There has been a rising current to ban books in schools across the country. Even the Arizona State Legislature is considering a law that bans schools from teaching or directing students to study certain issues and materials.
However, the Peoria Unified School District has reported no such requests in recent memory.
PUSD spokeswoman Danielle Airey said to district officials' knowledge during the past decade, there have been no requests to ban any books.
“You would be hard pressed to find someone who was here prior to that who could speak to banned books going back that far,” she said.
District policy says PUSD can create a textbook selection committee to remove materials from approval and talks specifically about library resources, their selection and adoption of books, as well as what to do if a parent objects to materials being used in class.
But PUSD has not been met with any efforts from district families to ban books.
Some school districts are getting national — even international — attention for banning certain books. A district in Tennessee last month drew backlash after banning “Maus,” a graphic novel about the Holocaust, because of “rough” language and a naked drawing of a female.
Meanwhile, the Arizona House passed a GOP-led House Bill 2495 that would make it illegal for schools to include material in their curriculum that includes sexual conduct, suggest “sexual stimulation or arousal,” or feature any acts of homosexuality.
Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman.
Editor's note: News Editor Steve Stockmar contributed to this report.
Meet Philip Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.
Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater.
Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.
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