State officials disagree with Kentucky school district removing library books based on new law

Boyle County Schools removed over 100 books from its libraries in recent months under its interpretation of Senate Bill 150. Now, the Kentucky Department of Education says the new law does not apply to school libraries.

Boyle County Superintendent Mark Wade told the Herald-Leader Wednesday that books in his district were removed from school libraries based on Kentucky’s new law Senate Bill 150. He cited part of the law that states: “Any child, regardless of grade level, enrolled in the district does not receive any instruction or presentation that has a goal or purpose of students studying or exploring gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation.”

The controversial Republican-backed SB 150 was approved over Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto. It bans gender-affirming health care for transgender minors, restricts classroom teachings on gender and sexuality, prohibits districts and schools from asking teachers and staff to use a trans student’s pronouns, and mandates districts create policies that prevent trans students from using restrooms that align with their gender identity.

KDE spokesperson Toni Konz Tatman said Wednesday morning that “SB 150 does not provide for the removal of library media resources from a school library.”

If the library media resources are not used for a course, curriculum or program on human sexuality or sexually transmitted diseases, the law does not apply, Tatman said.

If library media resources are associated with and used for a course, curriculum, or program on human sexuality, the school district should provide an alternative without penalty for students and be subject to parent inspection and notification, she said.

Tatman said she is not aware of school districts in Kentucky other than Boyle that have removed library books based on SB 150.

The Danville Advocate Messenger first reported on the issue Tuesday.

Boyle County parent concerned by book removal

Shonna Storz, a parent of two children at Boyle County High School, told the Herald-Leader that Boyle County Schools removing books from the library in response to SB 150 was “very concerning.”

She provided the Herald-Leader with a list of the books removed, which included titles like “Being LGBTQ” and “Anne Frank,” about the child who died during the Holocaust.

“They are misinterpreting the law,” said Storz. “The law is very clearly about the act of instruction and the curriculum used in instruction. This is not a book ban. And yet they are reading it that way.”

The library removed books from the libraries on topics ranging from sexual consent, teen pregnancy and parenting, gender equality, reproductive rights and LGBTQ rights, said Storz.

“I’m outraged that they’ve taken an incredibly conservative stance on this. These are challenging times for our youth and they deserve access to these reputable resources to be educated and informed on these important social and political issues,” Storz said.

The books were removed shortly after the law went into effect earlier this year, said Storz. “A much larger number of books were initially removed,” she said.

After parents spoke up at school board meetings, administrators went back through the list and put some books back, Storz said. The current list, which Storz received on September 20, contains 106 books.

After Tatman said SB 150 did not provide for the removal of school library books, Wade responded: “In school libraries, which operate differently than a public library, materials are instructional resources. Upon review with legal counsel, KDE and district leadership, a small percentage of books were removed because they did not align with the curriculum or standards being taught.”

Wade said the district reviewed current courses, programming, instructional resources and learning experiences to ensure compliance with SB 150. “School library media specialists, legal council and our district leadership team” were all involved, he said.

“School libraries are instructional support entities within our school. As such, school libraries operate differently than a public library system,” Wade said. “This bill could continue to evolve. As a state public school, we are obligated to implement the law and we will respond if there are changes to the legislation.”

The 2023 General Assembly also passed Senate Bill 5 which requires schools to adopt a complaint resolution policy for parents who allege that materials taught in school are harmful to minors.

This article is a developing story and may be updated.