In a report presented to the Utah Legislature on Tuesday, the auditor general found “notable amounts” of profanity, sexual content and violence in books across seven Utah school districts.
Auditors reviewed 22 books in secondary school libraries and found that 95% contained sexual conduct and 73% contained nudity.
Several included pervasive explicit language. In one particular book, 40% of the pages contained at least one use of the F word.
This type of material “appears to violate Utah Code,” the report says.
According to Utah Code, if three school districts classify a material as objective sensitive material, schools and local education agencies cannot allow students to access the sensitive materials.
What books were part of the audit?
The audit examined 22 books in school libraries. While some were lesser known titles, the list included a novel by the American novelist Toni Morrison and the memoir of journalist Jeanette Walls.
Notable books included:
- “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison
- “The Glass Castle” by Jeanette Walls
- “Wicked” by Gregory Maguire
- “Jesus Land” by Julia Scheeres
- “The Duff” by Kody Kelinger
- “People Kill People” by Ellen Hopkins
- “Blood and Honey” by Shelby Mahurin
How was the study conducted?
Auditors examined novels from a list provided by a “concerned legislator.”
The list ranked books on a scale from 0 to 5, with 5 being the most concerning. Auditors started with books ranked at Level 4 and Level 5.
From the 186 books on this list, auditors reordered it randomly. Then they randomly selected secondary schools from seven school districts. If the books from the list were not found in at least three high schools, they checked if they were in at least three middle schools. If they weren’t, the book wasn’t added to a review list.
Auditors then selected 20 books they’d found across 42 libraries, and they added two others based on concern from legislators. The titles of these two books were not disclosed.
From here, auditors read each book and “marked each potential instance of concern.”
Utah should focus on prevention, the audit report says
Current Utah policy focuses on how to remove books with sensitive material rather than preventing them from ending up on schools’ shelves in the first place, the audit said.
“Proactive policies could shift the focus away from reactive policies and prevent potentially sensitive materials from entering schools,” the report said.
It then references the auditor’s report from June, which recommended the Legislature provide more guidance on how to select library materials.
“This review supports those conclusions,” it added.