Bid by Parents to Ban Grade School Texts Fails

An attempt by a group of fundamentalist Christians to have a controversial series of grade school readers banned in Redondo Beach has failed as the city’s elementary school trustees voted unanimously this week to retain the texts.

The decision capped several months of intense lobbying by opponents of the Impressions series, who said the books promote satanism and include stories that are inappropriate for youngsters.

The series has been under fire in a number of California school districts, including the Hacienda La Puente Unified and East Whittier City school districts, where trustees voted to shelve the books. But Redondo Beach trustees had said from the outset that they viewed the effort to ban the books as an attempt at censorship.

Members of the local Coalition of Concerned Parents--formed by members of the fundamentalist Hope Chapel--said they plan to work against the trustees in the next election, and will put their children in private school.