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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 331 1
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE THOMAS.
7037H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o repeal section 168.770, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof two new sections relating to
school libraries.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 168.770, RSMo, is repealed and two new sections enacted in lieu
2 thereof, to be known as sections 168.770 and 168.771, to read as follows:
168.770. 1. For purposes of this section, the following terms mean:
2 (1) "School librarian", a teacher who holds a certificate of license to teach under
3 section 168.021 and is certified as a library media specialist by the department of elementary
4 and secondary education;
5 (2) "School library information and technology program", a school-based program
6 that is staff ed by a school librarian and that :
7 (a) Provides a broad, flexible array of services, resources, and instruction that support
8 student mastery of the essential academic learning requirements and state standards in all
9 subject areas ;
10 (b) Pr omotes the free dom to r ead;
11 (c) Respects the identity of students;
12 (d) Pr ovides opportunities for students to read and learn independently; and
13 (e) Supports the implementation of any school improvement plan of the district ;
14 (3) "Standards", the most curren t version of the Missouri school library
15 pr ogram standards appr oved by the Missouri Association of School Librarians to
16 pr omote effective school library prog rams and that shall be adopted by a school district .
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
17 2. Before July 1, 2019, the department of elementary and secondary education shall
18 develop a process for recognition of a district's school library information and technology
19 program.
20 3. The department of elementary and secondary education may promulgate rules to
21 implement the provisions of this section. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined
22 in section 536.010, that is created under the authority delegated in this section shall become
23 ef fective only if it complies with and is subject to all of the provisions of chapter 536 and, if
24 applicable, section 536.028. This section and chapter 536 are nonseverable, and if any of the
25 powers vested with the general assembly pursuant to chapter 536 to review , to delay the
26 ef fective date, or to disapprove and annul a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional, then
27 the grant of rulemaking authority and any rule proposed or adopted after August 28, 2018,
28 shall be invalid and void.
168.771. 1. The school board of each school district shall adopt a collection
2 development and maintenance policy , a library pr ogram and display policy , and a
3 library material r eview and recon sideration policy ensuring that all library res ources
4 ar e evaluated and made accessible in accordance with the following standards:
5 (1) That the library res ources are in compliance with the First Amendment of
6 the Constitution of the United States as set forth in Board of Education, Island T rees
7 Union Free School District No. 26 v . Pico, 457 U.S. 853 (1982), and Article I, Section 8 of
8 the Constitution of Missouri concerning the fr eedom of speech;
9 (2) That school libraries ar e places for voluntary inquiry and the dissemination
10 of information and ideas;
11 (3) That ther e ar e pro tections against harassment and discrimination including,
12 but not limited to, discrimination based on race, color , sex, gender identity , r eligion,
13 national origin, sexual orientation, or disability; and
14 (4) That ther e is support for academic standards including, but not limited to,
15 the Missouri learning standards and the most curr ent Missouri school library pr ogram
16 standards appr oved by the Missouri Association of School Librarians to pro mote
17 effective school library progr ams.
18 2. (1) Except as otherwise pro vided, a school board of each school district may
19 r emove a library r esource fr om its permanent collection only if the library r esource has
20 been rev iewed in accordance with an established policy for the r econsideration and the
21 school district:
22 (a) Acknowledges that the school library is intended to pro mote fre e expr ession
23 and fr ee access to ideas by students, and censorship of library and other educational
24 material is not in the general inter est of students;
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25 (b) Pr oscribes library r esources fr om being rem oved fro m the school library for
26 doctrinal or partisan reas ons, or because of the origin, backgro und, or viewpoints
27 expr essed by the author;
28 (c) Allows a complaint regard ing library r esources to be made only by a student,
29 staff member , or par ent or guardian of a student of the particular school;
30 (d) Require s that any challenged library res our ce rem ains within the school
31 library and be available for a student to res erve, check out, or access until ther e is a final
32 decision reach ed by the review committee;
33 (e) Requires a rev iew committee, which includes at a minimum, one principal at
34 the appr opriate grade level, one librarian or media specialist, one classr oom teacher , the
35 department head in the subject area of the challenged material, and one community
36 member , to:
37 a. Evaluate the requ est for r econsideration and r emoval;
38 b. Read the challenged library res our ce in its entiret y; and
39 c. Make a recomm endation on whether to r emove the res ourc e within sixty
40 school days fr om the date of rece iving the r equest;
41 (f) Pr escribes that the complainant may appeal the review committee's decision
42 to the school board of a school district. The school board shall pr ovide a written
43 statement of reas ons for the rem oval or nonr emoval of a library res ource and any final
44 determination that is contrary to the recomm endations of the r eview committee; and
45 (g) Allows that once a decision has been made by the r eview committee, the
46 library res our ce cannot be subject to a new r eview for a period of four years.
47 (2) Displays and prog rams shall not be limited, pr oscribed, or censor ed for
48 doctrinal or partisan r easons or because of the origin, backgrou nd, or viewpoints
49 expr essed.
50 (3) Notwithstanding any pr ovision of law , a written r equest for reconsid eration
51 of a library res our ce is not consider ed student data as described in section 161.096 and is
52 subject to public scrutiny .
53 3. Nothing in this section pr ecludes any person res ponsible for school library
54 content fr om rem oving res our ces that have become outdated or to accommodate new
55 materials, pro vided that the decision is not made based on personal, political, or
56 doctrinal views.
57 4. No school library staff member shall be subject to termination, demotion,
58 discipline, or r etaliation for ref using to re move a library res our ce before it has been
59 r eviewed in accordance with the applicable school board's policy for the reconsid eration
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60 of library r esources or for making displays, acquisitions, or pro gramming decisions that
61 ar e made in good faith and in accordance with the standards under this section.
✔
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