Williamson County School Board to vote on further library restrictions, changes about who can make book complaints

Stock photo of a library (Photo by Photo by Element5 Digital/Pexels)

The Williamson County School Board is set to vote on a move to further restrict access to some books and make changes about who can file a complaint.

Under the proposed change, school librarians would be required to develop a “Mature Materials List” identifying materials within the library collection that have mature content but don’t violate guidelines such as the Age-Appropriate Materials Act of 2022.  Those works would be deemed valuable for educational purposes based on literary, historical, scientific, or artistic merit, but could contain some explicit language, sexual content, disturbing imagery, or violence. The librarian at each school would be responsible for their list, which would be reviewed annually and made available to parents. Parents would then have to give permission each year during registration for their children to have access to material on that list.

“Parents will be encouraged to have conversations with librarians if their child is interested in reading particular things, so there will be nuance,” said District 9 Member Claire Reeves, who proposed the change.

The move is the latest in a series by the Williamson County School Board to ban or restrict school library books.

In December, board members banned "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” by Safran Foer, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky, and "Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens. The board also restricted access to "The Field Guide to the North American Teenager” by Ben Philipps and "Speak” by Laurie Halse. Philipps’ novel is now available only for students in grades 11 and 12, while “Speak” can be accessed by students in grades 9-12.

Policy requires parents to be notified each time the board makes a decision on whether or not to pull a book from school library shelves. During the board’s March 6 meeting, District 7 Member Melissa Wyatt asked if parents had provided feedback on their December vote to remove and restrict those titles.

“We’ve had a small number of parents ask to see the form, we have not since the board voted had anyone ask for further restriction on library books,” answered Vice Chair Dan Cash.

The board also discussed a move to restrict those who can file a complaint about school library materials to Williamson County Schools employees, students, and parents or guardians. Under current policy, any Williamson County resident could file a complaint.

Board members are set to take up both measures during their next meeting on March 17.