From the Bucks County Courier Times
Central Bucks approves library policy some view as book ban
Despite objections from teachers, parents and staff, and a legal threat from ACLU over free speech concerns, Central Bucks School District will move ahead with a controversial library policy giving residents the ability to challenge books available in schools.
A 6-3 school board vote Tuesday night enacted Library Policy 109.2. Opponents say the policy is a de facto book ban for materials related to the LGBTQ community and people of color, while supporters say it ensures access to age-appropriate material that falls in line with the district’s educational goals.
Board directors Karen Smith, Tabitha Dell'Angelo and Dr. Mariam Mahmud were the dissenting votes that followed hours of sometimes heated public comment from almost 30 community members. Only a small few voiced support for the policy.
Any official challenges to books will have to wait until the board votes at a later meeting on how the policy will be implemented through the district.
The policy sets criteria for the selection, removal and replacement of books. School officials said it doesn’t seek to censor any particular community, pointing to safeguards like a protection for “classics” and replacing removed books with new ones that touch on similar subject matter but without age-inappropriate content.
The policy has been lambasted over the course of several board and committee meetings since the library policy first started appearing on meeting agendas in early 2022.
Any resident living in the school district could challenge a book in one of its libraries, giving what an ACLU representative in May was “unlimited” discretion for people to go after books they don’t like and poses serious free speech concerns.
Other organizations, like the Education Law Center in Pennsylvania and the National Coalition Against Censorship, have also called the policy a pathway to book banning.
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