Knox County adds Roots to banned list

Knox County Schools has added Alex Haley’s “Roots” to the list of titles removed from school library access, according to local coverage published May 14 and May 15 and an updated district list referenced in those reports. The addition pushed the district’s total to 124 removed titles, up from 113 titles reported in May 2025. (wbir.com) The move places one of the best-known works of American historical fiction on the same list as dozens of other books Knox County schools have pulled under Tennessee’s library law. (wbir.com) WATE reported that the district’s updated removal list dated May 14, 2026 included “Roots,” while WBIR reported the district confirmed the title had been added. (tn.gov) The district has been removing books under Tennessee’s Age-Appropriate Materials Act, a 2022 law that requires school systems to maintain library lists, adopt review policies and remove materials they determine do not meet the law’s standards. State guidance says the decision on whether material is age-appropriate and suitable is a local one. (wbir.com) ### How did “Roots” end up on the list? WBIR reported that Knox County Schools spokeswoman Carly Harrington said “Roots: The Saga of an American Family” had been added to the district’s banned-books list. The station said the district’s total reached 124 titles as of May 2026. (wate.com) WATE reported on May 14 that “Roots” appeared on an updated district document labeled “Book Titles 5.14.26.” The outlet said the title was part of the list of books to be removed from Knox County Schools libraries. ### What is the law Knox County is using? Tennessee enacted the Age-Appropriate Materials Act in 2022. (tn.gov) A state education memo dated Aug. 11, 2022 says each public school must maintain a list of library materials, adopt a policy for developing and reviewing those materials and remove materials determined not to meet the law’s criteria. A 2025 opinion from the Tennessee attorney general’s office said the statutes give local school bodies “broad discretion” to adopt and implement procedures for maintaining age-appropriate library collections. (wbir.com) The opinion also said Tennessee law requires a local school body to determine within 60 days whether a challenged material is age-appropriate and suitable after a request for review from a student, parent or employee. (wate.com) ### How large is Knox County’s removed-books list now? Knox County Schools had reached 113 removed titles by May 21, 2025, according to WBIR’s earlier reporting. That report said the district had released 65 additional banned titles after previously removing 48 books. (tn.gov) By May 2026, WBIR reported, the total had climbed to 124 titles. That means the district added 11 more titles over the past year, including “Roots.” ### What kind of books has Knox County removed before? WBIR’s 2025 list included titles such as “The Kite Runner,” “The Bluest Eye,” “Slaughterhouse-Five,” “Gender Queer,” and “Water for Elephants.” WATE’s May 2026 report also cited “A Court of Thorns and Roses” and “A Clockwork Orange” among books previously removed in Knox County. (tn.gov) Those removals happened under a law that broadly restricts school library materials containing nudity, sexual content, sexual abuse or “excessive violence,” according to WBIR’s 2025 report. (wbir.com) A 2025 attorney general opinion said that when a local school body determines material falls within the statute, it must be removed. (wbir.com) ### What is the district’s process from here? Knox County Schools’ board policy on instructional materials says information specific to school-library materials is handled under Board Policy I-241 and its administrative procedure. The district’s broader policy also says the director of schools will establish a reconsideration procedure for approved materials requested by parents. (wbir.com) Tennessee’s attorney general said that if a local school body does not make a timely determination within 60 days of a review request, the student, parent or employee may ask the State Textbook and Instructional Materials Quality Commission to evaluate the material. That state review path remains the next formal step named in Tennessee’s guidance. (wbir.com) (tn.gov) (resources.finalsite.net)