Resident Jen Zerfing says proposed Policy 109 risks a "book ban"; board urged to preserve parental choice

Jen Zerfing, a member of the public, told the Bermudian Springs School District board she worries proposed Policy 109 could amount to a book ban and urged the board to preserve parental choice in reading materials.

"It sounds like it's effectively a book ban even though you say that it's not," Zerfing said, adding that the draft policy's focus on "sexually explicit materials" could be broadened in future iterations to include other subject matter. She cited the book Born a Crime by Trevor Noah as an example and said CommonSenseMedia.org notes profanity and some sexual descriptions in that work. Zerfing said the district's current procedure, which places choice in parents' hands in certain cases, is working and warned that removing books wholesale would deny students valuable learning opportunities.

Another public commenter, Jake Butcher, identified himself with a township affiliation and expressed support for efforts to limit sexualized material in schools while urging critics of the policy to bring concrete examples to future meetings. "Ask them to bring examples," he said, arguing that evidence would help the board evaluate claims.

Board members opened the public comment period and closed it after remarks; there was no board action on Policy 109 during the meeting. The comments suggest the board will need to reconcile competing priorities: protecting students from inappropriate content while preserving access to literature and parental choice. The board did not announce a timetable for next steps on Policy 109 at this meeting.