Sponsored by:
Senator ANDREW ZWICKER
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
Senator M. TERESA RUIZ
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators McKnight, McKeon, B.Smith, Mukherji, Stack and Burgess
SYNOPSIS
"Freedom to Read Act"; establishes requirements for library material in public school libraries and public libraries; protects school library media specialists and librarians from harassment.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning public school libraries and public libraries, supplementing Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, and amending N.J.S.2C:34-3 and P.L.1945, c.169.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) Sections 1 through 12 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be known and may be cited as the "Freedom to Read Act."
2. (New section) The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. The freedom to read is a human right, constitutionally protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, and individuals have the right to free inquiry and the right to form their own opinions.
b. The freedom to read does not require a person to agree with topics or themes within a material, but instead allows a reader to explore and engage with differing perspectives to form and inform their own views.
c. Since Tinker v. Des Moines Indep. Cmty. Sch. Dist., 393 U.S. 503 (1969), it has been well established that students do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate[,] and, as such, students have a right to access a diverse range of age-relevant information, stories, perspectives, and ideas.
d. In Bd. of Ed. v. Pico, 457 U.S. 853 (1982), the United States Supreme Court recognized that school libraries are completely voluntary on the part of students[,] a students selection of books from a school library is entirely a matter of free choice[,] and the school library affords a student an opportunity at self-education and individual enrichment that is wholly optional.
e. School libraries and public libraries, as centers for voluntary inquiry, play a unique role in promoting intellectual freedom, providing equitable access to learning resources, and promoting democracy by providing service to all regardless of race, ethnicity, creed, age, ability, gender, or socio-economic status.
f. School library media specialists and librarians are essential members of the community; as trained professionals, they help young people of all backgrounds find and interpret the information they need to succeed in school and prepare for college, careers, and life.
g. School library media specialists and librarians receive extensive professional training that prepares them to develop and curate collections designed to meet the broad and varied interests and needs of their communities and students, which is based on a variety of factors, including pedagogical value, student interest, and the age-appropriateness of the material.
h. Despite this, school library media specialists and librarians have been targeted, harassed, and defamed for providing young people access to library material.
i. Therefore, it is necessary and proper for the Legislature to protect the freedom of New Jerseys residents to read, for school libraries and public libraries to acquire and maintain materials without external limitations, to recognize that school library media specialists and librarians are trained to curate and develop collections, and to protect school library media specialists and librarians from unnecessary and unwarranted harassment and defamation for performance of their duties.
3. (New section) As used in sections 4 through 7 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
Diverse and inclusive material means any material that reflects any protected class as enumerated in the "Law Against Discrimination," P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-1 et seq.); material produced by an author notwithstanding the authors membership in a protected class as enumerated in the "Law Against Discrimination," P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-1 et seq.); and material that contains the author's points of view concerning contemporary problems and issues, whether international, national, or local; but excludes content that is inappropriate for grades and age groups served by the school library.
Emotional distress means significant mental suffering or distress.
Harassment or harasses means a singular act that is severe or pervasive, or a series of acts over any period of time directed at a specific person that serves no legitimate purpose and would cause, or has caused, a reasonable person to suffer emotional distress.
Library material means any material including, but not limited to, nonfiction and fiction books; magazines; reference books; supplementary titles; multimedia and digital material; software and instructional material and other material not required as part of classroom instruction, belonging to, on loan to, or otherwise in the custody of a school library.
4. (New section) a. A board of education shall adopt a policy on the curation of library material within a school library. When developing the policy, the board shall review the model policy established by the Commissioner of Education pursuant to subsection b. of this section. The board shall have control over the content of the policy, except that the policy shall, at a minimum:
(1) recognize that library material should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all students and should present diverse points of view in the collection as a whole;
(2) require student access to age- and grade-appropriate diverse and inclusive material;
(3) acknowledge that library material should not be excluded from a school library because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to its creation;
(4) provide access to library material that is relevant to the research, independent reading interests, and educational needs of students based on a students age, development, or grade level;
(5) recognize the importance of school libraries as centers for voluntary inquiry and the dissemination of information and ideas;
(6) promote the free expression and free access to ideas by students by prohibiting the censorship of library material;
(7) acknowledge that a school library media specialist is professionally trained to curate and develop the school library collection that provides students with access to the widest array of age- and grade-appropriate library material available to schools; and
(8) establish a procedure for a school library media specialist to review library material within a school library on an ongoing basis, which shall include, but not be limited to: the library materials relevance; the condition of the library material; the availability of duplicates; the availability of more recent age; or grade-appropriate material; and the continued demand for the library material.
b. To assist boards of e