This meme is a great example of how a headline can be technically right but, since no one knows the real context, gets dishonestly used to fuel a popular narrative. This school district is not banning Anne Frank, this is simply an administrative process that is being (often willfully) misunderstood.

▪️Like most schools, the Keller Independent School District had a process where parents could challenge books in the school library, which would then be reviewed by a committee to make a decision whether it was appropriate.

▪️However, last year they discovered books which had been reviewed but still contained pornographic and other material considered inappropriate by parents. Here are some examples given of books which were previously approved, you can decide if you’d want them at your kid’s school:
https://youtu.be/Ee6Yyg0QzwU

▪️Because of this, the board voted 7-0 to revamp the review process. The new review process will supposedly be more transparent to parents, involve community and staff members, open to the public and recorded.

▪️Thus, they are again reviewing all of the books which were challenged before. In total, 41 books, including the Bible! Yes, a single parent had challenged that previously, so it will be reviewed again (but the district isn’t “banning the Bible” either, which was also reported).

▪️One of the 41 books on the list, which again was challenged by only a single parent, was a graphic adaptation of Anne Frank’s diary. Not the actual diary, there are dozens of copies still available at the Keller libraries, which these memes omit. But an edited, condensed graphical work.

▪️This book passed the previous review process, and will likely pass the new one, but like the Bible, has to be done again. While this review is happening, librarians were told to remove them from the shelves. This email, taken out of context, is what caused the freak out.

▪️The school board president appeared on a few radio shows to explain this, like here:
https://www.wbap.com/2022/08/19/rick-roberts-keller-isd-national-controversy%EF%BF%BC/?fbclid=IwAR0BJ7hhkGIYrHEElnogNn4iMcrr0I__v0cUttgSMjH1oAtZGDxWDCcpA6M

Snopes even agrees Anne Frank isn’t being banned!
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/anne-frank-diary-banned-texas/?fbclid=IwAR1tFNrRmfbuWk0m8afEAAoH2srpDRErw92dg30EVTgFFj-sVICMDUu7GeA

▪️But there’s currently a huge effort to push a narrative that schools are banning classic books, so it took off. Just like the fake list of Florida books that were supposedly banned, that celebrities like Mark Hamill decided to post the other day. Misleading is perhaps too kind to this meme, but technically the headline is correct, it’s the interpretation that is wrong.

▪️Beware of any stories about schools “banning books.” Not only are they often taken out of context, but it’s important to remember that the first amendment doesn’t apply here, all school libraries are controlled. Parents can and should have a say in what books are included.

▪️We can have a system where these decisions are made on a national or state level, or on a local (even individual) level. Giving local control will mean some districts might make silly decisions at times, but most parents would prefer to have a more direct say.