Books coming to your child's school library? Not until you have a chance to weigh in

Curating school libraries — a job previously left to media specialists and other school staff — will soon involve everyone in the community.

Under a forthcoming change to district policy, Palm Beach County schools will hold off on purchasing books or accepting donations until the public has had a chance to review and dispute any new additions to campus libraries or student reading lists.

The policy, which is up for a vote by the school board on Nov. 30, is meant to align the district with a new state law, which requires input from “community stakeholders” before schools can add books to their collections.

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While the legislation offered no information on what constitutes a “stakeholder,” district leaders shared their interpretation on Wednesday evening, when they presented the upcoming policy change to school board members.

“This process is open for any of our community members, any stakeholders, to provide feedback on items that we’re considering purchasing,” said Glenda Sheffield, the district’s chief academic officer.

Which books are affected by the new policy?

Historically, the Palm Beach County School District entrusted teachers, administrators and library media specialists with the selection of library books and reading lists.

School libraries usually offer books as optional reading for students, which are separate from textbooks and other required “instructional materials." And reading lists can either be optional or assigned.

Under the new law and the updates to district policy, only school district employees with a “valid educational media specialist certificate” can select those books. Such certifications require a bachelor's degree and specific courses in educational media or library science.

And anyone in the community will have an opportunity to question their book selections, possibly derailing their inclusion on library shelves or reading lists.

The school district’s draft policy states that purchases and donations from book fairs will go on hold for 72 hours to allow for community input.

All other book purchases and donations will go into limbo for two weeks.

How will the process work?

According to the draft policy, community members will find new book selections by visiting the district website, palmbeachschools.org, before clicking on the “Students & Parents” tab and then navigating to the “School Library Media Center Resources” link.

There, anyone will have a chance to review pending book orders or donations, and to submit questions or feedback by emailing librarymediaservices@palmbeachschools.org.

The district also will send notices to its Academic Advisory Committee whenever new books are being considered, soliciting further questions and input.

School board member says policy not expansive enough

During the school board’s workshop Wednesday afternoon, Chairman Frank Barbieri said the policy wasn’t enough to protect the district from repercussions under Florida’s new laws.

Lessons on gender identity or sexual orientation are now banned in grades K-3, and the same topics will soon be outlawed among older students if the lesson is not “age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate." 

The state’s newest laws also affect instruction on history and racial injustice, prohibiting lessons that make students believe they “must feel guilt, anguish, or other forms of psychological distress” for actions committed in the past, or conversations that link privilege and oppression to one’s race or sex.

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The district, Barbieri said, also should instruct teachers to submit an inventory of every book in their classrooms, ensuring a thorough review and compliance with Florida’s new laws.

“That needs to be part of this policy because we have thousands and thousands of books that are in classrooms that are never going to be on any list anywhere for the parents to see,” he continued.

In response, Superintendent Mike Burke and fellow board members pushed back, arguing that Barbieri's proposal might further burden school staff, and that teachers already carried out a thorough review of classroom books.

Starting in late May, the district offered teachers guidance on what to look out for in their own classroom libraries and how to turn over any books that they believe might violate Florida law, making way for a review by certified media specialists.

“I trust the teachers to know what should be in the classroom library and not,” board member Debra Robinson said. “These changes in the law have gotten a lot of attention. Teachers have gotten memos.”

What happens next?

The school board is expected to again discuss the updated policy on library books and public input during an Oct. 12 meeting, before the final vote in November.

Meanwhile, teachers and other district staff will continue using a checklist created by the school district to flag books that might violate Florida’s new laws.

Books and other learning materials have to be reviewed by a media specialist if someone answers “Yes” or “Unsure” to any of the following checklist questions:

• The resource explicitly instructs on sexual orientation or gender identity and is accessible to students in grades K-3.

• The resource explicitly instructs on sexual orientation or gender identity, is for students beyond grade 3, but is identified for a potential concern regarding age or developmental appropriateness.

• The resource promotes, compels or encourages a student to believe certain concepts (listed in a different document).

• The resource is from the 1619 Project and/or quotes or references the 1619 Project.

• The resource proposes that racism is currently embedded in American society and its legal systems in order to uphold the supremacy of white people.

• The resource denies or minimizes the Holocaust.

After recent reviews, at least 15 books in the school district are now restricted to grades four and above. Most of the books, if not all, include stories about gender identity or sexual orientation.

And a single book, “The 1619 Project: Born on the Water,” is allowed to remain in school libraries only for optional student reading, not for classroom instruction.

More book reviews and restrictions are possible at the start of 2023, when the state Education Department defines what constitutes “age appropriate” or “developmentally appropriate” lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity for grades 4-12.

Until then, the law on LGBTQ+ instruction is in effect only for grades K-3.

Giuseppe Sabella is an education reporter at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at gsabella@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism and subscribe today. 

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: School library book purchases, donations will be open for public input