The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District board voted to advance a comprehensive update to Article 6 (instructional policies) to a second reading Tuesday, following a lengthy public hearing that centered on library materials and parental transparency.

The policy package — described by administration as the second half of Article 6 and intended to move the district to the Alaska Association of School Boards (AASB) model policies — was presented by Miss Dillard, who noted legal review and the addition of federal-program policies for multilingual and indigenous education and migrant education.

During public hearing dozens of citizens urged the board to restrict or more clearly flag material they described as "explicit." Gail McBride told the board she was "ashamed" and called for a standard to prevent apparently pornographic material from appearing in school libraries; she repeated an earlier figure she said reflected local collections: "496 graphic books in the North Star Borough School libraries." Several other speakers urged an opt‑in or segregated access approach, or clearer notice so families can act.

Board members and administrators defended professional selection processes and an existing administrative challenge procedure (AR 921.4). Miss Julian, Mister Doran and others stressed the importance of context, age‑appropriate placement and the risks and costs of board-driven bans: "Time is a valuable resource... I'm not going to support reviewing materials at this board," Julian said, citing litigation experienced elsewhere.

After discussion, Mister Doran moved to approve first reading, open a public hearing and advance Article 6 (BP 6114; BP 6161.1–6190) to a second reading. The roll-call vote recorded seven yes votes (Mister Wade, Colonel Campbell, Mister Doorn, Miss Hewitt, Miss Maple, Miss Julian, Mister Burgess) and two no votes (Miss Hull, Miss Carol Hubbard). The motion carried.

What changed and what happens next: Article 6 moves to a formal second reading and will return to the board for final action at a subsequent meeting. Administration pointed to the administrative regulation (AR 09/2004, formerly AR 921.4) that details the library-materials selection and challenge process; several trustees urged improved public visibility of that process rather than board-level content review.

Direct quotes from public testimony were strong and varied, and the board recorded both the citizen concerns and the administration's response that investigations or personnel matters, where raised, may be confidential.