According to Amanda Fisher, English Curriculum Director for the Troy School District, “Book banning as a whole takes away a student’s right to choose, limits interests and curiosities, has a defeating impact on educational goals and standards, affects all students unfairly and lessens options of books that focus on marginalized groups.”
Book restrictions at Troy High School do not follow the same standards as a typical legal “ban” would. Instead, a “Materials Review Process” is followed. Books are attained through a selection process and closely monitored by Toni Isaac, Troy High School Library Media Specialist, who purchases books and media for the school library. Attempts at book removals are frequent within Troy High School. Every month during the 2024-2025 school year, a new book from the Troy High School library was challenged for removal by parental objections. In the 2025-2026 school year, the parental objections began with a total of seven challenges, with content review meetings scheduled up until the end of this school year.
Isaac describes the detailed steps of the process: “If a parent has a question about a book, the policy is that they are supposed to bring that book to my attention, and then I will read the book. If I agree with the parent that the book is not high school appropriate, then I might remove it from the library collection.”
If a parent is unhappy with the decision to keep a book on the shelves, the next point of contact would be Remo Roncone, the building principal. After this, the chain of command escalates. “The next step would be for [the parent] to submit a formal complaint, and then a committee would be formed, which consists of an administrator from our school, an administrator from any other school that owns a library, myself, any other librarian that has that [challenged] book in their library, a parent, and at the high school level, also a student,” says Isaac. Usually, a curriculum staff is also involved; for example, a head of the English department. In this committee, reviewers are given a copy of the book in their chosen format: e-book, print book, or audiobook. They are given an appropriate amount of time to read the book, typically within a month, then a second meeting is convened to discuss.
In the words of Isaac, “Meetings typically last about an hour and a half. We review what the parents’ objections to the book were. We look at book reviews and also literary criticism, and discuss whether or not the book meets the standards for book selection. We also discuss if the book is appropriate for the high school level, and if the book should remain on the shelves or not.” Afterwards, an anonymous vote is conducted, and based on the results, the decision is submitted to Superintendent Dr. Richard Machesky. After Dr. Machesky’s approval, the decision to keep or remove a book is final. After challenging a book once, for seven years, parents cannot challenge that book a second time.
As for what the most common reason for a challenge is, Isaac explains, “LGBTQ has been probably the most common complaint in the Troy School District and nationwide. It’s been LGBTQ or minorities being represented. Also nationwide, not at Troy High School, [it has been] historical books that tell history in a way that is painful to know about because our history isn’t sunshine and rainbows.”
Christine Dipilato, Assistant Superintendent of the Troy School District, states: “It is important for our students to understand the history of book banning, the threat of removing voices and histories from our world, and the importance of reading and learning through diverse perspectives. Reading is a way for us to learn about our history, to learn about the experiences of others, to grow as individuals. Books can act as mirrors and windows: mirrors that provide us with stories and characters who we can connect with and grow personally and windows that provide us with a view into worlds and experiences we may not know.”
This month, the 2007 novel “19 Minutes” by Jodi Picoult, will be in the process of review. This book follows the story of events leading up to a school shooting and the aftermath of the incident. A decision on removing the book has not been made yet.
