NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Preliminary results of a survey by the Tennessee Association of School Librarians (TASL) found more than 1,100 books have been taken off school library shelves since a series of state laws that rewrote the rules on what students can read has taken effect.
The book ban debate skyrocketed in Tennessee in 2022 when the General Assembly passed Gov. Bill Lee’s proposal that required school districts to publish a catalog of their library materials on the school’s website and another that required districts to establish procedures for developing and reviewing school library collections.
This past legislative session, the General Assembly passed a revision to the “Age Appropriate Materials Act of 2022” to prohibit books and materials with references to sexual content and excess violence in public school libraries.
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Xan Lasko, a retired school librarian and the chair of the TASL’s Intellectual Freedom Committee told News 2 the law is too vague, forcing individual school boards, and sometimes librarians, to interpret the language themselves.