ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Tuesday, June 4, 1996                  TAG: 9606040059
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: A-1  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: LYNCHBURG
SOURCE: JENNIFER MILLER STAFF WRITER

                     JUDGE CLOSES LIMBAUGH BOOK FOR NOW
   THE TEACHER has a right to decide what reading is appropriate for 
youngsters, said federal Judge James Turk.

   A federal judge on Monday refused to grant a preliminary injunction to the 
father of the 9-year-old Bedford County boy whose Rush Limbaugh book was 
confiscated by a reading teacher last month.
   U.S. District Judge James Turk said that because classes at Montvale 
Elementary School end Thursday and there are no more scheduled recreational 
reading classes, he could see no irreparable harm toward the father, Thomas 
Gardner, or his son Jason, a fourth-grader. 
   Turk also said evidence suggested that "The Way Things Ought To Be "- the 
bestseller by the conservative radio and TV personality - was above Jason's 
reading and comprehension level. Montvale teacher Bruce Bays confiscated the 
book from Jason during recreational reading class two weeks ago and turned it 
in to Principal Ronald Mason.
   Jason was reading the section on "condom-bungee jumping" - a commercial 
parody that criticizes condom distribution in public schools. Mason had said 
the content of the book was inappropriate for a fourth-grader and called the 
boy's parents to retrieve it.
   "It seems to me that a teacher can say this isn't third- or fourth-grader 
material," Turk said. "It also seems to me that a third- or fourth-grader 
would have a difficult time with that material."
   In his lawsuit, Gardner asked Turk to order that the Limbaugh book be 
returned to Jason and that students at Montvale be allowed to read any book 
approved by their parents during independent reading classes. 
   Mason returned the book - in a sealed manila envelope - to Jason after 
school last Friday. 
   Despite the judge's ruling on the request for a temporary injunction 
against the school system, Gardner intends to go to trial in September to 
protect Jason's First Amendment rights and his right as a parent to decide 
what his child is allowed to read.   
   "If the real reason [behind the ruling] was that the book was over 
[Jason's] head, then we could have sat down and discussed it," Gardner said. 
"I'm very worried about rights being taken away inch by inch."
   Gardner's lawyers, John Lichtenstein and John Fishwick, said they hope to 
get the school's policy changed. 
   "This book was not obscene. It wasn't ... vulgar," Lichtenstein said. "This
is a political book and that's all that it is."
   Jason Gardner held his father's hand during most of Monday's hearing. He 
testified that he didn't remember any rules outlining the kind of books that 
pupils could read during recreational reading class. 
   "Recreational reading, it's where you take out a book and just start 
reading it," Jason said. 
   Bays testified that he had the authority to decide what books are suitable 
in his curriculum and classroom. 
   "My action was to prevent any potential disruption," Bays said. "I care 
about every single one of my students. I would never intentionally embarrass 
any one of my students."
   After the book was confiscated, Gardner called a WFIR-AM radio talk show 
host, who then called Limbaugh's radio program. Limbaugh denounced the 
incident as censorship.
   Deanna Duby, education policy director for the liberal advocacy group 
People For the American Way, said principals, teachers, and other school 
officials have the right to decide what is allowed in the classroom. 
   "There are all kinds of policies and statutes passed as part of an effort 
to help schools keep disruptive material out of the schools," Duby said. "In 
this particular case, once you take away all of the craziness, you have a 
teacher who acted in good faith. And you have a parent throwing a temper 
tantrum. 
   "Going to court was overkill," she said. 
   Turk suggested that Bays tell his fourth-grade recreational reading class 
that he did not intend to embarrass or punish Jason for bringing Limbaugh's 
book to school.
   "Hindsight tells us that [the situation] wasn't handled the best possible 
way," Turk said. "Everyone might be better off if they shook hands and be on 
their way."
   Last week, Limbaugh sent the Gardners five copies of his book - one for 
each day of the school week - and  all were inscribed by Limbaugh. One had 
this note for Principal Mason:
   "If you have this one, you're really something."

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