LAYTON -- Davis School District Superintendent Bryan Bowles is having discussions with the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah over the constitutional implications of the district's removal of a book from library shelves about children being raised by a lesbian couple.
"The superintendent is in conversations with the ACLU about their concerns," Shauna Lund, a communications specialist for the Davis School District, said Wednesday. She did not provide details about the conversation.
The ACLU has requested a meeting with Bowles regarding the district's removal from the shelves of "In Our Mothers' House," by Patricia Polacco.
However, no meeting has been scheduled and the district is standing by its policy to keep the book off library shelves, Lund said.
The district removed "In Our Mothers' House" after a group of parents complained. The book has not been banned by the district, and students who present a signed parental permission slip still read "In Our Mothers' House."
The ACLU has sent a letter to Bowles challenging the district's position that "In Our Mothers' House" was removed to comply with a state law that purports to ban materials that advocate homosexuality from school health curriculum.
School library books are generally considered extracurricular materials and are not typically part of the health curriculum, the ACLU maintains. In addition, the ACLU contends that "In Our Mothers, House" does not advocate homosexuality.
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