The following letter to the Newtown Board of Education has been received by The Newtown Bee for publication:

Dear Newtown BOE,

Thank you for your service.

I am writing in support of our students, parents, members of our community and NPS staff who have made clear that they do not support the banning of books in our schools.

You now have the recommendation of the educators and administrators charged with reviewing the concerns filed regarding the book Flamer and the book Blankets. The team of experts provided a unanimous recommendation to keep these books available to students.

As part of their recommendation, they expressed that quotes provided in previous BOE public participation were taken out of context, noting how important context is in understanding the educational appropriateness of literature. I hope you have each read these books and viewed them through the lens of the needs of our diverse student body.

The last time I wrote to this group I included statements from your own policy website.

I would again point you to your own statement regarding inclusion: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are words that, when used together, describe policies and programs that promote the representations, participation and contributions of different groups of individuals as set forth in Policy 0523 Equity and Diversity including but not limited to people of different race, culture, religion, mental and physical ability, sexual orientation, or gender expression or identity. https://www.newtown.k12.ct.us/DEI

Many of the parents expressing concern about these books do so under the guise of parental rights. As a parent of a student in NHS, I wonder how my rights or the rights of the students and other parents factor into their analysis. To be clear, I respect their point of view. I would ask that they respect the point of view of all parents and manage access of materials they do not support with their own student(s).

Thank you,

Doria Linnetz

Newtown