There is now enacted or pending legislation in more than 30 U.S. states prohibiting certain kinds of books from being in schools – mostly LGBTQIA+ titles and books that engage with the presence of racism in our country. Because Scholastic Book Fairs are invited into schools, where books can be purchased by kids on their own, these laws create an almost impossible dilemma: back away from these titles or risk making teachers, librarians, and volunteers vulnerable to being fired, sued, or prosecuted.
To continue offering these books, as well as even more high interest titles, we created an additional collection called Share Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice for our U.S. elementary school fairs. We cannot make a decision for our school partners around what risks they are willing to take, based on the state and local laws that apply to their district, so these topics and this collection have been part of many planning calls that happen in advance of shipping a fair.
When practicing interstate commerce in which they have a pattern of violating the laws of several states, the DOJ or other agencies like the FTC very well might get involved.
Again, I am sorry I am just looking for understanding, who here is they? And what are the violations they made?
Edit: I know on the Internet it is very hard to convay intent, but I really am not asking these questions out of spite or as an argument. I have some trouble understanding nuance and I have an interest in this topic and I am trying to better understand.
If it helps for me to state my stance I am unequivocally, opposed to “don’t say gay” bills, the banning of so called CRT in schools, and book bannings.