Library Materials Policy On The Agenda At Central Bucks Meeting

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. ? The Central Bucks School District is defending its plans to approve an updated library materials policy and denies allegations that it?s a book ban.

The board is scheduled to vote on the updated library materials policy at its Tuesday evening, July 26 meeting. The meeting begins at 7 p.m.

The proposed policy has been a lightning rod at recent school board meeting with a vocal group of students, parents and community members blasting it as a "book ban" and saying it is designed to "exclude materials that that might well meet the information needs of students" and "restrict books based on a very vague description of sexual content."

In a message posted to the school district?s website by Superintendent Dr. Abram M. Lucabaugh and board president Dana Hunter, the school district leaders said the proposed updated library policy is part of the district?s ongoing review of its policies.

?A major mischaracterization of the proposed library policy is that it?s a book ban. That is unequivocally untrue,? said Lucabaugh and Hunter. ?The policy is intended to prioritize materials that support and enrich curriculum and/or students? personal interests and learning.?

According to the policy, books should be appropriate for the subject area and for the age, intellectual development and ability level of the students for whom the material is selected. The policy also states that non-fiction resources should incorporate accurate and authentic factual content.

?One of the policy?s misinterpretations is that the proposed language means that books with sexual content of any kind would be at risk of removal from library shelves. That is not the case,? said Lucabaugh and Hunter.

Books like ?The Bluest Eye? by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, which chronicles the real-life horror of racism and sexual abuse, belong in the district?s school libraries at an age-appropriate level, said Lucabaugh and Hunter. So do the classics like ?The Scarlet Letter? or an
illustrated reference book about anatomy.

With that said, Lucabaugh and Hunter said there are books that contain salacious, gratuitous, graphic, explicit sexual content with no literary or educational applications. ?Those do not belong in school libraries,? the district leaders said.

Another misinterpretation is that the new policy has been crafted to remove books from libraries. That is untrue, said Lucabaugh and Hunter.

They said the policy is about creating processes for acquiring new books and for giving parents an avenue to ?challenge? a book they would prefer their child/children not read.

Under the policy, if a parent challenges a book, it will go through a review process stewarded by district educators, librarians and administrators. If the educator-led review process finds that the challenged book should not remain in the library, the policy guidelines stipulate that another
book on the same subject matter must replace it.

?One other misinterpretation is that the board is seeking to play a central role in selecting library books. That is also not true,? said Lucabaugh and Hunter.

According to the policy, professional educators and administrators will create and manage the process to bring new books in and to review books that parents challenge; educators will have the final say on library materials based on standards established for elementary, middle and high
schools. ?They are the professionals who deserve the space, trust, and respect to do their jobs,? said Lucabaugh and Hunter.

?There are always many sides to any issue. That?s the basis of civic discourse,? they said. ?Constructive discussion, grounded by the facts, is the process through which policies like this are developed and refined. Conversely, narratives driven by misinformation and inaccurate
assumptions are a disservice to our community.

?Through our actions now, we have the chance to model for students a productive, inclusive and respectful way of engaging with one another as we build a path forward together for our district,? said Lucabaugh and Hunter.

They said the Board, alongside administration, faculty and staff, would begin its work in all cases with the premise that every student in Central Bucks Schools deserves to be seen, heard, cared for, included, accepted, respected, loved and, most especially, educated. ?Our students also deserve access to the great diversity of ideas that are part of the human experience,? they said.

?That is a tremendous responsibility ? one that we deeply embrace and share with the parents of the district, and one that extends to our school libraries,? said Lucabaugh and Hunter.

Policy opponents said despite the fact that overwhelming concerns voiced by parents, students, teachers, librarians, PA School Library Association, Education Law Center, and the Pennsylvania ACLU over the last six months, and despite nearly 3,000 signatures accrued on a petition opposing the policy, the board majority is expected to pass Policy 109.2 on July 26.

Once passed, they say the Central Bucks School District will be home to the likely most restrictive library policy in the state. "This is especially alarming, given that between July 2021 and March 2022, Pennsylvania?s school districts have collectively banned 456 individual books, second only to Texas (713 books) and trailed by Florida (204 books)," they said.

Policy 109.2, said opponents, is part of the national conversation on book bans unprecedented in its scale, due to the ?proliferation of organized groups trying to remove whole lists of books at once in multiple school districts across a growing number of states.?

These censorship efforts, they said, have been buoyed by ?educational gag orders? passed by state legislatures and intended to constrain educators? ability to teach and discuss topics of race, gender, and history.