ADDENDUM::Politichicks.com California Charter School Refuses to Reverse Decision to Ban Christian Books - Politichicks.com

So usually when I look at articles I start from the beginning and work my way through. But what stuck me was how this article ended.

What we have here is an overt control of the thought police. When people practice bullying (whether verbal or physical) or murder, the motivation is first and the thought is second. Historically, it has always been the negative act was prosecuted which was sufficient. Now we have a double jeopardy, adding an extra penalty for the thoughts that preceded the cause. This is overkill; but even worse, the thought policy is being embraced—very chilling indeed!

So upon discovering that this was a state funded charter school, that the term "library" was misapplied, and by all accounts the issue is curriculum and text books, Sloane has chosen the route of Christian persecution and being bullied..  Surprise, surprise,,,NOT!!

You see there are two very important points being left out of this narrative. The first being that this incident occurred over the summer. Second, Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Hermsmeyer addressed the issue concerning what the "library" actually is but yet PJI is grossly missing the point and pushing an issue that doesn't even exist.

Sloane in her OP cited Hermsmeyer's press release. Pay attention to the ellipses,,,

“On August 22, Michael Peffer of the Pacific Justice Institute contacted my office at Springs Charter Schools about a conversation…between a parent of a Springs Charter Schools’ student and an employee of Springs Charter Schools, neither of whom were identified. The conversation took place in the Springs Resource Library, which is a warehouse for textbooks we use in our school programs…

Now here is the actual press release, the bold text is what Sloane left out.

“On August 22, Michael Peffer of the Pacific Justice Institute contacted my office at Springs Charter Schools about a conversation that had occurred last summer between a parent of a Springs Charter Schools student and an employee of Springs Charter School, neither of whom were identified. The conversation took place in the Springs Resource Library, which is a warehouse for textbooks we use in our school programs (it is not actually a library, in fact, we have since renamed it the Curriculum Warehouse to eliminate any confusion). Due to the fact that our schools are independent study charter schools, we do not maintain traditional lending libraries. According to the letter, the unidentified Springs employee told the unidentified parent that he/she was instructed to “remove all books with a Christian message, authored by Christians, or published by a Christian publishing company.”

So why is this important, that this occurred over the summer?

Like any brick and mortar school with a library (in this case a curriculum warehouse), the summer months are taken up with administrative duties which included cataloging, organizing, repair and/or replacement, cleaning and much more. Part of those duties would also include making sure that materials the school supplies are compliant with the laws of their respective state. My guess is that disgruntled parent came in on a day of organizing and, observed a staff member removing donated sectarian reading material. Wondering as to why, a question was asked, but the answer may not have been as clear and concise as it should have been.

I can see the disgruntled parent being a bit perplexed. I can even see them contacting JPI for clarification. What I can't see is how JPI, Starnes et al can so ignore the clarification presented by Hermsmeyer

As Hermsmeyer stated in her letter to JPI,

,,,like every other public school in the State of California, we cannot legally maintain religious textbooks on our warehouse shelves for distribution to our families. Donated items are made available to our families at no cost. Any and all donated items are not incorporated onto the shelves of our Curriculum Warehouse. The only materials we maintain on the shelves of our Curriculum Warehouse are items we have purchased ourselves in accordance with the laws of our State.

I don't know much more succinct Hermsmeyer could be.  JPI's response to Hermsmeyer also make no sense what-so-ever. Their insistence on using the word "library" when they know it is not a library is mind boggling.

I saw the school’s press release, and this is not a reversal of their decision at all. People might argue whether or not they are legally obligated to take the books off the shelves if they are text books or part of the curriculum. We’re not talking about that. We’re talking about books that have a library book type marking, as opposed to donated books being given away because they can’t have them in the library. The school’s press release has made the issue more confusing than it was before. She appears to be mushing together the issue of textbooks versus non-textbooks.
,,,
Is the employee who told our clients they had to “remove all books with a Christian message, authored by Christians, or published by a Christian publishing company” right or wrong? If that happened, it doesn’t matter—it’s way too overbroad; however, if we get information that shows we’re wrong, we’ll say it. We always do. In this case, we believe the information we obtained from a parent is reliable.

Whether the employee spoke hastily or mis-worded their response is moot. Whether the disgruntled parent heard only what they wanted to hear is moot. What matters is the law.

Politichicks.com California Charter School Refuses to Reverse Decision to Ban Christian Books - Politichicks.com