The school board voted to remove Push from high school libraries and restrict The Bluest Eye to 18+ students with parental consent.
Terriers go 31–7, sweep league, reach CIF-SS D2 quarterfinals, and return to State play for first time since 1995.
Learn how you can apply to join a city board or commission and be part of the process.
The school board voted to remove Push from high school libraries and restrict The Bluest Eye to 18+ students with parental consent.
REDLANDS, Calif. — The Redlands Unified school board voted Tuesday night to remove one book from high school libraries and impose new age-and-consent restrictions on another, concluding the district’s first public hearings under its revised instructional materials challenge policy.
The board voted 3–2 to remove Push by Sapphire from high school libraries, overturning the district review committee’s recommendation to keep the book with restricted access. Vice President Patty Holohan and clerk Melissa Ayala-Quinerto cast the desenting votes.
Trustees then voted 5–0 to restrict access to The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, allowing the book only for students 18 or older who have parental consent. Board President Michele Rendler made the motion to amend the committee's recommendation with an age limit.
Additional coverage from the board meeting will follow.
Tuesday’s votes marked the first real test of the district’s revised book review policy (AR 1312.2), which went into effect at the start of the 2025–26 school year. Under the policy, books may be challenged for alleged explicit content, sexual violence, or other criteria laid out in the district’s new evaluation rubric.
When a complaint is filed, the policy requires principals to remove the books within three business days, triggering a district-level committee review. Committee members assess challenged titles using a rubric with five criteria, including explicit sexual content, depictions of sexual violence, contextual purpose, age suitability, and potential negative impact on students.
Lower scores indicate appropriateness; higher scores indicate concern.
For both books, the district review committees did not recommend removal:
None of the rubric scorecards supported full removal.
The original complainant appealed both decisions, which sent the matter to the school board for a public hearing.
Under district policy, trustees had two choices for each title:
Following public comment and board deliberation, trustees chose a more restrictive option in both cases — including full removal of Push, the district’s first book removal under the revised policy.
According to district policy, books deemed unsuitable must be removed from district facilities within five business days of the vote.
The new age-and-consent rule for The Bluest Eye will apply immediately.
CFR will publish additional reporting on the discussion, community reaction, and the full context of Tuesday’s meeting.
Sign up for our weekly newsletter
