Situation

The parents representing various perspectives challenge a number of curriculum-related policies or practices in YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICT.

One demand is that Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn be discontinued as one of three required works to be read by all graduating seniors as part of the district's course of study in American literature. Another demand of this group is that Huck Finn also be removed from the middle school library acquisition list being prepared to replace a number of books destroyed in a recent fire at the middle school.

The parents' primary complaint is that the book includes racially offensive language that has no place in a school.While the teachers contend that Huck Finn is a classic and should not be excluded from either the middle school library or the senior literature class to satisfy the narrow interests of certain groups who are more concerned with political correctness than exposing students to American works of enduring significance. Based on your reading of the supplemental Supreme Court opinion in Island Tree School District v. Pico and a review of your school district's policies, respond to the following questions:

Discussion Questions

1. Can Huck Finn be removed from the middle school library? Explain why or why not and on what it depends. Reference the Supreme Court decision and your school district's policies.

2. Can the school board prohibit the reading of Huck Finn in the American Lit Course? Reference the Supreme Court decision your school district's policies.