Minnesota Legislature approves bill prohibiting book bans in public schools, libraries

Minnesota is poised to prohibit book bans in schools and public libraries as part of an education bill the House approved Wednesday, a bill that Gov. Tim Walz’s spokesperson said he intends to sign.

The law, which would become effective July 1, establishes a so-called “Library Bill of Rights” and states that libraries cannot restrict access to material “because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.”

Democrats who backed the provision say it’s a necessary step in curbing politicized campaigns against books that focus on multiracial — and especially LGBTQ — experience. Those efforts have become more pronounced as school board politics have become increasingly polarized in the last few years.

“This bill ensures those students are able to explore the world with the guidance of experienced educators, develop their own points of view, and take action to make the world a better place,” said Sen. Steve Cwodzinski, DFL-Eden Prairie, in a statement.

The bill does not put any state or local agency in charge of enforcement. Instead, it enables “any person injured” by a library or school board decision to sue and have the decision reversed. A court may also require that board to pay $5,000 if it’s found in violation.

The bill also explicitly states it does not limit the rights of parents and guardians to decide which books and other materials their children may check out.

Republicans argue the prohibition on book bans is unnecessary because such efforts have rarely surfaced here. Many GOP lawmakers also said libraries and school boards should have more discretion over content that they may not deem to be age-appropriate.

“Book bans aren’t any sort of crisis in our schools,” said Sen. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka. “This proposal comes at a time when over 50 percent of third-graders can’t read or do math at grade level, when there is violence in the hallways, and when our teachers are extremely overworked.”

While book bans in Minnesota have been few, there have been some recent notable efforts to ban books in school and public libraries in the state.

During the 2022-23 school year, libraries across the United States received nearly 3,400 petitions to ban books, according to PEN America, a nonprofit that tracks such challenges. One of those petitions was filed in Minnesota, where the Sartell-St. Stephen school district received a request to remove “Him” by Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen from its collection.

Last September, a Carver County Library user petitioned the library board to remove the book “Gender Queer” from its shelves. The book, a memoir by Maia Kobabe that explores the author’s journey navigating gender identity and sexuality, is among the most contested in school and public libraries. The library board denied the request.

Around the same time, a group of parents petitioned the Bloomington school board to remove more than two dozen books from the district’s libraries.

School and library officials say librarians curate collections in a way that ensures children access to age-appropriate books. They can also guide children and other readers to titles that fit their needs.

“This doesn’t mean every single book has to be in the collection,” Shana Morse, assistant director of government relations for the Minnesota Department of Education, told a House education committee during a hearing for the bill earlier this year. “Collection management and the sort of process that entails — with engagement, with background, with the expertise those individuals have — would inform what a collection in a library looks like.”