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Librarians urge county to fold opt‑in registration and flag books with barcode dots after HB 14‑99 clarifies library role
Summary
Staff told the Instruction Committee that House Bill 14‑99 limits "instructional materials" to teacher‑assigned items and excludes library books unless assigned; librarians proposed a small barcode dot system plus integrating opt‑in choices into annual registration to reduce administrative burden and maintain parental access.
Dr. Meeley told the Instruction Committee that recent state law narrows what counts as instructional material and does not treat library books the same as assigned classroom items. "As the board may have seen, house bill 14 99 makes a very brief, change to our understanding. Specifically, house bill 14 9 9 ... expressly excludes library books and audiovisual materials unless a teacher specifically assigns them," he said, framing the division's recommended changes as an administrative refinement rather than a censorship policy.
Two division librarians explained concrete steps they recommend to implement the change while preserving parental access. Elise Decoy described a low‑visibility marker: "The barcode is specific to that book. ... we include a little sticker, ours. It's like little round dots ... that allows us to still identify that book as meeting the definition of [sexually explicit] without having some more visual cue." Maggie Schrock added that staff want the opt‑in decision to be explicit at registration: "We're suggesting to keep the opt in process ... but we'd like for it to be folded into the beginning of the year media and communication release packet as a required question." The plan retains digital catalog flags in Destiny so parents can still view flagged titles online while reducing the burden of maintaining a separate posted list.
Committee members asked about supervision and control if flagged titles are shelved with other books; staff replied that librarians and classroom teachers share oversight. The committee approved a motion to forward the recommended changes to the full board for discussion at the Aug. 18, 2026 meeting.
