Scholastic faced backlash for putting books dealing with race, gender and sexuality in their own optional category for middle school book fairs. It's now apologizing and working to reverse course.
Scholastic says it will stop offering the controversial collection of race- and gender-related titles at middle school book fairs starting in January.Scholastic says it will stop offering the controversial collection of race- and gender-related titles at middle school book fairs starting in January.Scholastic is reversing course, saying it will no longer separate diverse stories for school book fairs after weeks of mounting backlash from educators and authors.
It said it was putting most of the titles dealing with race, gender and sexuality into their own collection, and allowing schools to decide whether to order it, as they would with any display.across the country. They said such laws — either pending or enacted in more than 30 states — create"an almost impossible dilemma: back away from these titles or risk making teachers, librarians, and volunteers vulnerable to being fired, sued, or prosecuted.
Berger said the controversial collection — called"Share Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice" — will be discontinued starting in January. Book fairs are already underway for this fall, but also take place in the spring. She said the company is actively working on a"pivot plan" for the remaining fall fairs.
"It is unsettling that the current divisive landscape in the U.S. is creating an environment that could deny any child access to books, or that teachers could be penalized for creating access to all stories for their students," it wrote.
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