A message from CBSD:

The Board of School Directors conducts policy reviews on an ongoing basis as part of its governance responsibilities. As part of that, there was considerable community interest and engagement around Policy 109.2: Library Resource Materials. Policy 109.2 was written to ensure that books are appropriate for the subject area and for the age, intellectual development, and ability level of the students for whom the material is selected and that salacious, graphic, explicit sexual content that is age-inappropriate is not on library shelves. The updated policy was adopted in July 2022 and, as with all policies, an Administrative Regulation (AR) was developed in the fall to effectively operationalize the policy. We are sharing the AR 109.2 here (see attachment) as well as some background on the process for developing ARs.

In general, district administrators and educators develop ARs. Drafts can be shared with the Board; however, the Board does not vote on nor adopt the AR. The ARs also undergo legal review to ensure they are legally sound, aligned with school code, and that the language is congruent with the corresponding policy’s goals. At the Board’s suggestion, the legal review for AR 109.2 was conducted by the Independence Law Firm. The district incurred no costs for the review as the firm works with school districts across the state on a pro-bono basis.

There has been a lot of speculation that Policy 109.2 would constitute a “book ban” or was aiming to remove books on LBGTQ+ stories and genres. We are sharing this communication so that you can read the Policy as adopted and the AR as now finalized and see for yourself that neither of those things are true.

The two documents work together to provide for age-appropriate materials in district libraries that reflect the full scope of society, with its varying cultures, backgrounds, and perspectives. Should a book be challenged by a parent or community member, Policy 109.2 and its AR provides a process for that. Of note, Dr. Lucabaugh, CBSD Superintendent, intends for any book that is challenged to remain in the library during the challenge process. If the review process determines that the book is age-inappropriate and should be removed, the AR states that the book will be replaced with another title of the same genre or with a similar educational purpose.

We hope this information is helpful for you. We look forward to sharing facts and information like this directly with you in order to provide insight into the work that the Board and Administration do collectively in service of our students, families, and the CBSD community.