The Freedom to Read Act ‘ensures all have a voice’

New Jersey is now the latest state to prevent book bans at public libraries and schools.

With Gov. Phil Murphy’s signing the Freedom to Read Act inside the Princeton Public Library on Dec. 9, the state’s new requires local boards of education and governing boards of public libraries to adopt policies on the curation of library material, policies creating a procedure for removal of library material and requires them to include diverse and inclusive materials in libraries.

Additionally, the act protects librarians, school library media specialists, teaching staff members and any staff members of public libraries by making them immune from criminal and civil liability for performing the activities required by the state’s new law.

“The Freedom to Read Act will ensure generations of New Jersey’s children can continue to discover the wonders that await them in the books all around us,” Gov. Phil Murphy said. “This law will also protect the rights of young New Jerseyans to access developmentally appropriate books including diverse and inclusive materials that will help them learn and grow and will ensure those materials remain accessible in our schools and public libraries.”

The Freedom to Read Act would take effect in a year. However, the commissioner of education and state librarian can take “anticipatory action” (actions in advance) to implement the law.

“…I want to be clear this law will strengthen, not diminish the rights of parents to choose what reading materials their children should or should not have access to by ensuring that every family can make their own determination on what books are appropriate for a child,” Murphy added.

“That is why this legislation mandates that books cannot be removed from our libraries solely based on the origin, background, or views contained in the text or because the individual finds it offensive.”

Under the new law, when it comes to school libraries and people who may request the removal of library material, policies adopted by local boards of education must include at minimum a request for removal form that would be given to the principal of a school and require a review committee within 10 days of receiving form.

• The policy must have the review committee report its recommendations to the school board in 30 school days after receiving the form and require the school board to review the committees report and make a final determination on whether the library material will be removed.
• The local school board will have to provide a written statement of reasons for the removal or non-removal of the library material and for any final determination made by the board that is different from the review committee’s recommendations.
• The state librarian will establish a model policy for public libraries to use for requests for removal of library material.
• The commissioner of education will assist local school boards regarding policy on the curation of library material by creating a model policy. The state librarian will also do the same in creating a model policy for public libraries.

State Sen. Andrew Zwicker, a primary sponsor of the Freedom to Read Act, explained that in the 2023-24 academic year, PEN America – a national nonprofit that has been tracking book bans and fights censorship in public schools and libraries – tracked more than 10,000 book bans in public schools around the country.

“The stories silenced are disproportionally those of marginalized communities,” Zwicker said. “[Some] 44% of banned books center on characters of color or themes of race or racism, 39% explore LGBTQ+ characters or themes. That is not a coincidence.

“The Freedom to Read Act is a bold response to this growing wave of censorship. It establishes clear and transparent processes for reviewing library materials ensuring parents, students, and librarians all have a voice. It protects library staff acting in good faith from civil and criminal lawsuits, and affirms a simple, but powerful principle – you have the freedom to choose what you want to read.”

He noted that parents have always and will always have the freedom to decide what their children read.

“This law is not about imposing one viewpoint over another,” Zwicker said. “It is about preserving the right of every individual to access knowledge, explore diverse perspectives, and to decide for themselves what is meaningful and valuable.”

New Jersey has joined Minnesota and Illinois in enacting a law against book bans.

Martha Hickson, a retired school librarian out of the North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School District, recalled Sept. 28, 2021, the date Hickson said she became the target of book banners.

“On that night a handful of parents called me by name a pedophile, pornographer and groomer of children at a school board meeting that has since been viewed on YouTube more than 6,000 times,” she said.

“They did this because they object to five award winning books for adults, all with LGBTQ+ themes. After a four-month reconsideration process, the board retained all five books affirming that the titles met the district standards.”

Hickson said she “received hate mail, shunning by colleagues, antagonism from administrators, calls for my firing and arrest, been confronted on the street, had her car vandalized, and videos targeting her posted on extremist social media sites by the spouse of a school board member.”

“I am not the only victim of these politically motivated attacks; the students I serve feel the pain too,” she said. “When books that describe their lived experience were called disgusting, obscene and depraved; students recognized that those insults were also intended for them.

“Thanks to those legislators, advocacy of countless community members and organizations, New Jersey citizens now have protections to read about the topics that interest them in their own libraries, when concerns about books arise parents now have a clear process for raising issues without resorting to bullying, and for librarians across the state the dignity of our work will now be recognized and preserved and all of that is truly a cause for celebration.”