Library Resource Decision Standards for Public Schools
The bill requires the local board of education of a school district (local school board) and the state charter school institute board (institute board) each school district, board of cooperative services that operates a school, district charter school, and institute charter school (local education provider) to establish written policies for the acquisition, retention, display, and use of library resources and for the use of a public school library facility. In addition, if any public school reconsiders library resources, the local school board or institute board, as applicable, is required to establish a written policy for the reconsideration of a library resource (policies) . A local school board and the institute board are education provider is required to comply with specified standards in establishing a policy for the acquisition, retention, display, use, and reconsideration of library resources and for the use of public school library facilities the policies and is required to establish the policies by September 1, 2025. If a local education provider has already established policies that comply with the requirements of the bill, the local education provider is not required to establish new policies.
The bill specifies that a public school library may remove a library resource from its permanent collection only if the library resource has been reviewed in accordance with an established policy for the reconsideration of library resources that complies with the standards established in the bill. If a local school board or the institute board has not established a policy for the reconsideration of library resources or has a policy for the reconsideration of library resources that does not comply with the standards established in the bill, a public school governed by the local school board or an institute charter school, as applicable, may not remove a library resource from its permanent collection. These requirements do not apply to routine collection maintenance and deaccession in accordance with a public school library's established collection maintenance policy. A local school board or the institute board is required to make its process for the reconsideration of library materials available to the public. Before a local education provider reconsiders a library resource, the local education provider is required to make its policies available to the public.
After reviewing a library resource that is the subject of a request for reconsideration and making a final determination regarding the library resource, the local school board or institute board, as applicable education provider is required to make the determination available to the public.
The bill specifies that a request for reconsideration of a library resource in a public school library is an open record under the "Colorado Open Records Act".
The bill specifies that a librarian, media specialist, other employee, contractor, or volunteer (employee) at a public school library public school library staff member is not subject to termination, demotion, discipline, or retaliation for refusing to remove a library resource before it has been reviewed in accordance with the school district's or state charter school institute's local education provider's policy for the reconsideration of library resources or for making displays, acquisitions, or programming decisions that the employee public school library staff member believes, in good faith, are in accordance with the standards established in the bill policies of the local education provider .
(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)
(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)