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The Student News Site of Middle Tennessee State University

MTSU Sidelines

The Student News Site of Middle Tennessee State University

MTSU Sidelines

The Rutherford County Board of Education building in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Rutherford County School Board bans more books, limiting options for student readers

Shauna Reynolds, Features editor February 7, 2025
The Rutherford County School Board removed 32 more books from its school libraries at its Feb. 6 meeting.
Board members Frances Rosales and Butch Vaughn at a tense school board meeting in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on Jan. 23, 2025.

Rutherford County School Board votes to keep 7 titles off library shelves, return 2 with restrictions

Shauna Reynolds, Features editor January 24, 2025
'Thirteen Reasons Why' and 'Ready Player One' among books not retained despite librarian recommendations.
The Curriculum Collection at MTSU's James E. Walker Library contains many juvenile and young adult titles that can no longer be found in Rutherford County school libraries. (Photo by Shauna Reynolds)

Books dwindle on Rutherford County Schools library shelves as 150 titles flagged for immediate removal

Shauna Reynolds, Features editor November 15, 2024
At the Rutherford County School Board meeting Thursday night, most of the half-hour public comment period and nearly an hour of general discussion time centered on an issue absent from the agenda — a massive removal of library books.
Rutherford County Director of Schools Dr. James Sullivan and school board chair Claire Maxwell prepare to begin a meeting in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on Sept. 19, 2024. (Photo by Shauna Reynolds)

Rutherford County school board adds ‘Beloved’ and more to growing list of banned books

Shauna Reynolds, Features editor September 20, 2024

The Rutherford County school board voted Thursday to remove six of seven questioned titles from school library shelves. These books, including a Pulitzer Prize winner, join 29 titles banned by Rutherford...

Book Bans Growing in America

Book Bans Growing in America

CIM Digital February 5, 2022

Story by Aubrey Salm / Contributing Writer The McMinn County Board of Education voted to remove the graphic novel "Maus" from its eighth-grade language arts curriculum after concerns over profanity,...

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