FARMINGTON, Utah — The Davis School District reversed its previous position and will now allow the Bible to remain on shelves in all school libraries.
In a unanimous vote Tuesday, the district's Board of Education reversed a previous decision made by committee that removed the King James Version of the Bible from elementary and junior high school libraries. The book was always allowed to remain in the district's high schools.
The original decision was reviewed after a parent submitted a petition to remove the Bible claiming it contains pornography. At the time, the committee actually determined the book "does not contain sensitive material as defined by Utah Code," but still pulled it from certain schools because of age appropriateness.
Parents and others were immediately outraged over the ban, holding demonstrations and speaking out in front of state lawmakers. Utah State Sen. Jacob Andregg, a member of the Administrative Rules and General Oversight Committee, said he found banning the Bible "reprehensible."
In a statement announcing the reversal, the district said it stands by the process which it has in place to review books, adding that 60 reviews have been conducted as of Tuesday, with 37 books having been removed from all libraries.
