A project of the National Coalition Against Censorship

CO-SPONSORED BY
American Booksellers for Free Expression
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
Association of American Publishers

October 9, 2015
Superintendent Dr. Peter Righi
Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School
74 Ridge Road
Rumson, NJ 07760
Via email: prighi@rumsonfairhaven.org

Dear Superintendent Righi and members of the Board of Education,

As organizations dedicated to the freedom to read, the integrity of the public education system, and the
application of First Amendment law and principles in public institutions, we are writing in regard to the
controversy over the use of Ariel Dorfmans play Death and the Maiden and Bernard MacLavertys
novel Cal in Rumson-Fair Haven Regional (RFH) High Schools English curriculum. While community
debate is a healthy part of democracy, there are important educational and constitutional considerations
the District Board of Education should take into account in its response. Any decision the Board makes
should be based on the books pedagogical and literary merit, and not be a simple concession to the
views of several parents or members of the community.
It is our understanding that late last month the parent of an RFH student posted an online petition calling
on the Board of Education and administrators to remove the two books and any other material that is not
age appropriate from the curriculum. The parent claims that the books contain vulgar language and
explicit sexual passages, and calls on the district to institute a policy, whereby parents must sign a
permission slip if assigned reading material, films, or any media contains [sic] profanities, explicit sexual
passages, or vulgar language.
Death and the Maiden, which was required summer reading for English IV, Honors College English, and
Culture and Literacy IV, is an award-winning play by Argentine-Chilean-American author and
playwright Ariel Dorfman. It focuses on guilt, innocence, fear, silence, and the opportunity for revenge
for crimes perpetrated against a central character in a country that only recently returned to democracy. It
won the 1992 Laurence Olivier Play of the Year Award, and Library Journal calls it a worthwhile
addition to modern drama collections, saying the author addresses the dilemmas which touch all our
lives: innocence and evil, truth and lies, forgiveness, and revenge. Cal, part of the English III and AP
English Literature curriculum, is a renowned work of fiction about the moral consequences facing one
young member of the Irish Republic Army who was an accomplice to murder in war-torn Northern
Ireland.
According to press reports, Death and the Maiden has been required reading for all seniors for several
years, and Cal has been on and off the required reading list for juniors over recent years. It is our
understanding that books go through a rigorous review at RFH before they are included in the

curriculum, with literary and artistic merit being a key consideration. Those same considerations should
be taken into account when considering a response to a complaint brought by any parent in the
communityespecially when that complaint centers on words taken out of context.
A school district puts its students at a distinct disadvantage if it fails to introduce them to the range of
ideas they will encounter in life. Indeed, the mission of Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School is to
empower students to realize their personal potential and fulfill their responsibilities as members of a
moral democracy. A district can only do so by fostering thoughtful conversation, not bending to the
subjective demands of members of the community and stifling it by removing pieces of literature like
Death and the Maiden and Cal and whatever other materials a parent or group of parents might find
inappropriate.
Death and the Maiden author Ariel Dorfman, who has had first-hand experience of the violence of
censorship, said this in response to the petition:
The government of General Augusto Pinochet deemed many books, many words, many
thoughts, to be inappropriate. I am saddened by the attempt of some in America to be
accomplices, however unwittingly, of that persecution of what they deem profane. And I am
encouraged and gladdened to see so many comments to the petitions that stand up for
freedom from censorship and the opening of young minds, helping the youth of tomorrow to
create a world where the Paulinas and so many others will not be subjected to violence
because of their beliefs.
As you consider your decision, we hope you will keep in mind that removing a book because some
object to or disapprove of it would also raise serious constitutional concerns. The First Amendment
protects the citizen against the State itself and all of its creaturesBoards of Education not excepted.
West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnett (1943). As a result, school officials are bound by a
constitutional duty not to suppress unpopular, controversial, or even objectionable ideas. It is a
fundamental First Amendment principle that local school boards may not remove books simply because
they dislike the ideas contained in these books. Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School
District No. 26 v. Pico (1982). Objections to the message, ideas, or content do not provide an adequate
basis for the removal of any book.
Accepting the petitioners request to institute a parental permission slip for any material deemed not
age-appropriate would present enormous challenges to teachers and administrators. Besides the fact
that the request depends on a vague and subjective understanding of what age-inappropriate is, doing so
would impermissibly single out and red-flag certain content, inviting complaints and challenges that
would overburden educators. Parents, of course, have a right to stay informed of what material is being
taught; if they have deep objections to a work their child has been assigned, the school has the option of
offering an alternate assignment if that is pedagogically feasible. However, the state protects the schools
right to make educational decisions for its students; ultimately, no parent has the right to tell a public
school what his or her child will and will not be taught. Leebaert v. Harrington, 332 F.3d 134, 141 (2d
Cir. 2003). Any other rule would put schools in the untenable position of having to cater a curriculum
for each student whose parents had genuine moral disagreements with the schools choice of subject
matter. Brown v. Hot, Sexy and Safer Productions, Inc., 68 F.3d 525, 534 (1st Circ. 1995), cert. denied,
516 U.S. 1159 (1996).
We hope the current controversy will encourage you to institute a formal challenge policy. Such policies
are widely used by school districts across the nation, and protect the curricular choices of educators
against subjective complaints that often aim to impose the beliefs of a small group on the whole
community. We would be happy to advise in this endeavor. This is an approach consistent with

constitutional and educational principles and will serve the interests of both the Rumson-Fair Haven
Regional High School and its students. We strongly urge you to demonstrate your commitment to these
principles by rejecting calls to remove Death and the Maiden and Cal from the curriculum.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of further assistance.
Sincerely,

Svetlana Mintcheva, Director of Programs

National Coalition Against Censorship

Chris Finan, Director

American Booksellers for Free Expression

Judy Platt, Director

Free Expression Advocacy
Association of American Publishers

Charles Brownstein, Executive Director

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

Millie Davis, Director

Intellectual Freedom Center
National Council of Teachers of English

Fatima Shaik, Chair

Childrens and Young Adult Book Committee
PEN American Center

CC: Lisa Waters, President: lwaters@rumsonfairhaven.org

Michael Goione, Vice President: mgoione@rumsonfairhaven.org
Teresa Liccardi, M.D.: tliccardi@rumsonfairhaven.org
Lourdes Lucas: llucas@rumsonfairhaven.org
Sarah Maris: smaris@rumsonfairhaven.org
Annie McGinty: amcginty@rumsonfairhaven.org
Chuck Volker: cvolker@rumsonfairhaven.org
James Wassel: jwassel@rumsonfairhaven.org
Kaye F. Wise: kwise@rumsonfairhaven.org

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