01-28-2010, 01:14 PM
Calif. district had pulled all copies after parent complained about entry
MENIFEE, Calif. - A California school district that pulled a dictionary from classrooms because it defined oral sex will allow it back on the shelves.
A committee of parents, teachers and administrators decided on Tuesday to permit fourth- and fifth-graders at Oak Meadows Elementary School in Menifee to use Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.
However, parents can opt to have their kids use an alternative dictionary.
The Riverside County district has 9,000 students and pulled the reference book last week after a parent complained about a child stumbling across the oral sex definition. That led to cries of censorship.
District policy called for setting up a committee to determine if the book was age-appropriate.
"The dictionary will go back to the classroom but the parents will be given the option to determine if they want their kids to have access to that dictionary," district spokeswoman Betti Cadmus told the Los Angeles Times.
The Times reported that no one showed up to object at Tuesday's meeting.
Menifee is about 80 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
MENIFEE, Calif. - A California school district that pulled a dictionary from classrooms because it defined oral sex will allow it back on the shelves.
A committee of parents, teachers and administrators decided on Tuesday to permit fourth- and fifth-graders at Oak Meadows Elementary School in Menifee to use Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.
However, parents can opt to have their kids use an alternative dictionary.
The Riverside County district has 9,000 students and pulled the reference book last week after a parent complained about a child stumbling across the oral sex definition. That led to cries of censorship.
District policy called for setting up a committee to determine if the book was age-appropriate.
"The dictionary will go back to the classroom but the parents will be given the option to determine if they want their kids to have access to that dictionary," district spokeswoman Betti Cadmus told the Los Angeles Times.
The Times reported that no one showed up to object at Tuesday's meeting.
Menifee is about 80 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
