Promoting Wholesome Content for Students.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 2
HOUSE BILL 636
Committee Substitute Favorable 4/15/25

Short Title: Promoting Wholesome Content for Students. (Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:
April 2, 2025
*H636-v-2*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH PROCEDURES TO ENSURE THAT CONTENT THAT I S 2
HARMFUL TO MINORS IS NOT MADE AVAILABLE IN SCHOOLS AND TO 3
ESTABLISH A PRIVATE CAUSE OF ACTION FOR PARENTS, GUARDIANS, OR 4
RESIDENTS OF A COUNT Y AGAINST A PUBLIC S CHOOL UNIT THAT IS 5
VIOLATING THOSE PROCEDURES. 6
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 7
SECTION 1. G.S. 115C-12 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read: 8
"(50) Database of Rejected Library Media . – The State Board shall maintain a 9
database of all library media rejected by public school units pursuant to Part 10
7 of Article 7B of this Chapter. The State Board shall update this database 11
annually and make the database publicly available on a website maintained by 12
the Department of Public Instruction." 13
SECTION 2.(a) Article 7B of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by 14
adding a new Part to read: 15
"Part 7. Student Services. 16
"§ 115C-78. Library media. 17
(a) The following definitions apply in this section: 18
(1) Approval. – Approval for library media to be added to a school library and 19
retained in a school library. 20
(2) Community library advisory committee. – A committee established by the 21
governing body of a public school unit pursuant to subsect ion (d) of this 22
section. 23
(3) Library media. – Any media, excluding textbooks, for independent use by 24
students and school personnel and not used as part of the standard course of 25
study for any grade or course, whether held in a formal school library or in a 26
classroom. 27
(4) Media. – Any electronic, print, or non -print resources, including pictures, 28
drawings, video recordings, films or other visual depictions or representations, 29
as well as written words. 30
(5) Parent. – A parent or legal guardian. 31
(6) Rejected. – Any library media that is reviewed by a public school unit and not 32
met with approval. 33
(7) School library. – Any location within a school that contains library media. 34
(8) Sexual activity. – As defined in G.S. 14-190.13. 35
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 636-Second Edition
(b) Governing bodies of public schoo l units shall adopt a policy for the selection and 1
procurement of library media, including a recommendation review process. Approval of library 2
media shall be an ongoing process that includes the removal within one year of library media that 3
no longer meets the criteria for approval and the periodic replacement or repair of library media 4
still of educational value. This review shall include any library media that is donated to the public 5
school unit or a school within a public school unit. 6
(c) The policy adopted by the governing body of a public school unit pursuant to this 7
section shall meet the following requirements: 8
(1) The community library advisory committee shall identify library media to be 9
recommended for addition to a school library. 10
(2) The community library advisory committee shall review library media for 11
addition to a school library and determine whether the library media meets the 12
following criteria: 13
a. Supports and enriches students ' personal learning and the standard 14
course of study for grades and courses offered at the school where the 15
library media would be available. 16
b. Meets high standards in literary, artistic, and aesthetic quality, as well 17
as technical aspects and physical format. 18
c. Is appropriate for the age, grade level, intellectual development, and 19
ability level of the students that will have access to the library media. 20
Library media that is appropriate for the age, grade level, intellectual 21
development, and ability level is library media that is suitable for 22
particular ages or age groups of children and adolescents based on 23
developing cognitive, emotional, and behavioral capacity typical for 24
the age or age gro up. Library media is not appropriate for the age, 25
grade level, intellectual development, and ability level for any age or 26
age group of children if it includes descriptions or visual depictions of 27
sexual activity or is pervasively vulgar. 28
d. Balances financial cost with need. 29
e. Complies with the Children 's Internet Protect ion Act, 47 U.S.C. § 30
254(h)(5), including technology protection measures. 31
(3) The community library advisory committee shall submit recommendations to 32
the governing body of the public school unit for approval or denial. 33
(4) The governing body of the public school unit shall consider the recommended 34
library media at meetings of the body. While the library media is under review, 35
the governing body may request more information from the superintendent 36
about the library media or the author of the library media. Any member of the 37
governing body may make a motion to place recommended library media 38
before the body for approval. If no member makes a motion, then the library 39
media is not approved. Consideration of the recommended library media must 40
be completed within 60 days of the submission of the recommendation to the 41
governing body. 42
(5) When the community library advisory committee submits recommendations 43
to the governing body of the public school unit, all recommendations will be 44
placed on the public school unit's website and be accessible to the public. The 45
posting shall also include a form for submission of objections and instructions 46
for a parent, teacher, or resident of the county in which the public school unit 47
is located , to submit an objection to approval of the library media. The 48
submission must include information on how the library media fails to meet 49
the criteria for approval. 50
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 636-Second Edition Page 3
(6) If any library media receives 10 or more letters of objection from parents , 1
teachers, or residents of the county in which the public school unit is located, 2
which state with specificity how the library media fails to meet the criteria for 3
approval, the superintendent shall submit those letters of objection to the 4
community library advisory committee. The committee shall review any 5
challenges received and make recommendations to the governing body 6
concerning the challenged library media. This subdivision applies to library 7
media recommended to the governing body of the public school unit for 8
approval and to library media that has been approved and included in a school 9
library. 10
(d) The governing body of each public school unit shall establish a community library 11
advisory committee composed of 10 members selected by the superintendent. The superintendent 12
shall select five parents of students enrolled in the public school unit and five employees of the 13
governing body of the public school unit. The community library advisory committee shall do 14
all of the following related to library media: 15
(1) Identify, evaluate, and recommend library media for approval by the 16
governing body of the public school unit. 17
(2) Investigate, evaluate, and make recommendations to the governing body of 18
the public school unit regarding objections to library media from parents, 19
teachers, and residents of the county in which the public school unit is located. 20
(e) The governing body of the public school unit shall publish on a website that is 21
accessible to the public and make available to a parent or resident of the county in which the 22
public school unit is located any library media that has been approved by the governing body and 23
the criteria established pursuant to this section used to select or procure the library media. 24
(f) Prior to any school in a public school unit conducting or partnering with a third party 25
to conduct a student book fair, the community library advisory committee shall conduct a review 26
of all media that will be made available to students at the book fair to determine if the media 27
meets the criteria listed in subdivision (2) of subsection (c) of this section. It shall be the express 28
duty of the community library advisory committee to ensure that no media be accepted by the 29
school or made available to students at the book fair that does not comply with this section. 30
(g) The governing body of the public school unit shall maintain a database of all rejected 31
library media and report on the contents of that database to the State Board of Education annually 32
by June 30. 33
"§ 115C-78.5. Remedies for violations of this Part. 34
(a) Civil Remedies. – In addition to any other remedies or procedures provided by law, 35
for any violation of this Part, a parent, legal guardian , or resident of the county in which the 36
public school unit is located may bring a cause of action against the public school unit for any of 37
the following forms of relief: 38
(1) Declaratory relief. 39
(2) Injunctive relief. 40
(3) Damages of five thousand dollars ($5,000) per violation. 41
(4) Reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. 42
(5) Any other appropriate relief as determined by the court. 43
(b) Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies. – Prior to filing a legal challenge pursuant 44
to subsection (a) of this section, a parent, guardian, or resident of the county shall exhaust all 45
administrative remedies available pursuant to this Chapter." 46
SECTION 2.(b) For library media which was purchased by a public school unit prior 47
to this act becoming law, the governing body of the public school unit shall use the community 48
library advisory committee to investigate and evaluate challenges. The process for consideration 49
shall be identical to the processes established in subdivision (c)(6) of G.S. 115C-78, as enacted 50
by this act. 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 4 House Bill 636-Second Edition
SECTION 3. G.S. 115C-98 reads as rewritten: 1
"§ 115C -98. Local boards of education to provide for local operation of the textbook 2
program, the selection and procurement of other instructional materials, and the 3
use of nonadopted textbooks. 4
(a) Local boards of education shall adopt rules not inconsistent with the policies of the 5
State Board of Education concerning the local operation of the textbook program. 6
(b) Local boards of education shall adopt written policies concerning the procedures to 7
be followed in their local school administrative units for the selection and procurement of 8
supplementary textbooks, library books, periodicals, audiov isual materials, and other 9
supplementary instructional materials needed for instructional purposes in the public schools of 10
their units. 11
Local boards of education shall have sole authority to select and procure supplementary 12
instructional materials, whether or not the materials contain commercial advertising, to determine 13
if the materials are related to and within the limits of the prescribed curriculum, and to determine 14
when the materials may be presented to students during the school day. Supplementary materials 15
and contracts for supplementary materials are not subject to approval by the State Board of 16
Education. 17
Supplementary books and other instructional materials shall neither displace nor be used to 18
the exclusion of basic textbooks. 19
… 20
(d) This section does not apply to library media, as defined in G.S. 115C-78." 21
SECTION 4. This act is effective when it becomes law. 22