Ban on Dictionary with Oral Sex Lifted
A Riverside County school district that pulled a dictionary from classrooms because it defined oral sex will allow it back on the shelves.
A committee of parents, teachers and administrators decided on Tuesday to permit fourth- and fifth-graders at Oak Meadows Elementary School to use Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.
However, parents can opt to have their kids use an alternative dictionary.
The district, which has 9,000 students, pulled the reference book last week after a parent complained about a child stumbling across the oral sex definition. That led to cries of censorship.
The definition listed on Merriam-Webster's Web site is "oral stimulation of the genitals."
District policy called for setting up a committee to determine if the book was age-appropriate.
Menifee is about 80 miles southeast of Los Angeles.