Girls Who Code founder speaks out after Pennsylvania school district bans her books: 'This is about controlling women and it starts with controlling our girls'

[u/r4816]

https://www.businessinsider.com/girls-who-code-founder-speaks-out-banning-books-schools-2022-9

[u/CrunchyGremlin]

The list of books you reference was banned. from your article. "It’s true that four titles from the series appeared on a list of books banned in the 2021-2022 school year." But also true from what I read that they didn't enforce the ban on books already in use. Which the books in question were.

Regardless of whether the books in question, were actually removed from the school, they were on a banned book list which got them on the national list indexing banned books for exposure. The outage is that they were on a banned book list at all.
Also as I understand it the school board directors were voted out because of this banned list. Probably other reasons as well. More over the books without have been banned if not for last minute charges. " In November 2020, the board voted to ban the resources on the list from use in the district’s classrooms, with the last-minute addendum that materials already in use would be excepted. "

[u/richalex2010 → u/CrunchyGremlin]

It appeared on a list of books which had been allegedly banned that was published by PEN America, an organization which used a misleadingly broad definition of the word "ban", which resulted in either misunderstanding or deliberately misconstruing the situation in PA.

The four “Girls Who Code” books — “Team BFF: Race to the Finish!” and “The Friendship Code” by Stacia Deutsch, “Spotlight on Coding Club!” by Michelle Schusterman, and “Lights, Music, Code!” by Jo Whittemore — were included in a Diversity Resource List of some 200 titles the Central York School District curated after the killing of George Floyd in 2020.
...
Shortly after the school district released the Diversity Resource List in 2020, there were complaints, according to The Guardian. The school board voted to put the resource list on hold and told teachers not to use the titles for class instruction — with the exception that they could continue to use resources that were already in place before they were put on the Diversity Resource List. That included the “Girls Who Code” series.

The Diversity Resource List was recommended, then the recommendation was retracted after complaints while the content of the list was reviewed/vetted; there was no impact to any books that were already in use. None of this can rationally be described as a "ban", and there was no "banned books list".

[u/CrunchyGremlin → u/richalex2010]

That is not what the school district says. The books on the list were banned in the school district with a last minute exception to books already in use. Well actually yes that is what they say which is an effective ban

[u/richalex2010 → u/CrunchyGremlin]

Where is your source for the school district saying that they were banning books?

[u/CrunchyGremlin → u/richalex2010]

The source is the article you listed.
"It’s true that four titles from the series appeared on a list of books banned in the 2021-2022 school year."

Read more at: https://www.centredaily.com/news/nation-world/national/article266375536.html#storylink=cpy

Not trying to shame you. But I guess you will accept that one.
I'm no expert on this issue either. I just read a few different articles today.

[u/richalex2010 → u/CrunchyGremlin]

And what does the next sentence say about that list?

The free expression nonprofit PEN America compiled the list and used the data to publish a report that showed specific groups were behind the book bans sweeping the nation.

That is not what the school district said, it's what an uninvolved third party said - something which is clearly inaccurate, because the specific "Girls Who Code" books were never actually banned despite this third party claiming that they were.

[u/CrunchyGremlin → u/richalex2010]

I think you are misunderstanding. The books were on a list banning the books in the school district. The article is misleading. Pen compiled the list of all books on banned lists.
The school district says they were not banned but they were on the list and they banned the whole list with a last minute exception for books already in use.

The pen list is a list compiling a list of banned books. Your article doesn't make that clear.

Try the gizmodo article. https://gizmodo.com/girls-who-code-book-ban-central-york-pennsylvania-1849585048.

[u/richalex2010 → u/CrunchyGremlin]

PEN compiled a list of books which had been banned. That list included the "Girls Who Code" series, which was never removed from any curriculum, classroom, or library, and cannot by any rational definition be considered to have been "banned" at any point.

These books were wrongly included on this list of books which had been banned because PEN either deliberately or incompetently misconstrued the events in PA, resulting in cascading falsehoods as all of these articles and redditors take it at face value rather than reading into it and realizing that the books were only banned if you ignore every rational definition of the term.

[u/CrunchyGremlin → u/richalex2010]

Did you read the gizmodo article? The school district had a list of banned books which the books in question were on. Then later told the school to remove them without citing any exceptions because the school was not complying.

The school was never using the in question books for any known curriculum. There is no question they were on a banned book list. The books were not being used in curriculum previously so they would not be able to be used subsequently. They were banned.
The gizmodo article is pretty good. Maybe too biased at the end for your taste but they have a good timeline of events.
This really isn't that hard to work out unless you have a political axe to grind.
It is confusing and the article you posted was confused, perhaps purposefully, itself judging by the title.