Education technology company Follett plans to develop new features for school media center software Destiny to help customers comply with so-called “parents’ rights bills” being introduced across the US. An article in Forsyth County News earlier this month reported on changes the Georgia county is making “to increase parental involvement in a student’s book selections and expedite the process by which books that potentially contain sexually explicit material are challenged and removed.” The district contacted Follett “to find a way for parents to have more involvement in what their kids are reading at school.” Proposed solutions include allowing parents to […]
Book Bans
PRH CEO Dohle Pledges $500,000 to PEN America to Fight Book Banning
Penguin Random House ceo Markus Dohle has pledged a donation of “at least $500,000” to PEN America over the next five years to “provide support to communities where books are being challenged.” He has created the Dohle Book Defense Fund to aid legal battles in states such as Texas and South Carolina, where books about race, gender, and sexual orientation have been banned by school boards. PEN America executive Susan Nossel said the fund will be “used to help cover expenses related to PEN’s efforts to fight those challenges, including consultants, lawyers and costs associated with public campaigns and media […]