."
Florence Thomas, the president of South Dakota Parents Involved in Education, speaks at Rapid City Area Schools board meeting on May 3, 2022. (Rapid City Area Schools/Screenshot)
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Thomas, who is also a former school psychologist, continued, "Where's all this coming from? ... This is the Marxist global revolution – it's the Cultural Revolution – and this is what is coming into our schools. It is Marxist propaganda. It's designed to divide the kids from their parents, divide the kids from their country, divide the kids from their culture, and even in many cases, divide them from their very selves. So it is very dangerous."