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	WASHINGTON (UPI) -- Censorship or challenges of textbooks, classic
novels, and other materials frequently used in public school classrooms
was at its highest level in 10 years of surveys of the practices, a
public education watchdog group reported Tuesday.
	People for the American Way, which describes itself as a 300,000
member non-partisan constitutional liberties organization, reported that
``censors'' were more active in 1991-92 than in any other year, with 376
``attacks on the freedom to learn'' in 44 states.
	It said challenges to library materials -- books that no child is
required to read -- rose to 173, compared with 72 during the 1990-91
school year.
	``The censors' success rate was disturbingly high, higher in fact
than at any point in the last four years,'' the group said. ``Forty-one
percent of the materials challenged were removed or restricted in some
fashion.''
	The group said its 10th annual survey found that the most challenges
to textbooks and other materials were from Florida, 34; Texas, 27;
California, 27; Oregon, 24; and Minnesota, 22. There were no challenges
in Arkansas, Kentucky, North Dakota, New Mexico, Rhode Island, and
Vermont and the District of Columbia.
	The group said the most frequently challenged books during 1991-92
school year included Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck; More Scary
Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz; The Catcher in the Rye by
J.D. Salinger; and The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier.
	The most frequently challenged materials were Pumsy: In Pursuit of
Excellence; Impressions; Quest; Positive Action; and DUSO (Developing
Understanding of Self and Others).
	``More than one-fifth of all incidents were the handiwork of
extremist conservative groups or individuals at the national or local
level,'' People for the American Way reported.
	``And even in incidents where no such links were readily apparent,
similarities in targets and rhetoric recurred, suggesting that a
decade's worth of exhortation from national leaders has given birth to
an active, self-generating censorship movement.
	``The most frequent rationale for challenges was that materials were
perceived to be at odds with the challengers' religious views. Such
materials, including classic novels, were frequently labeled 'Satanic,
New Age, or anti-Christian.'
	``Second most common were challenges in which the materials were
deemed to be profane or to contain otherwise objectionable language;
third were those in which treatment of sexuality was found offensive.''
	Some examples of censorship or challenges listed by the organization:
	--Jacksonville, Fla.: Objectors brought 20 challenges, including
criticisms on Maurice Sendak's, In the Night Kitchen, and John
Knowles's, A Separate Peace. In more than half of the challenges, books
were either removed or restricted.
	--Merritt Island, Fla.: Objectors alleged that portions of a
calisthenics warm-up videotape called ``Stretch to Win'' were ``like
yoga,'' promoted meditation and ``out of body experiences.'' The video
was retained but the children of the objectors were given alternative
materials.
	--Meridian, Idaho: A group objected to a nurse's presentation on HIV
and AIDS to a middle school class, raising false allegations, the
organization reported. ``District officials issued a gag order
prohibiting district employees from teaching students anything related
to sex education or HIV-AIDS,'' the watchdog group said. ``Student
editors of the high school newspaper were prohibited by school officials
>From publishing a story on the controversy.''
	Buffalo Grove, Ill.: School officials reacted to a student's story
about an illegal abortion by permanently shutting down the school's
literary magazine.
	--Sidell, Ill.: A student who objected to reading The Catcher in the
Rye was given another book assignment, but some ministers still sought
to remove the book from a 12th grade English class. The book was
retained, but the English department was told to consider a less
controversial book.
	--Slidell, La.: The book Voodoo and Hoodoo was characterized as
contributing to extreme anti-social behavior and unsanitary practices,
and the school board banned it from the schools.
	--Hillsville, Va.: School district officials, under pressure from a
minister, barred the district's Teach of the Year from using a novel,
The Floatplane Notebooks, in an 11th grade literature class. The book
was removed from the 11th grade class, but retained for the 12th grade.