Albany County educators and residents urge changes to draft ‘explicit materials’ bill, warn of chilling effect

At a special meeting of the Albany County School District #1 Board of Trustees (date noted in public agenda), librarians, teachers, trustees and two state legislators discussed a draft Joint Judiciary Committee bill that would prohibit “explicit” materials in county and school libraries and allow civil penalties of $50,000 per violation.

District legal presenter Dr. Goldharpe said the draft applies to both county and school libraries and that a violation "could result in school districts being subject to [a] civil penalty of $50,000 per violation." He also noted the draft permits judicial causes of action that include awards of attorney's fees, which he said could incentivize litigation.

The gathering drew a stakeholder panel of librarians and classroom teachers who said the bill’s broad definition of “explicit” would sweep in materials with context or pedagogical value and would replace professional judgment with litigation risk. "This story has context, purpose, and value," said Stephanie Hunt, librarian at Laramie High School, referring to Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak as an example of material that supports conversations about consent and recovery.

Why it matters: speakers from the district, local libraries and the public said the draft could remove books that provide health information, representation for marginalized…