Book Criteria Criticized In Proposed Central Bucks Library Policy

DOYLESTOWN, PA — At a special meeting Thursday, Central Bucks teachers, librarians, and parents criticized a proposed set of district policies covering library material and supplemental classroom resources.

These policies, they say, are unclear and could limit what they teach and put on shelves. The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania said the proposed policies create "an expressway to censorship."

The Central Bucks School District Board of Directors called the meeting to allow public comment on the policies and begin hashing out specifics.

Board President Dana Hunter began the meeting by explaining "how we got here." Hunter said that, several months ago, a Central Bucks parent had a concern about a library book.

"We did not have a policy in place to deal with any challenge or issue with a book," she said.

A previous policy was in place from 2012-2018, but there isn't currently a clear process for parents, she said.

"There is ample time to continue this discussion," Hunter said. "Nothing is being decided or voted on this evening."

Thursday night, board members started to iron out some parts of the policies that they felt were unclear or unnecessary. All but two board members were present.

The district no longer streams committee meetings online; a group of CB community members provides video of meetings on Facebook.

Board members had four items to discuss, and gave themselves an hour to do so. With this limit, the committee did not have time to address some sections. One of the sections they didn't get to is "Avoiding Inappropriate Material" in proposed Policy 109.2. This would remove books with "explicit written descriptions" or any visual depiction of sexual acts from all CBSD libraries.

In other sections of 109.2, board members wanted to make it clear that they don't have express power to approve or remove books from school libraries.

Related: Central Bucks Library Policy Would Remove Books With Sexual Content

Seven residents, including teachers and librarians, questioned various pieces of the policies during the half-hour public comment section.

Teacher Scott Felton was concerned that under Policy 119, he would have to get permission to speak to his students about things like Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Another teacher was concerned that she would have to upload binders full of supplemental classroom material to the district website for approval.

Board members clarified that the proposed policies do not stop teachers from talking about current events in class, or make them upload all their supplementary material online.

Some people who spoke were concerned that Policy 109.2 would lead to classics such as "Romeo and Juliet" or "The Odyssey" being taken out. Board members pointed out there is a line in 109.2 that says "a wide range of recognized classics should be maintained in each library."

The committee moved the draft of Policy 119 to first reading, meaning it is eligible for them to discuss and potentially vote on next meeting. Anything the committee approves would then have to be approved by the full Board of Directors, before it is official.

The board is also considering re-adopting Policy 109.1, or rather an updated version of it. This covers age-appropriate standards for textbooks and resource materials. Time ran out before board members got into the meat of this section Thursday.

The next policy meeting is June 15 at 6 p.m.