Provides that publicly funded libraries may not ban books because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval; directs school districts to adopt the ALA library bill of rights.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A3368
SPONSOR: Lavine TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to the practice of
banning books by libraries
PURPOSE:
Relates to the practice of banning books by publicly funded libraries
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Amends Section 254 of the education law, by chapter 718 of
the laws of 1981, to read, Every free association library, public
library, hospital library, Indian library and library system which
receives any portion of money appropriated by the state shall adopt the
American Library Association's library bill of rights that indicates
materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or
doctrinal disapproval or, alternatively, develop a written statement
prohibiting the practice of banning books or other materials within the
library or library system.
Section 2. Amends section 711 of the education law to add a new subdivi-
sion 5 to read, each school district, board of education, trustees or
such body or officers as perform the functions of such boards shall
adopt the American Library Association's library bill of rights that
indicates materials should not be proscribed or removed because of
partisan or doctrinal disapproval or, in the alternative, develop a
written statement prohibiting the practice of banning books or other
materials within any school library which receives aid for the purchase
of school library materials.
Section 3. Effective Date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Book banning, a form of censorship, occurs when private individuals,
government officials, or organizations remove books from libraries,
school reading lists, or bookstore shelves because they object to their
content, ideas, or themes. In New York state, there is evidence of at
least 13 book bans in four school districts. The issue has been playing
out locally in school board meetings and social media pages.
According to a PEN America report, a New York-based literary and free
expression nonprofit advocacy group, from July to December 2022, there
were 1,477 cases of books being removed, up from 1,149 during the previ-
ous six months. Since the organization began tracking bans in July 2021,
it has counted more than 4,000 instances of book removals using news
reports, public records requests and publicly available data. The report
found that 41% of banned books last year featured LGBTQ themes or a
major character who is gay or transgender.
The report's findings are alarming. The Supreme Court in Board of Educa-
tion, Island Trees Union Free SchoOl District v. Pico (1982) ruled 5-4
that public schools can bar books that are "pervasively vulgar' or not
right for the curriculum, but they cannot remove books "simply because
they dislike the ideas contained in those books." Today's wave of bans
represents a coordinated campaign to banish books being waged by sophis-
ticated, ideological and well-resourced advocacy organizations. The
majority of book bans weren't "spontaneous, organic expressions" of
concern by parents and citizens, but rather "reflect the work of a grow-
ing number of advocacy organizations that have made demanding censorship
of certain books and ideas in schools part of their mission."
This bill would require all libraries and library systems to adopt the
American Library Association's library bill of rights indicating materi-
als should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or
doctrinal, disapproval and/or develop a written statement prohibiting
the practice of banning books or other materials within the library or
library system. This bill would end book bans across the state of New
York.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24: A7830 Libraries and Technology
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have
become law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3368
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 27, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LAVINE, LEVENBERG, SEAWRIGHT, SIMON -- read once
and referred to the Committee on Libraries and Education Technology
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the practice of
banning books by libraries
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 254 of the education law, as amended by chapter 718
2 of the laws of 1981, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 254. Standards of library service. 1. The regents shall have power
4 to fix standards of library service for every free association, public
5 and hospital library or, with the advice of the appropriate tribal
6 government and library board of trustees, Indian library which receives
7 any portion of the moneys appropriated by the state to aid such
8 libraries, or which is supported in whole or in part by tax levied by
9 any municipality or district. In the case of a hospital library or a
10 library serving a hospital, such standards shall be established in
11 consultation with the commissioner of health. If any such library shall
12 fail to comply with the regents requirements, such library shall not
13 receive any portion of the moneys appropriated by the state for free,
14 hospital or Indian libraries nor shall any tax be levied by any munici-
15 pality or district for the support in whole or in part of such library.
16 2. Every free association library, public library, hospital library,
17 Indian library and library system which receives any portion of moneys
18 appropriated by the state shall adopt the American Library Association's
19 library bill of rights that indicates materials should not be proscribed
20 or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval or, in the
21 alternative, develop a written statement prohibiting the practice of
22 banning books or other materials within the library or library system.
23 § 2. Section 711 of the education law is amended by adding a new
24 subdivision 5 to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07196-01-5
A. 3368 2
1 5. Each school district, board of education, trustees or such body or
2 officers as perform the functions of such boards shall adopt the Ameri-
3 can Library Association's library bill of rights that indicates materi-
4 als should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal
5 disapproval or, in the alternative, develop a written statement prohib-
6 iting the practice of banning books or other materials within any school
7 library which receives aid for the purchase of school library materials.
8 § 3. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
9 have become a law.
