Open letter to Stillwater (MN) Area Public Schools

Dear Superintendent Funk and the Board:

I am the author of the early reader title "Call Me Max," and am responding to this recent press release: https://www.stillwaterschools.org/our-district/news/district-news-detail/~board/district-news/post/district-statement-on-recent-media-donation, which states that my book "will only be made available to students with parental permission," a form of censorship and restriction.

The release claims that my book "raises concerns given the age and maturity of the intended audience." Can you share what, exactly, those concerns are? This book is an early reader, intended for students with emerging literacy needs. Some of the requirements of that genre include short sentences, simple vocabulary terms, and a simple plot. Do you think "Call Me Max" deviates from those established standards? If so, how?

If it doesn't deviate from those standards, the concerns must be about the identity of the main character, Max, who is a transgender boy. However, the press release also states that "media center materials should: (1) enrich, support, or supplement the curriculum; (2) promote reading for pleasure by responding to a broad array of personal needs and interests of a diverse student body; (3) reflect the ages and maturity levels of students in the building in which the media center is located; (4) reflect artistic value, literary value, or educational significance; (5) promote critical thinking in in daily living or in areas of general importance to members of society, including, but not limited to, politics, science, history, religion, medicine, law, economics, or safety; or (6) promote an understanding of the views, triumphs, or struggles of others." 

I am a former elementary school librarian, and according to your own standards, as well as the standards of the American Library Association, I can assure you that "Call Me Max" does in fact respond to the personal needs and interests of a diverse student body. It reflects the age and maturity levels of elementary aged students. It is of literary value, and is also educationally significant. It promotes critical thinking in areas of general importance to members of society (which seems to be an area the decisionmakers of the district could stand to improve upon) and it absolutely promotes an understanding of the views, triumphs, and struggles of others, specifically trans people--which, if I had to guess, is ironically the exact reason why it is currently being restricted.

Given your own criteria, an objective reading of "Call Me Max" should unequivocally rate it as appropriate for the students at elementary media centers across the district. The fact that you have decided to restrict students' access to this title is frankly a betrayal of your own stated values and, more importantly, a betrayal of the students and families in your district who believe that trans people deserve equal representation on library shelves. This is a decision that can only come from a place of discomfort, fear, and bias, and it is a shame that the families, friends, and allies of trans people in your district are learning that you view them as unequal and disposable.

In disappointment but without surprise,
Kyle Lukoff