Overview

• On June 26 the Harford County Board of Education voted 5-3 to ban Mike Curato’s graphic novel “Flamer” from middle and high school libraries under the first formal appeal of its new two-year review process.
• Dozens of parents, teachers and local advocacy groups including Together We Will and the Upper Chesapeake Bay Pride Foundation protested at the July 21 board meeting, arguing the ban infringes on student rights and LGBTQIA+ representation.
• Board President Aaron Poynton was reelected by a 9-1 vote and defended the removal, citing the book’s “pervasively vulgar” language and stating it violated the district’s age-appropriate content standards.
• Poynton announced he will convene informational and listening sessions to gather community input and develop more nuanced procedures beyond a binary keep-or-remove framework.
• The dispute underscores a broader national clash over censorship versus intellectual freedom in school libraries and tests Maryland’s Freedom to Read Act protections.