Official Summary Text
Pursuant to the "
Age-Appropriate Materials Act of 2022
," present law requires
local board
s
of education and
the
governing bod
ies of
public charter school
s
to adopt policies and procedures to review m
aterials in
school
library collection
s.
Materials must be suitable for the age and maturity levels of the students who may access the
m,
and must be suitable for, and consistent with, the educational mission of the school.
Each school
must
maintain a list of the materials in the school's library collection
and
post
it
on the school's website.
CLASSROOM LIBRARIES
This bill creates a differentiation between a school's library collection and a c
lassroom library
. A classroom library includes
materials donated to, purchased by, or acquired by an individual teacher,
and
made available in the teacher's
students in the
classroom
. A l
ibrary collection
includes
materials made available to students by a school, but does not include materials made available to students as part of a course curriculum or as part of a classroom library
.
This bill requires that the materials in a classroom library meet the suitability standards as a library collection
.
However, a school would not need to
maintain a list of the materials in the
c
lassroom library
or
include it in the list posted
on the school's website
, as is required for the school's library collection.
POLICIES TO REVIEW SCHOOL LIBRARIES
Present law requires e
ach local board of education and public charter school governing body
to
adopt a policy for developing and reviewing school library collections.
The policy must include
all of the following
:
A procedure for the development of a library collection at each school that is appropriate for the age and maturity level of the students who may access the materials, and that is suitable for, and consistent with, the educational mission of the school
.
A procedure for the local board of education or public charter school governing body to receive and evaluate feedback from a student, a student's parent or guardian, or a school employee regarding the materials in the library collection of the student's or employee's school
.
A procedure to periodically review the library collection at each school to ensure that the school's library collection contains materials appropriate for the age and maturity level of the students who may access the materials, and that are suitable for, and consistent with, the educational mission of the school.
This bill requires the above policy requirements cover both
library collections and classroom libraries.
This bill adds to the list of policy requirements all of the following:
A procedure for teachers, or for parents and legal guardians of students with access to a classroom library, to review and refer materials in a teacher's classroom library for review and evaluation consistent with this
bill.
A procedure to ensure that parents and legal guardians of students with access to a classroom library have multiple opportunities throughout the school year to view the books in their student's classroom libraries
.
A provision prohibiting teachers from knowingly or intentionally circumventing the LEA's or public charter school's library collection policy through the teacher's classroom library, such as including materials that have been found by the local board of education, the public charter school governing body, or the state textbook and instructional materials quality commission to be inappropriate for the age and maturity levels of the students who may access the materials, or that have been found by the local board or governing body to be unsuitable for, or inconsistent with, the educational mission of the school.
PROHIBITED MATERIALS
Present law provides that certain materials are in
appropriate
for
student
s
in any
grade,
K-12
,
and
may
not be maintained in a school's library collection
, including:
Any material that, i
n whole or in part
,
contains nudity, or descriptions or depictions of sexual excitement, sexual conduct, excess violence, or sadomasochistic abuse
.
Any material that i
s patently offensive
or appeals to the prurient interest
.
This bill removes this
provision.
REMOVAL FROM LIBRARY
Present law provides that if
the local board of education or public charter school governing body determines that material contained in the school's library collection is not appropriate for the age and maturity level of the students who may access the materials, or is not suitable
for, and consistent with, the educational mission of the school, then the material must be removed from the library collection.
This bill adds classroom libraries to this provision.
Current Bill Text
Read the full stored bill text
SENATE BILL 313
By Yarbro
HOUSE BILL 1234
By McKenzie
HB1234
000296
- 1 -
AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49,
Chapter 6, relative to K-12 education.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3802, is amended by deleting
the section and substituting instead the following:
As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) "Classroom library" means materials donated to, purchased by, or
acquired by an individual teacher, which are made available in the teacher's
classroom to students assigned to the teacher's class or classes;
(2) "Library collection" means the materials made available to students
by a school operated by an LEA or by a public charter school, but does not
include materials made available to students as part of a course curriculum or
materials made available to students as part of a classroom library; and
(3) "Materials" means books, periodicals, newspapers, manuscripts,
films, prints, documents, microfilm, discs, cassettes, videotapes, video games,
applications, and subscription content in any form.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3803(a), is amended by adding
the language "or classroom library" immediately after the language "a library collection".
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3803, is amended by deleting
subsection (b) and by deleting the first sentence of subsection (d) and substituting instead the
following:
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Each local board of education and public charter school governing body shall
adopt a policy for developing and reviewing school library collections and for
classroom libraries.
SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3803(d), is amended by adding
the following as new subdivisions:
( ) A procedure for teachers, or for parents and legal guardians of students with
access to a classroom library, to review and refer materials in a teacher's classroom
library for review and evaluation consistent with this section;
( ) A procedure to ensure that parents and legal guardians of students with
access to a classroom library have multiple opportunities throughout the school year to
view the books in their student's classroom libraries; and
( ) A provision prohibiting teachers from knowingly or intentionally circumventing
the LEA's or public charter school's library collection policy through the teacher's
classroom library, such as including materials in the teacher's classroom library that
have been found by the local board of education, the public charter school governing
body, or the state textbook and instructional materials quality commission pursuant to §
49-6-2201(m) to be inappropriate for the age and maturity levels of the students who
may access the materials, or that have been found by the local board or governing body
to be unsuitable for, or inconsistent with, the educational mission of the school.
SECTION 5. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3803(f), is amended by adding
the language "or in a classroom library" after the language "in the school's library collection" and
by adding the language "or classroom library" after the language "from the library collection".
SECTION 6. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3803(g), is amended by adding
the language "or a classroom library" after the language "a school's library collection" and by
adding the language "or classroom library" after the language "a library collection".
- 3 - 000296
SECTION 7. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.