Mahwah Schools Restrict Student Access to Reading Materials

Parents crowded the November 1 Mahwah Board of Education meeting to oppose an unprecedented and unpopular decision which restricts the ability of Mahwah’s youngest readers to check out books from their school libraries. They were joined by librarians, teachers, social workers, educators, and representatives of the American Library Association, the New Jersey Association of School Librarians, and the New Jersey Library Association, who echoed the parents’ call to reverse the new rule.

Students at Lenape Meadows, George Washington, and Betsy Ross and Joyce Kilmer are no longer able to check out books during weekly library visits. Already, the impact has been staggering. Book circulation is down dramatically, with projections that children will borrow tens of thousands fewer books during the 2018-19 school year. And the children themselves are not happy. Parents report children feeling sad, disrespected, and confused. Advocates agree that this sends the wrong message about the library and the importance of reading as a daily practice.

A group of parents expressed their concern to the Board earlier in the school year and their ranks have expanded within and beyond Mahwah Township. The new rule is “inconsistent with the district’s goal of providing a robust learning environment for all students,” according to the New Jersey Library Association. “It “creates a perception that the library is a place that discourages exploration, curiosity, and enthusiasm for reading,” and “classroom libraries simply cannot offer the depth and breadth of resources that will serve all learners,” according to the American Library Association representative. parents recounted how their children have been denied book checkouts and have become disheartened as a result.

Local advocates now have room for hope. At the November 1 board meeting, some members of the Board of Education suggested that they would like the restrictive book policy to be revisited. The growing group of parents and their supporters will attend the November 14 Board of Education meeting--and every meeting thereafter, as long as necessary, they proclaim--to ensure that board members do just that. We urge the superintendent of Mahwah Public Schools to reverse this decision and for all concerned parties to join us in attending every Board of Education meeting until the right of our children to check out books from their school library each and every week is restored.