by Rachel Mipro, Kansas Reflector
February 15, 2024
TOPEKA — Though he wouldn’t name the specific books, Rep. Adam Thomas knows objectionable material lurks on the shelves of Kansas’ public school libraries.
“Certain assignments, certain books in the library, certain descriptions in the book, certain material inside the books, a lot of the emails I got around the subject pretty much confirmed our concerns that these things are in the schools,” Thomas said. “And we’ve gotten document after document in interim committees that show material like this is getting into our schools.”
Though the Olathe Republican said dozens of examples sprung to mind, he wouldn’t name these materials — or why the Legislature needs to create a task force to categorize them by appropriateness.
In a Wednesday interview with Kansas Reflector, he gave a hint of the sort of material that was bothering him: “It’s been in your paper before.”
However, the representative said he promised his district superintendent not to bring up his own family’s encounter with objectionable material.
To handle these materials, Thomas requested the introduction of House Bill 2700, which would create the School Library Rating System Task Force, a nine-person committee tasked with developing a rating system for material in public school libraries.
“We’re not looking to ban anything, this is about awareness,” Thomas said. “Censorship would mean we’re trying to get rid of all this stuff. We’re trying to bring it to the awareness of the parents so the parent can decide that’s not material my kid’s gonna bring home, that’s not material that should be in the school.”
The system would judge what is appropriate for each grade level, in order to allow parents and school district employees to “discern whether materials are appropriate for a student.”
Material from audio recordings to videos to books to pamphlets would be rated under the system.
The bill, heard Wednesday, was not popular with the two state board of education members in attendance.
“We believe this is simply not the Legislature’s job, and it’s a gross violation of local control,” said education board member Ann Mah. “Even if you get a few parents who didn’t get their way – that’s usually how they wind up here – a few noisy voices should not decide what communities all across the state should think or feel.”
Decisions about school curricula and library materials are typically left to local school boards. Recent years have seen heightened scrutiny of school materials, especially those that deal with gender, sexuality or racial discrimination.
Kansas Library Association president Sean Bird previously estimated the state saw at least 13 challenges at public or school libraries over the past two years, attempting to take approximately 64 books — mostly those dealing with LGTBQ+ subject matter or race relations — off the shelves.
The task force would send its rating system to the state board of education by June 30, 2025, and the board would be required to distribute the rating system among school districts. All school district libraries would have to have the rating system implemented by July 1, 2026.
The governor’s budget director estimates the plan would cost about $15,627 in fiscal year 2025 for the task force salary, wages and other expenses. The financial impact on school districts is unknown, but likely would come with additional costs to implement.
Timothy Graham, director of government relations and legislative affairs for the Kansas National Education Association, also said the task force would be an overreach.
The panel would include one member appointed by the State Board of Education, three members picked by the speaker of the House of Representatives, two chosen by the Senate president, one by the House of Representatives minority leader, one member appointed by the Kansas Association of School Librarians; and one member appointed by the minority leader of the Senate. These appointments would give Republican legislative leadership majority control over the task force from the start.
“We’re really worried that politics will take precedence over practical matters,” Graham said. “Task force members may be tempted to make less than ideal decisions that are rooted in political pressure, instead of what’s in the best interest of the student learning.”
Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.
