Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Education
 
Board
State Board of Education
 
Guidance Document Change: The guidance document "Model Policies Concerning Instructional Materials with Sexually Explicit Content" was developed in conjunction with stakeholders in order to comply with SB656 (2022).
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7/30/22  2:04 pm
Commenter: Ruth A Johnson

Censorship is never good
 

As a retired librarian I trust that American Library Association accredited school librarians have the training to select books suitable for students in their schools.  They are trained to select materials for all students not just those who are "deemed acceptable" by some parents.  Any student should be able find herself or himself reflected in the books selected by the school librarian.  Hiding books in a guidance office makes them inaccessible which equals banning which is in many ways no different than burning.  The Right To Read is essential in a democracy and fundamental to libraries.  Will the new policy add to the workload of school librarians.  Yes but that's not the important issue.  The policy will teach students that some ideas are "bad" and should be banned.  Countries that have choses book banning or burning as policies never fare well.  Is that an extreme version of this bill?  I don't think so.  Ideas aren't at all dangerous; only closed minds are.  

CommentID: 124201