By Electronic Mail

President Patricia Lock-Dawson

Riverside Unified School District Board of Education
3380 14th Street
Riverside, CA 92501
December 8, 2014
Dear President Lock-Dawson and Members of the Board,
As you may recall, we wrote to you in October about the removal of John Green's The Fault in Our Stars
from Riverside Unified School District's middle school libraries. We understand that the Board has
amended its policies to require Board approval before materials are removed. We write to you once again
urging you to reinstate the book, ensuring that those students who would benefit by reading this book
have access to it.
The Supreme Court has emphasized that, unlike the compulsory environment of the classroom, in the
school library the regime of voluntary inquiry holds sway. Board ofEd., Island Trees Union Free School
Dist. No. 26 v. Pico, 457 US 853, 869 (1982) (plurality op.) No book is right for every student, and not all
students would choose to read The Fault in Our Stars. Just because a book is in the library does not mean
that a student has to read it. The library is there precisely to allow students to have a choice of reading
options, consistent with their interests, maturity level, and parental guidance. The removal of the book
from the library, however, suggests that no students should read it. There are undoubtedly some middle
school students who would appreciate the book and whose parents do not object to their reading it. They
should have that opportunity.
As we stated earlier, removing a book from the library because some people object to it undermines
important educational principles and raises constitutional questions. The Fault in Our Stars deals with
issues that concern many young adults, and depriving students of the basic right to read based on
questionable notions of age-appropriateness disregards the books literary merit and appeal to readers.
Our courts have continually ruled that school officials have a constitutional obligation not to suppress
material because some find it objectionable or offensive.
A copy of our earlier letter is attached for your convenience. We again urge the board to reinstate the
book. This resolution would respect the rights of both those students who are not interested in reading
the book or whose parents do not want them to read it and the rights of other students, who would read

the book with their parents blessing. It would also affirm the districts commitment to intellectual
freedom and the principles underlying the First Amendment.
Sincerely,

Joan Bertin, Executive Director

National Coalition Against Censorship

Chris Finan, President

American Booksellers Foundation For Free Expression

Judy Platt, Director

Free Expression Advocacy
Association of American Publishers

Charles Brownstein, Executive Director

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

Millie Davis, Senior Developer

Affiliate Groups and Public Outreach
National Council of Teachers of English

Lin Oliver, Executive Director

Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators

Cc: Patricia Lock-Dawson, pdawson@rusd.k12.ca.us

Tom Hunt, thunt@rusd.k12.ca.us
Kathy Y. Allavie, kallavie@rusd.k12.ca.us
Gayle Cloud, gcloud@rusd.k12.ca.us
Brent Lee, blee@rusd.k12.ca.us

Susanna Reich, Chair

Children's and Young Adult Book Committee
PEN American Center