Bellbrook-Sugarcreek delays high school library while administrators implement new parents’ bill-of-rights policy

At a public meeting, the Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Local School District Board of Education and district administrators outlined why the high school library remained unavailable to students while staff review materials to comply with Board Policy 5780, the district’s implementation of the state-level “parents’ bill of rights” directives.

Board President Kevin Price said the board adopted Policy 5780 in April after two readings and public comment and that the policy includes a district-level definition of “inherently private sexual content.” Superintendent Dr. Kozad told the board he had instructed administrators to implement the policy and that the delayed opening of the high school library was intended to allow staff time to review collections and set procedures before releasing materials to students.

The issue dominated public input. Parents, teachers and students described operational problems and urged a faster reopening. Meredith Breininger, a Bellbrook resident and parent, told the board that “no student should have to feel physically squeezed into a desk and mentally self conscious about this,” calling for attention to classroom furniture and to library access. Jenna Bowles, who has a master’s degree in library and information science and formerly reviewed books for School Library Journal, said private sexual content “are age appropriate for teenagers” in some contexts and urged the district not to restrict access in a way that drives students to seek material online.

Several speakers cited three implementation choices the district made that differ from the state law as they read it: (1) expanding the district rule to cover library materials in addition to classroom instruction, (2) raising the minimum grade allowed to access certain content from fourth to ninth grade, and (3) making the high-school approach opt-in (parents must affirmatively allow access) rather than opt-out. Speakers said those choices materially increased the administrative burden on librarians and teachers. Superintendent Dr. Kozad and district staff said the high-school approach was intended to give parents greater control but acknowledged it required detailed processes for identifying titles and tracking parental permissions.

District officials reported that, so far, about 75% of families have given broad permission for their students to access high-school library materials labeled outside the district’s defined threshold; roughly 25% have requested parental notification before a student may access those labeled materials. Dr. Kozad said the administration expects the review and process-setup to take “days and weeks,” and said that staff are working to open the library as soon as a reliable system is in place to document parental choices and supervise circulation.

Teachers and students raised practical concerns about the timing and the workload. Several speakers said classroom libraries had been removed or restricted because teachers did not have time to make collections compliant under the new rule. Board members and the superintendent described options for classroom collections: teachers may continue classroom libraries provided they segregate titles that meet the policy’s restricted definition and keep records showing which students have parental permission to access them. The administration said it will share lists of student permissions with teachers once final forms are sufficiently complete.

Speakers also raised specific concerns for military-connected students, who may be legally entitled to services and accommodations when they move between districts. Elise Tomlinson said a military base liaison was contacting state authorities to understand implications for military families and special-education plans if on-campus library access is limited while reviews are underway.

The meeting generated several routine board votes, including approval of minutes and the treasurer’s report. The district also reported an informational update on the state Student Wellness and Success Fund — a state grant of approximately $133,000 — that the district is using in part to pay for contracted mental-health counselor time through the Greene County Educational Service Center (described at the meeting as roughly “eight person-days per week” of counseling capacity spread across buildings).

Board members acknowledged the community’s strong reactions and said they want the library open as soon as a safe, auditable process is in place. Multiple members urged administrators to open the library quickly, to use segmentation of clearly identified titles as an interim step, and to keep the board and public informed as the review proceeds. Dr. Kozad reiterated that he is implementing board policy as written and asked the board to indicate if it wanted a different approach.

The district did not announce a firm reopening date for the high school library at the meeting. Administrators said they will continue reviewing titles, share lists of permissions with teachers when available and work to minimize disruption while the district establishes procedures required by Policy 5780.