Graphic novel Watchmen violates MO statute 573.550, is available for children to read in Cameron, MO
The graphic novel book Watchmen has been removed from Missouri school districts for being in violation of MO revised statute 573.550 which prohibits schools from providing porn to minors. These books were pulled from schools back in 2022. Not in Cameron. This book is currently checked out and in the hands of a child in the Cameron school district at the time of this post and the video below.
You can confirm the book is currently in the Cameron school district for yourself, don’t take our word for it. In March of 2023 Dan Landi shared instructions on how concerned parents and citizens can look for themselves. I will like to his blog and that post, DON’T LOOK ETHEL!
In April of 2023, Andi Lockridge, the attorney who sits on the Cameron board of education, read aloud during the board meeting the complete revised statute 573.550 to make clear how the state defines pornography. Lockridge asked the superintendent Matt Robinson if any of those books, as defined by the statute she read, were in the Cameron school district. He said no. The video of the board meeting can be found on the Citizen Observer Facebook page. Lockridge begins around the 46 minute and 20 second mark.
This book Watchmen, despite being pulled by numerous Missouri school districts for violating law, doesn’t violate any district policy. There are no policies in place which would allow them to remove content like this, or to prevent something like it from being added. Currently the Cameron school district has two very vague and subjective policies for the selection and reconsideration of books. Those policies are IIAC and IIAC-R1. Those policies are so vague that the outcome of the reconsideration process will be dependent on the beliefs of those who are involved. Shouldn’t this be an objective process with clearly defined guidelines?
There is no policy in Cameron which currently allows parents or concerned tax payers to challenge a book, despite the majority of other Missouri schools having such a policy. The only option currently for Cameron residents to challenge this pornographic book is to address the board during the next school board meeting. Unfortunately the school board president Pam Ice has placed a ban on book discussions until the December 2023 board meeting.
It is time that the Cameron school district and the board of education stop ignoring this problem and take it seriously. They keep placing hurdles in the way and take no steps to make any meaningful change. They need to pass or change district policy that will protect our children, give citizens and parents a meaningful role in the education of our children.
One of our constant concerns about the Cameron school district and the board of education is that we do not feel they are listening to us. We have been saying consistently for some time that they are ignoring us. On Tuesday night two of the board members, Pam and Staci, proved it.
In this video clip you will hear a portion of the address that Paula Allen made to the board. She referred to the April board meeting when a student told the board about sexual comments being made by teachers. Pam and Staci both asked about this teacher and when he left the school district. Had the looked into the complaint of sexual harassment of students by teachers back in April, wouldn’t the know the answer to this question? Shouldn’t they know?
This clearly indicates to me this board of education does not take our concerns seriously. It appears they dismissed Kassidy Wilcox entirely. This is why parents and students say that when they come to the district with concerns and problems that we feel ignored and dismissed. Because they are ignoring and dismissing us.
Here are the documents that will be shared with the Cameron, MO, board of education at the 17 October, 2023 board of education meeting. (We will add the link of that address after the board meeting.) These documents show I have been bringing concerns about the policy being discriminatory and indications that the school district isn’t complying with policy for more than a year. My concerns have been ignored. The board of education and Matt Robinson have ignored that they are not complying with the drug testing policy.
I will also include the link to the audio file I will mention where Robinson admits on 7 December of 2022 that he does not know which drug test is being conducted and that he is unconcerned he does not know. The video should start playing at the correct time stamp, but he makes this admission at 1 minute and 24 second mark.
Not knowing what tests are being conducted is a problem because the drug testing policy JFCI-AP1 calls for a specific test to be conducted. Approved board policy, which was adopted in 2014, requires a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) be conducted on all non-negative urine samples. If the school district doesn’t know which tests are being done, it is impossible to ensure it is complying with this policy.
In response to parents and community members concerns about the sexually explicit adult content in books found inside the Cameron high school, the superintendent and board of education decided to send all the parents “book restriction forms”. Parents are responsible for completing the form with the book title and author of every book they do not want their children to read, and to submit it to the school librarian. The librarian will then insure that child does not check out any of those books. Sounds good, right?
Unfortunately, there is no good tool for parents to use to identify the books in the library that contain sexually explicit adult content, or any other number of concerning topics. It is the sole responsibility of the parents to know the content of more than 33,000 books in order to restrict their child from reading books each parent deems inappropriate.
At a board of education meeting in August, the board members discussed the book restriction form and suggested we use a catalog search by topic or subject to find books we don’t want our children to read. What they didn’t tell you, searching the catalog by topic or subject isn’t very effective. We use the book The Bluest Eye and the Cameron school districts online book catalog for the high school to make this point.
If you are not familiar with the content of the book The Bluest Eye, you read the concerning content on Book Looks or hear a reading of some of its passages on our Facebook page. The book tells of the molestation of a 12 year old girl from the perspective of the man who is assaulting her. It is dark, and difficult to read. With that information, we will show the subjects listed in the catalog for this book in the video below. You will see why what the district is proposing, that parents are responsible for finding the content they added to our libraries, isn’t a viable option.
There just aren’t any good tools for parents to identify the concerning books. The school district knows this, but they want to say they’ve done something. They have, they’ve passed their responsibility for these books to the parents.
At the special board meeting on August 29, 2023, the Cameron, Missouri board of education voted to rescind the policy KLB AP-1, which gave the community the ability to challenge a book inside the district as inappropriate. The district no longer has any obligation to even look into the matter or even review a book which concerns a parent or member of the community. It is now entirely at the boards discretion to decide if a book concerns them enough to order the district to review it.
This board of education has not taken a single meaningful step to remove or even restrict the most sexually explicit books which we have shared with them. Their only response is to give us platitudes about “diversity” and being inclusive. What are the chances that they will take any future concerns seriously?
Of additional concern, the board amended board policy BDDH-1in March in a way which allows them to restrict any speaker from discussing any topic which has been discussed previously within the last 90 days. The board of education will only allow the community to ask their majesties if they will consider allowing us to express our concerns about one of 33,000 plus books 4 times a year. And if you are given the privilege of addressing their high court, they are not obligated to even look into your concern.
This isn’t a body which is accountable to the people.