"TTYL" pulled from school libraries

AUSTIN (KXAN) - After months of debate, Round Rock Independent School District superintendent has decided to pull the racy, controversial book "TTYL" from the middle school libraries. The battle has been brewing between parents and the school board because many parents said "TTYL" is too vulgar for middle school students. The fight to get the book in a special section of Ridgeview Middle School started when the Jennings' sixth-grade daughter brought it home and Wes and Sherry Jennings started looking through it. What they found was, "TTYL" discusses sex, pornography, drinking and in inappropriate student-teacher relationship.

The Jennings brought the book to the attention of the Ridgefield Middle School librarian and principal, and were displeased with the reaction they received. Next, they teamed up with several other parents and started the school districts' appeals process to get the book moved into a "mature" section of the library. However, the school district is strictly prohibited from allowing only certain students to read isolated sections of materials. Instead, the school superintendent chose to remove "TTYL" from all Round Rock middle school libraries.

"We've got a very young student body, sixth graders if you will, as well as seventh and eighth graders, and although it may be appropriate for some older students even some eighth graders, we've got to look at the entire student body and student population," said Dr. Jesus Chavez, Round Rock ISD superintendent.

The issue has some parents asking why Web sites and magazines are censored but the thought of book censorship upsets many. "The girls are advising each other to wear crotchless panties for their boyfriends," said Wes Jennings. When the Jennings 11-year-old daughter brought "TTYL" home from the school library, they were astonished. "We do not want to ban or censor books, we just want it to be age appropriate where it was intended," said Sherry Jennings.

Round Rock superintendent, Chavez said he pulled the book from middle school libraries but decided to leave it in high school libraries after consulting the school district’s legal team and learned he had the authority to remove the books. "From the very beginning, I felt it was inappropriate for middle schoolers."

While the Jennings started the fight to clean up Round Rock's middle school libraries, there are many other parents are on the same page. "Children have neither the emotional or intellectual ability to deal with this kind of content," said Karen Withers, Round Rock Parent and Teacher. After learning there are several books with similar "content" that her son could check out, Karen Withers would like to see the type of rating system used for movies, music and video games for books as well. Withers said the issue is not about just "TTYL" and the Round Rock school district, but about numerous books in libraries across the country. "We want to trust our schools are safe for our children," said Withers.

The book had been in some of the RRISD's secondary schools for three years until the complaint came. On Oct. 27, a committee appointed by the superintendent later ruled in a close vote that the book should stay. The superintendent's decision overrules the committees. Dr. Jesus Chavez said if students want to read the book and their parents buy it, they can still read it.

"TTYL" was pulled from Pflugerville middle school shelves in October after a parent brought the book to the attention of a middle school librarian. The book is still in Pflugerville high schools. Georgetown does not have the book in any of their schools. The Austin School district does have "TTYL" in 15 of their middle schools and high schools. An AISD spokesperson said they have not had any complaints from parents.

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