New state law alters process for removing classroom and library materials; board told to review local policy
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Summary
Board counsel briefed trustees on a new state law (Senate Bill 1098) prohibiting removal or refusal to select instructional or library materials on the basis a work depicts or is created by a member of a protected class; the law requires a formal reconsideration process and public written explanation before removal.
District counsel summarized a new state law affecting instructional and library materials and told the board July 31 the district must ensure its policies and administrative rules comply.
The law (referred to in the meeting as Senate Bill 1098) bars districts from refusing to select or retain materials based solely on the author's membership in a protected class or the inclusion of a particular perspective about a protected group. The statute ties back to Oregon's discrimination law; counsel explained the law's definition of discrimination includes both intentional and operational effects based on protected characteristics.
Under the new process, a parent, guardian or district employee may request reconsideration of a specific item. A committee (school- or district-level) must review the request to determine whether removal would violate the nondiscrimination requirement, and the committee must provide a written public explanation before any removal. Counsel said materials stay on shelves until the committee decision is finalized.
Board members asked practical questions: whether building staff could reshelve or limit access to an item without invoking the formal reconsideration process; whether the committee must be subject to public meetings laws; and how age appropriateness standards should be applied. Counsel said the law does not prevent ordinary decisions about age appropriateness and that the district's existing instructional-materials procedures will be the starting point for compliance. She noted the law specifically ties removal decisions to the nondiscrimination standard rather than content-based critiques unrelated to a protected classification.
Why it matters: the law changes the legal standard for removing materials and adds a formal committee process with a public written explanation that must precede removal.
What happens next: staff will review current board policy and administrative regulations on instructional materials and present recommended changes so the district's process conforms to the statutory requirements and to clarify how building staff should handle age-appropriateness and circulation questions outside the formal reconsideration process.