The Government of Alberta is putting up "guardrails" to restrict access to books containing explicit materials in school libraries.
In a media conference on May 26, Minister of Education and Childcare Demetrios Nicolaides stated that the issue had been brought to his attention by a group of parents after students had brought home graphic novels which depicted sexually explicit acts, acts of child molestation, or self-harm from their school libraries.
Currently, in Alberta, school districts set policies for what books are allowed in school libraries and at what grade levels.
"As a parent, it is extremely concerning to me to find out that books explicitly depicting sexual acts are available to students in some school libraries," said Nicolaides. "We are going to do something about this serious issue by consulting Albertans and creating standards to ensure students do not have access to age-inappropriate materials in school libraries."
It is anticipated that the new policies will be implemented in time for the 2025-26 school year.
Before that happens, the province will be hosting a survey on the Alberta.ca website, where all Albertans can weigh in on the issue. The survey will be open until June 6.
During the question and answer portion of the conference, Nicolaides emphasized that the new policies the province is developing are not about banning individual books; as a minister, he does not have that authority. Instead, Nicolaides says the new policies are about setting a consistent and transparent standard across the province, which is within his authority.
These new policies will be in effect for school libraries this fall. Public Libraries, including the 55 public libraries that share space within schools, will be unaffected by the new policies.
