KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WOKI / WVLT) — The Knox County School Board is calling on state lawmakers to revise Tennessee’s Age-Appropriate Materials Act, following ongoing debate over how books are evaluated in school libraries.
During a meeting Thursday, the board passed a resolution in a narrow 5-4 vote urging the Tennessee General Assembly to amend the law, which restricts materials containing nudity, sexual content, sexual abuse, or excessive violence.
Board members say recent revisions made in 2024 limit how books are reviewed. Previously, librarians and committees could consider a book as a whole, weighing its artistic, historical, or educational value. Under the current law, however, reviewers must focus on specific flagged passages rather than the entire work…