Editor’s note: This editorial has been corrected to reflect the correct name of the middle school.

What books students are asked to read in school can put parents on edge. The Bend-La Pine Schools is reviewing its policy on teaching controversial subjects in part because of a book. Language arts teachers at High Desert Middle School have had students read “Ghost Boys” by Jewell Parker Rhodes.

The book begins with Jerome dead. He’s a 12-year-old Black boy shot by a policeman in Chicago. By mistake. He had a toy gun. Jerome follows the aftermath of his death as a ghost. He meets the ghost of Emmett Till, a Black boy killed in 1955, and more ghost boys. We’d argue the hope of the book is that skin color won’t matter. “Only friendship. Kindness. Understanding,” as it says. It’s a compelling book, brimming with relevance.

Some parents in Bend protested its choice. It’s gotten attention elsewhere, as well. The book “is propaganda that pushes an inaccurate and absurd stereotype of police officers in America.” That is from a letter from Paul Kempinski, the district director for Florida State Fraternal Order of Police District 5, to the Broward County School Board. The Broward County School Board temporarily pulled the book earlier this year.

The book does not attempt to give deep insights into police officers making fast and sometimes fatal decisions. The ghosts in the book are more substantial than any effort to reveal more about the police officer who shot Jerome. So if there is no attempt in a class to think critically about what the book says and what it doesn’t say and to question some of the facts stated, well then that would not be a very good teacher.

We’d still argue the book is more nuanced than Kempinski and others give it credit for. Read the book before passing judgment based on our summary or anything you can find about it posted online. (If you don’t want to buy it, it’s available at the public library.)

Without question “Ghost Boys” explores sensitive, controversial subjects. It will make students think. With good leadership in the classroom, reading it could be a powerful educational exercise.

Some parents may vehemently disagree. That’s why the district is reviewing its policy. It wants a clear procedure to describe how such supplemental materials are selected. It wants a clear policy to describe how parents can opt out their child and how an alternative will be incorporated for them.

If you have thoughts about how Bend-La Pine Schools should structure its policies about teaching controversial subjects, you may want to talk to a teacher or principal first. You can also email the school board at school-board@bend.k12.or.us.