How is school library access changing for NC students?

Overview

A new law (House Bill 805) allows North Carolina parents and guardians to prevent their children from borrowing specific books from public school libraries. The law, which went into effect in July, also requires schools to create online catalogues of all books available to students, whether in a formal library or individual classroom collections. Some schools have prevented pupils from reading classroom books until teachers complete their listings.

What you need to know

What happened

Under House Bill 805, North Carolina lawmakers gave parents and guardians more control over what books their children can access.

The law requires local boards of education to set up policies under which parents and guardians can flag any book in a school library as forbidden for their child.

The law also requires school libraries — including, for the first time, books held by teachers in their individual classrooms — to be completely searchable online.

The legislation comes as North Carolina, and more broadly the U.S., have seen an uptick in parental concern over school library collections. During the 2023-24 school year, schools in North Carolina issued 61 book bans, most driven by parents objecting to “themes of race, sexuality, and gender identity,” according to data compiled by PEN America, a nationwide free speech advocacy group. School book bans nationwide were up 200% compared with the previous school year.

Democratic Gov. Josh Stein vetoed House Bill 805, objecting to other provisions it contained, including language about transgender residents he called “mean-spirited attempts to further divide us by marginalizing vulnerable North Carolinians.”

However, Democratic Rep. Nasif Majeed of Mecklenburg County joined with all Republicans in the House to override Stein’s veto. Asked for comment on his vote by WUNC, Majeed said it was driven by “moral issues” but declined to share any further rationale.

Who this affects

The new law affects roughly 1.57 million K-12 students in public schools, along with their parents and guardians. The cataloguing requirement also applies to all of the public system’s approximately 90,000 teachers and the individual classrooms they manage.

Teachers reported that scanning and cataloguing their books has been a substantial scheduling burden, especially at the busy beginning of the school year.

Some school systems, including New Hanover County Schools, are preventing students from checking out classroom books until instructors have finished the process. The law doesn’t provide additional funding or resources to help teachers comply with its requirements.

Find your school’s current library catalogue online by searching for their website:

State law requires every school to provide a link to the catalogue on the homepage of its website.

You can look up your school’s current policy to learn how the system is handling the law around parental book requests. Most schools list the relevant language under policy codes 3200, “Selection of Instructional Materials,” and 3210, “Parental Inspection of and Objection to Instructional Materials.”

What does it mean for teachers?

Any classroom library has to be inventoried.

What’s next

Several other bills that would place further oversight on student access to books remain under consideration at the state legislature.

House Bill 636, which passed the House with mostly Republican support in April, would establish a “community library advisory committee” for each school district, tasked with approving new books and hearing objections to current materials. The bill would also require the state Board of Education to maintain a public online database of all library media banned from local school systems.

House Bill 595, which hasn’t progressed beyond the House’s rules committee, outlines strict yet subjective requirements for school library books, demanding, among other rules, that materials meet “high standards in literary, artistic, and aesthetic quality.” The bill would also make teachers and librarians liable for “disseminating harmful material to minors,” a misdemeanor charge from which they’re currently exempt when serving in their official roles.

Get Help

Parents and guardians can learn more about interacting with school libraries through the following organizations.

Pavement Education Project: The statewide nonprofit has been one of the main advocates for House Bill 805 and similar legislation. Its website includes sample forms for parents and guardians to use when requesting materials be placed off-limits for their children.

North Carolina Association of Educators: The professional association for school employees has pushed against further restrictions on school libraries. Its website and newsletters include updates and resources for collective action on the topic.

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction: The state’s governing body for education has a webpage dedicated to school library media, including standards and guidelines and research on the benefits of library programs.