A N.J. bill would strip funding from public schools or libraries for banning books
In New Jersey, there were 13 attempts to restrict access to books in 2022, according to the American Library Association.
Amid a growing national battle over censorship and parental rights, New Jersey legislators are taking steps to discourage public schools and libraries from banning books by withholding state aid from those who don’t comply.
A bill proposed recently by two Democratic lawmakers could make the state one of the first in the country to consider a measure that would bar school boards and public libraries from restricting or banning access to certain books.
The legislation is in response to a growing movement that has targeted books across the country, most frequently those about race, racism, gender, or sexuality.
» READ MORE: Another author visits Central Bucks to speak out against potential book bans
“I wish we didn’t have to do this. It’s really discouraging to see the number of attempts going on in New Jersey and around the country,” said state Sen. Andrew Zwicker (D., Middlesex), the bill’s main sponsor. “It’s so unbelievable divisive and just wrong.”
In 2022, there were 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources nationwide, the most attempted book bans since the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom began compiling such statistics more than 20 years ago. There were 729 challenges reported in 2021.
In New Jersey, there were 13 attempts to restrict access to books last year, according to the Library Association. Zwicker believes the number may be higher, with school boards or libraries quietly removing books without a public debate.
The Washington Township Public School District in Gloucester County made headlines this year when it removed Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye from the curriculum after a parent complained, and the Hamilton Township School District was asked to remove Gender Queer, which chronicles the author’s sexual identity journey. Book challenges also have been controversial in Pennsylvania schools: In Central Bucks, challenges are pending against 65 books.
“Clearly, we’ve seen this movement,” said Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz (D., Essex), another bill sponsor. “The bigger and larger issue is that this is not something I think school boards should be dealing with. Libraries are sacred.”
If adopted, the measure, S3907, would direct the state Department of Treasury to withhold state aid from districts that don’t comply. Zwicker said he hopes districts will avoid putting their funding at risk. Details about how much money would be in jeopardy would be determined later.
Zwicker plans to meet with librarians and school officials to tweak the proposal. He expects to hold hearings on the bill in the fall and bring it for a vote by January, when the legislative session ends. He believes there will be bipartisan support for it and Gov. Phil Murphy would sign it.
Murphy and nine other governors sent a letter last month to publishers urging them to avoid “political pressure” to censor textbooks, saying “our country’s future is on the line.” Murphy cited a law signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis giving parents more rights to challenge books and materials.
Republican lawmakers say they want to make sure books distributed in public schools and libraries are age-appropriate. State Sen. Ed Durr (R., Gloucester) is drafting a bill that would require an age-rating system for books in school libraries, similar to that used for movies, to determine appropriate reading materials.
“It’s a total misrepresentation for Democrats to say that parents are looking to ‘ban books’ simply for expressing their concerns about the unrestricted availability of content that’s not age-appropriate in their school libraries,” Durr said.
Nikki Stouffer, leader of the NJ Fresh Faced Schools group, opposes the measure and dismissed it as “the porn bill.” A mother of two, she has shared graphic content from books that her group says should be pulled from schools.
“This isn’t education at this point,” said Stouffer, of Medford, a bio statistician. “It is not really appropriate for school.”
» READ MORE: Central Bucks released the reports on books it’s banned and kept. Here’s what they show.
Zwicker said he was inspired by Illinois legislation and a decision by a school in Florida last month to restrict poet Amanda Gorman’s poem and book, The Hill We Climb. Gorman read the poem at President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021.
“It truly is needed,” said Olga Polites, a retired school librarian and leader of the New Jersey Chapter of Media Literacy Now. “It almost feels like, ‘Did we learn nothing from previous decades?’”
Librarians have been vilified for book selections and some have left the profession, said Ewa Elliott, president of the New Jersey Association of School Librarians. Her organization supports the bill.
Elliott said her organization supports the rights of parents to make decisions about what their children read, but that doesn’t outweigh the rights of other parents. Her group is working with lawmakers to tweak the bill.
“They have rights to take care of their own children. They shouldn’t be pushing the same rules on everybody’s children,” she said.