School district may ban Angelou book

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., Nov. 1 (UPI) -- The school district superintendent in Huntington Beach, Calif., said an autobiography by poet Maya Angelou may be banned from local middle school libraries.

Superintendent Alan Rasmussen said he will announce next week his decision regarding the possible book ban involving the libraries at Vista View and Spring View middle schools, The Orange County (Calif.) Register said Saturday.

"The final decision I am going to make on Tuesday," he said regarding the upcoming Ocean View School District trustee meeting. "I always like to think and sleep on these things. I think there will be a positive resolution to address this issue."

The proposed ban on Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" autobiography comes from former Westminster School District Trustee Judy Ahrens and Ocean View School District trustee John Brisco.

The book features a description of a rape of an 8-year-old girl, a scene Ahrens used as evidence for a ban at an Oct. 6 trustee meeting.

The Register said, according to the American Library Association, "Caged Bird" was the third most challenged book in schools in the 1990s.