Wilson County Schools has removed about 425 books from its libraries to comply with new state law that went into effect July 1 prohibiting books and materials with references to sex and violence in public school libraries, according to a new report.
The district listed the titles that have been removed ahead of Thursday’s school board meeting as part of Director of Schools Jeff Luttrell’s regular report to the board.
The state legislature’s changes to amend the Age-Appropriate Materials Act of 2022 went into effect on July 1.
The new legislation meant that books and materials would need to be crosschecked with media specialists and library staff, according to Wilson County Schools Public Information Officer Bart Barker.
“This is an ongoing process,” Barker said as librarians continue to meet regularly “to get a collective opinion,” about book titles that should be pulled from schools based on the law.
The Dr. Seuss children’s book “Wacky Wednesday” is one of five books that had been removed from elementary school shelves, according to the list. Thirty-seven of the books were from middle school grades and more than 380 titles were from high schools, according to the list.
Author Sarah J. Mass had 14 titles removed, and Ellen Hopkins had 10. Seven Stephen King titles were removed, including “The Green Mile.”
Books that are removed are being stored at the district’s central office, Barker said.
The legislation prohibits materials containing nudity or describes or depicts sexual excitement, sexual conduct, excess violence or sadomasochistic abuse, according to state obscenity laws. It also mandates material that “appeals to the “prurient interest” should not be considered appropriate for school-age students.
Age-appropriate books have been controversial in Wilson County.
The Wilson County School Board started getting a steady stream of requests to review specific book titles under consideration for removal in 2022 leading up to the new legislation.
The new law requires each local board of education and public charter school governing body to adopt a policy to establish procedures for the development and review of school library collections.
What are other districts doing?
Rutherford County Schools has also addressed the new legislation with a policy that says materials found in violation are to be removed and periodic reviews of library content should take place.
And the Williamson County School Board approved a policy in June that says school librarians are responsible for materials at their school’s library and should ensure compliance with state law.
Metro Nashville Public Schools believes it already had “robust review mechanisms and parent feedback policies in place for our libraries for several years, and in reviewing the new law we do not see a need to significantly change the operation of our libraries,” said district spokesperson Sean Braisted.
“The Board of Education has updated the library policy to reflect the passage of the new law and we are reviewing our procedures for compliance.”
Reach Andy Humbles at [email protected] and on X, formerly known as Twitter @ AndyHumbles.
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