SB 313

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."