THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, September 1, 1994            TAG: 9409010554
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A8   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                         LENGTH: Short :   46 lines

RELIGIOUS RIGHT ACCUSED OF HITTING PUBLIC SCHOOLS

A liberal advocacy group accused the religious right Wednesday of stepping up its challenges to library books, classroom materials and a range of school programs and policies.

``We are witnessing a sophisticated, no-holds-barred assault on the public school, a cornerstone of every American community,'' said Arthur J. Kropp, president of People for the American Way.

Kropp released a report documenting 462 such challenges in 46 states during the 1993-94 school year. A year ago, the group found 347 attempts at censorship in 44 states.

The 1993-94 incidents ranged from trying to remove books from school libraries to pulling stories from student newspapers to firing or harassing educators.

But Tom Minnery, a vice president of the conservative Focus on the Family, said conservative Christian parents who object to certain school materials are not censors.

``These are simply concerned parents,'' Minnery said. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

CENSOR LIST

Books most frequently challenged by critics:

``Annie on My Mind,'' by Nancy Garden

``Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,'' by Alvin Schwartz

``I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,'' by Maya Angelou

``The Chocolate War,'' by Robert Cormier

``The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,'' by Mark Twain

``Of Mice and Men,'' by John Steinbeck

``Go Ask Alice,'' Anonymous

``More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,'' by Alvin Schwartz

``Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones,'' by Alvin

Schwartz

Source: People For the American Way)

by CNB