Orange County elementary school bans ‘13 Reasons Why’ from campus

Administrators at Stone Lakes Elementary School have told parents that, “13 Reasons Why,” a book that has been turned into a popular series on Netflix, will not be allowed on campus.

The book, as well as the TV series, centers around a high school student who commits suicide and leaves behind cassette tapes to explain the 13 reasons why she killed herself.

Psychologist Deborah O. Day said elementary school students are too young to grasp some of the concepts in “13 Reasons Why.”

“Kids don’t have a realistic understanding of what suicide really means,” she said. “Death and forever. And sometimes it’s glamorized.”

The principal of Stone Lakes Elementary School sent an email to parents about the book, saying, "Besides depicting the suicide itself in a somewhat graphic nature, there is frequent use of profanity, alcohol and sexually explicit material (both in the book and the TV show)."

It’s not just “13 Reasons Why” – any book labeled “Mature Teen” is not welcome on an elementary school campus, Orange County Public Schools officials said.

Parent Sharon Espinoza has seen the TV series and was glad to know the school would not allow the book it’s based on to be on campus.

“The graphic nature of the information is just not for fifth graders,” she said.