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Parent and union speaker urges board to protect reading access as Linden considers library materials policy
Summary
Tanya Martin Cooper, an LEA leader, told the board she supports the district's first reading of a library-materials policy and framed 'freedom to read' as a human right, urging the board against banning books by origin or viewpoint.
During the public-comment period, Tanya Martin Cooper (identified as LEA president) praised the board's move to a first reading of a new library-materials policy and framed the issue within state law and students' rights.
Cooper said she was "glad that the board of education believes that freedom to read is a human right" and told the board that a New Jersey law (which she described during her remarks) prohibits banning books because of an author's origin or viewpoint. She added that parents retain discretion over what their children read but said sweeping bans or "trying to rewrite history is unacceptable."
Board members did not debate the library policy during public comment; the policy was described as scheduled for a first reading in November 2025. No formal action on the policy text occurred at this meeting beyond that planned first reading.
