DENVER (KDVR) – The Elizabeth School District is backing away from a new policy that would have banned teachers from setting up book collections in their classrooms.
On Monday, the Ministry of Education adopted a “sensitive topics protocol” for its library collection. Parents will be notified if their students borrow a book with content such as racism, sex, religion or violence, and they can prohibit their child from borrowing such books altogether.
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Part of the new policy prohibits teachers from having libraries in their classrooms, but the district said Tuesday that measure was on hold.
“Board members would like to receive further feedback from staff as they work to merge their library protocol with student access to classroom materials,” the district said in a statement. “This is an opportunity for further teacher dialogue about best practices for handling sensitive literature in the classroom.”
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Before adopting the protocol on Monday, board members said it was intended to provide transparency to parents about what their children are reading, a sentiment the school district reiterated Tuesday.
“The purpose of the measure is to relieve teachers and school administrators of the task of deciding what corresponds to the different values of the family,” the district said in a statement.
Under the new policy, a district committee has identified around 138 books that meet the “sensitive” criteria and is asking the public for feedback on whether they should remain on library shelves. The books include titles such as the Bible and the Koran, “1984” by George Orwell and “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker.
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About 19 books have already been “temporarily” withdrawn due to their content, including “Pride: Championing LGBTQ Rights” by Rebecca Felix and “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison.
The district’s move comes after the number of book challenges increased 65% last year compared to 2022, according to the American Library Association. Books depicting the lived experiences of LGBTQ or non-white communities made up nearly half of the challenged titles, the association said.
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