Virginia watchdog: Schools misusing 2022 law to pull books
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Some Virginia school districts seem to be misinterpreting a 2022 state law as justification for removing books from their libraries, according to a new report from the state watchdog agency.
Why it matters: Virginia has one of the highest numbers of school book ban instances in the nation, per PEN America, a literacy nonprofit.
The big picture: Under direction from the General Assembly, a state legislative oversight agency surveyed Virginia's 131 public school districts about any books removed from libraries since July 1, 2020.
- The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission found that a 2022 law was one of the top reasons school districts cited for the removal of books from school libraries.
- That's despite a clause in the law that specifically says it shouldn't be used for that purpose.
Context: The law requires public schools in Virginia to notify parents if their child would be exposed to sexually explicit instructional material in class to give them a chance to review it before and ask for an alternative lesson.
Yes, but: The districts don't need the state law to ban library books.
- Under the state constitution, local school district boards have full authority over their school libraries and the books within them, the report noted. The state does not.
By the numbers: Of the 94 districts that responded to the survey, 63% said they haven't removed any titles from libraries since 2020.
- Meanwhile, a handful are vigorously exercising their library authority.
Stunning stat: Five Virginia school districts accounted for 75% of all book removals in the state, per the report.
Those are: Hanover County Public Schools, which has pulled 125 titles from shelves since 2020; Rockingham County Public Schools (57 books removed); Goochland (32); Madison (23); and Spotsylvania (19).
What we're watching: Whether Democrats reintroduce legislation to more explicitly say that the 2022 law shouldn't be used to censor books in school libraries. The governor vetoed that legislation last year.