Central Bucks Schools Call Special Meeting For School Library Policy

DOYLESTOWN, PA — The Central Bucks Board of School Directors scheduled a special policy committee meeting on Thursday to discuss the district's library policy, more than two months after a heated debate among parents and students.

Some parents and community members want certain books, like Maia Kobabe's "Gender Queer," Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye," and George Matthew Johnson's "All Boys Aren't Blue" off of district shelves. Critics of these books say they are too violent, or too sexually explicit, for their children to potentially see.

Others say the books are a valuable resource and even a refuge for students, allowing them to process their own experiences and see themselves reflected in fiction.

• Related coverage: CB Students, Teachers Speak Against Book Banning Efforts

The policy meeting is Thursday at 6 p.m. at the district's educational services center at 16 Welden Drive, Doylestown. The district said there will be "up to one half-hour for Public Comment" and an hour for the meeting.

Specifically, the committee will review Policies 109.2 and 109.1 and discuss clarifying Policies 109 (regarding the libraries) and 119 (the Current Events policy).

As Patch's Kate Fishman reported, CB's district library policy states that a thorough weeding of materials also occurs at least once every five years, and that the inclusion of a book can be reassessed based on poor physical condition, outdated content, lack of accuracy, and lack of circulation.

A "Request For Reconsideration" form is available for those who have read a book in its entirety to fill out, if they believe it violates school collections policy and should not be included on Central Bucks shelves. Then, the Reconsideration Committee shall read a book in its entirety, consult professional reviews, examine and evaluate the material relative to the policy, and prepare and present a findings report within 60 days.

Should a complainant still have concerns after reading the committee's findings, they may appeal to the superintendent who will then enact a similar process. If the superintendent's findings are not satisfactory to them, they can formally appeal to the board.

A public debate over which books should be allowed in school libraries is nothing new in American history. People have pushed to keep classics like "To Kill a Mockingbird," "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," and "Fahrenheit 451" out of young hands for years.

Book banning efforts have swept the nation again recently, from New Jersey to Virginia. The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom publishes an annual list of the 10 most challenged books.