BOOK ISSUE ISN'T SETTLED YET

We likely haven't heard the end of a federal judge's ruling that a book by Rush Limbaugh could be temporarily banned from a fourth-grade classroom at Montvale Elementary School In Virginia. The judge didn't really rule on the heart of the issue -- freedom of speech -- but declined to issue a temporary restraining order against a teacher who took the book from a student, saying only four days were left in the school year and such an order would do little good.

A 9-year-old took Limbaugh's "The Way Things Ought To Be" to school. A teacher confiscated the book during a reading period after noting a chapter titled "Condom-Bungee Jumping, the New Diploma," and the school agreed with his action.

The boy's father argued that the school violated his son's right to free speech and interfered with his right as a parent to determine what his child may read. The teacher and school district felt it was inappropriate for a fourth-grader to be reading about condoms as a way to prevent the spread of disease. The judge had the boy read from the book and agreed with the teacher and school district that the material was above his comprehension.

Teachers are entrusted with the care of children, and that includes their reading material at school. If parents don't object to 9-year-olds reading such material, let them do it at home. Most parents would object strongly to teaching about such things in a fourth-grade classroom.