Colorado bill meant to limit school library book bans signed into law
Colorado school districts will need to adopt policies by this fall about when and why library books can be taken from the shelves under a new law signed by Governor Jared Polis on Thursday.
The goal is to safeguard public school libraries from the growing trend that targets certain books, often about diverse topics or by diverse authors, for removal.
“Books are so important because names, experiences, identities — these things are being erased. To be able to experience how others are feeling, to learn empathy, to be able to see yourself in books if there’s no one else in your world like you — these things are so critical to developing an empathetic society,” bill sponsor Senator Lisa Cutter, a Littleton Democrat, said ahead of the signing.
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Senate Bill 25-63 requires school districts to create policies about the acquisition, retention and display of library books and other materials by September. The policy will also need to govern book challenges and consider the process for removing any books for circulation.
Only parents of students in the school district will be allowed to challenge books, and reviews of individual books will be limited to once every two years.
The bill passed the Legislature on party-line votes, with Republicans opposed to it.
“We are able to have policies in place that will reduce discriminatory censorship and ensure that the books on the shelves and the literature available to our students open their minds, allow for exploration and really foster a growth,” Representative Lorena Garcia, an Adams County Democrat and bill sponsor, said.
Book removal standards will need to comply with a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court case that determined school boards cannot restrict library materials simply because they disagree with their content.
In 2024, there were seven attempts to ban 137 books in public schools and libraries in Colorado, according to the American Library Association. The most challenged book in the country that year was “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” a memoir written for young adults by queer Black author George Johnson.
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In Colorado, people have tried to remove books including “Beloved” by Toni Morrison, “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini and “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas. Many of the challenged books include LGBTQ+ themes, accounts of violence, and descriptions of discrimination and sexual activity. They are often by or about people of color or LGBTQ+ people.
The bill signing comes as a federal judge ordered Elizabeth School District to return 19 removed books, deemed inappropriate by the school board, back to the shelves. The law now requires school districts to follow a clear and consistent process to remove any books.
“This bill is about trusting the experience of school librarians, trusting local communities to make decisions based on the needs of their students and trusting young people to explore, wonder and to think critically,” bill sponsor Representative Jenny Willford, a Northglenn Democrat, said.
Republicans, particularly Representative Ken DeGraaf of Colorado Springs, argued during the legislative process that certain books are too mature for school students or contain what he deems pornographic material, and therefore should be subject to removal requests from parents and community members.
They attempted to amend the bill to widen who can challenge a book to include anyone who lives in the school district, parent or otherwise. They also unsuccessfully tried to shield the name of challengers from open records requests.
A similar school library bill died during the 2024 legislative session, though one focused on public libraries was signed into law.
