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COLUMBIA — A state education committee postponed deciding whether a novel about a young woman who becomes addicted to meth should be removed from all public high schools in South Carolina.
The vote to delay a decision on “Crank” marked the only time Thursday that a State Board of Education panel didn’t follow recommendations from the Department of Education, which presented 11 books for approval or rejection.
The board’s Instructional Materials Review Committee agreed with staff that seven other contemporary novels should be removed from classrooms and library shelves, while three classic novels can stay. Those recommendations will go for final approval before the full state board on Tuesday.
The 11 books are the first to be reviewed by the board under a state regulation that took effect in June . It bans public schools from having or using books with “sexual conduct .”
The regulation ties the definition to the state’s obscenity law, but only to a portion of the code that lists sexual activities. Any books and other classroom materials that describe or depict what’s on that list are barred.