A Georgia mother of four Gwinnett County elementary-school students has lost her third attempt to get the Harry Potter series banned from the county schools’ libraries and classrooms. The Georgia Board of Education ruled December 14 that Laura Mallory had failed to prove her contention that the series “promote[s] the Wicca religion,” and therefore that the books’ availability in public schools does not constitute state-sponsored advocacy of a religion.

William Bradley Bryant, vice chairman for appeals at the Georgia Board of Education, wrote in a four-page decision that the only evidence presented by complainant Laura Mallory at her previous appeal to the county school board in May “consisted of unverified hearsay that she obtained from the internet.” Bryant went on to say that, despite testimony to the county school board “that claimed the books caused a child to engage in witchcraft and that the books instilled a fear response in children . . . the hearing officer found, these were only ‘cause-and-effect assumptions’ that failed to establish that the behavior would not have occurred but for the Harry Potter books.”

Mallory, however, remains adamant that the series is an evil influence on youngsters. “It’s mainstreaming witchcraft in a subtle and deceptive manner, in a children-friendly format,” she said in a December 14 Associated Press report. She added that she is unsure whether she will appeal to the Gwinnett Superior Court, although she acknowledged having already contacted an expert witness just in case. Regardless of winning a subsequent appeal, Mallory asserted that “If even one parent or one child has looked into this more closely, it’s worth it.”

Posted December 15, 2006.