Scottsdale Schools Purge Books Over Parental Outcry Against Vulgarity

By Staff Reporter |

Scottsdale parents have successfully campaigned against the presence of certain controversial books in their school district libraries after nearly a year of advocacy. The Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) has decided to remove 15 of 17 contested titles that were deemed inappropriate.

The issue surfaced last July when Scottsdale resident Jill Dunican reached out to the SUSD governing board. Representing a coalition that included several advocacy groups, she expressed concerns over 17 titles that allegedly contained offensive content. Among these were well-known books such as “A Stolen Life” by Jaycee Dugard, “Lucky” by Alice Sebold, and “Lawn Boy” by Jonathan Evison.

While most of these books were present only in high schools, “Sold” was found in the Desert Canyon K-8 school library. Dunican’s letter referenced violations of Arizona laws regarding harmful materials accessible to minors, as well as breaches of parental rights concerning educational content.

In her message, Dunican highlighted the potential negative effects of such material on youth, including increased acceptance of sexual harassment and negative effects on mental health. Her concerns resonated with the SUSD, which subsequently initiated a review of the contested books.

Following the review, SUSD determined that the majority of the 17 titles should be permanently removed. In a correspondence sent last Friday, the district informed Dunican that 15 of the books would no longer be available for checkout, while “Sold” and “A Stolen Life” would remain accessible only with parental consent.

SUSD director Kim Dodds Keran noted in her response that the removed books had seen very limited circulation, being checked out five or fewer times in the past three years. Dunican then urged the district to adopt a policy in alignment with state laws that restrict the use of sexually explicit materials in schools.

This state legislation allows for exceptions if the content demonstrates significant educational or artistic value, yet requires parental consent for access to such materials. Dunican proposed that librarians employ rating services to evaluate books prior to their purchase, seeking an added layer of oversight in the curriculum.