Education

MUKILTEO, Wash. — "To Kill a Mockingbird" will be removed from the Mukilteo School District's ninth-grade English/Language Arts required reading list.
The Mukilteo School Board unanimously approved a resolution Monday night to remove the novel from the curriculum. The novel remains on the district-approved list and is not banned.

The Mukilteo School Board voted unanimously Monday night to remove “To Kill a Mockingbird” from the required reading list for ninth graders, while still allowing for teachers to choose to teach the classic novel to students.

The board acted after months of discussion among teachers, parents and students, and in reaction to concerns over racism in the classic novel, first published in 1960.

John Gahagan, a board member since 2011, stressed that members were not banning the book, just removing it from the list of required reading. He said a 20-member instructional committee of teachers, parents and community members had voted by a nearly two-thirds margin to no longer have the book be required reading.

The book, over the 60-plus years since its publication, has remained overwhelmingly popular, while also, at times, controversial........