'Harry Potter' Gains Support in Arkansas
Free speech groups urge court to overturn a school board ban on the series
Kathy Ishizuka -- School Library Journal, 4/1/2003
"The board's decision to censor these excellent books tramples on the students' fundamental right to receive information and ideas," reads the amicus brief filed by the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) and 13 other organizations, including PEN American Center and the Association of American Publishers.
The parents of Dakota Counts, a fourth grader at Cedarville Elementary claimed the Cedarville school board violated federal law when it put the Harry Potter books on a restricted borrowing list, which requires written parental permission for students to access the series. Counts's parents say the restriction is unconstitutional and stigmatizes the books and their readers.
The battle over the Harry Potter books started in June 2002, when the Cedarville school board voted 3–2 to restrict access to the series after parent Angie Haney claimed they promoted witchcraft and a disregard for rules. The ban was enforced even though a library committee, which included Counts's father, Billy Ray Counts, voted 15–0 to maintain unlimited access to Harry Potter . The Counts's lawsuit claims the board disregarded procedure by overriding the committee's decision and restricting the books.
ABFFE president Chris Finan hopes that the court will rule in favor of returning the books to the open shelves.
