Summer reading material of a sexually explicit nature may feature prominently in the next meeting of East Penn School District's board of directors due to parent complaints at their Sept. 10 meeting.

Paula Whitman addressed the board regarding "Prep" by Curtis Sittenfeld and "Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" by Tom Wolfe from the ninth and 10th grade reading lists respectively, providing the board with excerpts from both books describing sexual acts in graphic detail. Those in "Prep" are performed in at least one case by a minor.

Whitman raised her deep concern to the board, asking if these books were appropriate for children aged 12, 13 and 14 and if the book lists would be reviewed.

"We want them to grow up to be upstanding citizens," Whitman said. "I can't believe this is something that was actually recommended for these kids to read … I hope it's going to be taken care of."

One of the books in question, "Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test," was challenged five years ago at Seidenberger's first board meeting and President Charles Ballard confirmed it had been reviewed at that time too.

According to Seidenberger, staff members of the English department form a committee and make recommendations for student reading lists based on a variety of literary source material including library references and lists of award-winning books. Reading lists are developed to meet certain curricular goals approved by the board. But only a few books are required reading, and the two in question that evening were optional.

"I would not read this content aloud at a board meeting. I'd be charged with the corruption of morals of minors," Julian Stolz said, offering a motion to have these books removed from the curriculum.

"I feel it's my moral duty to make sure something like this is not on the reading list," Stolz said.

Ballard cautioned about going down the road of banning books and ruled the motion would have to be discussed formally at the next meeting after being publicly advertised according to protocol.

The board president affirmed the board is responsible only for approving the curriculum, not every implementation of it, which included reading lists and lesson plans.

Francee Fuller expressed her confidence in the "very sophisticated student body" of Emmaus High School and concluded, "It is no more alarming than some of the content students observe in other parts of their lives."

The optional reading list is developed as an alternative to the required reading list. The lists are sent home at the end of each school year and parents are given the opportunity to review them and grant or withhold permission from their children to read select books. If suitable reading material cannot be found on either list, parents are encouraged to contact a teacher or register a complaint on the website.

According to Ballard, "Statements are probably made in there [the reading lists] about content," but as of the meeting date he had not reviewed them nor had he read the books they comprise.

"In general," Ballard said, "these things are normally handled by an administrative procedure."

The board has legal authority to do anything regarding student texts that does not violate state law.

Stolz later explained he did not wish to see the books banned or removed from library shelves only removed from the student reading lists.