By Debra Bradley, Esq.
This week, both the Senate and General Assembly held voting sessions. On October 28th, final approval was given to S-2421/A-3446, the Freedom to Read Act which recognizes that the freedom to read is a human right, constitutionally protected by the First Amendment. In furtherance of that right, the bill requires local boards of education and public libraries to adopt policies on the curation of library materials that establish criteria for the potential removal of library materials and provide protection against censorship of library material. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 24-15 with one not voting. The Assembly passed the bill with a vote of 53-20 with 6 no votes and one abstention. The bill now proceeds to the Governor’s desk for consideration.
Bill Provisions
- Mandatory Board Policy
S-2421/A-3441 requires a local board of education to adopt a policy on the curation of material in a school library that includes the following mandatory components based upon a model policy to be developed by the Commissioner of Education:
- A recognition that library material should reflect the interests, information and enlightenment of all students and present diverse viewpoints in the collection as a whole;
- An acknowledgement that library materials shall not be removed because of origin, background, or viewpoint;
- A prohibition against censorship;
- An acknowledgement that school library media specialists are professionally trained to curate school library materials;
- An established procedure for the ongoing review of library materials by the school library staff member on issues of relevance, condition, duplication, currency, developmental appropriateness and student demand; and
- An established procedure, including the creation of a “request for removal” form, which allows “individuals with a vested interest” (parent/guardian of a student in the district, student, teaching staff member) to initiate a review of a library material, specifying the sections of the material(s) and the reasons for the objection.
If a board of education has a policy that includes these components, there is no other action that the board must take.
If a board does not have such a policy, it must adopt one or modify its current policy to include all mandatory components.
The bill further recognizes a board’s discretion to select, purchase and acquire materials for its school libraries and its authority to select textbooks and school supplies related to the curriculum.
- Processing the Removal Request – Uniform Approach
The legislation provides that once a request for removal form (developed by the NJDOE) has been filed, the principal must forward any request to the superintendent, who will appoint a review committee consisting of the following: The superintendent (or designee), the principal of the school (or designee), the school library media specialist or a school library staff member, a representative selected by the board of education, at least one grade-appropriate teacher familiar with the material and a parent or guardian of a student enrolled in the district that did not file the removal request.
At the discretion of the superintendent, and in consultation with the school principal, a student in grades 9-12 may volunteer to serve on the review committee where another student enrolled in the district in grades nine through 12 filed the removal form.
During the pendency of the review, the bill requires that the challenged material remain within the library until there is a final decision reached by the board of education on whether to remove it. The Review Committee has 60 school days from the date of the next regularly scheduled board meeting after receipt of the the form to make a final written decision on the inclusion or exclusion of the library material to the board of education. The board will then review the committee’s report and make a final written decision which must be posted on the board’s website within 30 days of the determination.
The legislation also contains key limitations to avoid outside the district challenges, recurring requests and duplicative requests for review of a library material. These include:
- Any library material challenged under policy may not be subject to a subsequent challenge for at least one year.
- Districts will also be permitted to consolidate requests for removal of the same material.
- Removal requests may be submitted by any of the following individuals deemed to have a “vested interest” in the school: a teacher, a parent/guardian of a student, or an enrolled student.
- The form shall require the requestor to specify which sections of the material the individual objects to and an explanation of the reasons for the objection.
Other Provisions
The bill prohibits a board of education from engaging in censorship or from removing material because of the origin, background or views of the material. Students will be granted the right to check out any developmentally appropriate material. In addition, school library staff will be granted civil and criminal immunity, so long as they perform their duties in good faith.
If Governor Murphy signs the legislation, it will take effect one year after the date the Governor signs the bill into law. NJPSA was able to obtain significant amendments to this legislation during the legislative process and supported the current version of the bill.
Additional Legislation Advances
The NJ Senate Voted on the Following Bills:
S-2355 – Requires school districts to provide instruction on the history of Latinos and Hispanics as part of the implementation of the NJ Student Learning Standards.
Passed the Senate (40-0) and proceeds to the General Assembly for committee review.
S-1067 – “Right to Mental Health for Individuals who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing Act,” – establishes certain requirements concerning the provision of mental health services to individuals with hearing or deafness issues. Passed the Senate (40-0) and proceeds to the Assembly Appropriations Committee for consideration.
S-2498 – Requires Commissioner of Education to establish and maintain an educator common application and web portal. NJPSA supports this bill which will assist NJPSA members in the hiring process, including the hiring of substitute teachers. The bill passed the Senate (40-0) and is referred to the Assembly Education Committee for consideration.
S-3057 – The Senate passed this legislation (40-0) which requires the NJ Department of Health to develop informational materials on type 1 diabetes and the NJDOE to distribute the materials to parents and guardians of enrolled students.
SJR-76 – This resolution designates the second Friday in December of each year as Paraprofessionals in Our Schools Day to recognize the contributions of paraprofessionals and school related personnel.
The NJ General Assembly Voted on the Following Bills:
A-1997– This legislation requires the NJDOE to establish a central registry of individuals and organizations interested in providing supplemental tutoring services. The Assembly passed the bill (77-0, 3 non voters). It heads to the Senate Education Committee.
For further information, contact your Government Relations Team!