Wilton’s state senator and her Norwalk colleague held a meeting in Wilton Sunday, to urge public support for legislation they say will enable residents to express concerns about books while ensuring a transparent process that protects local librarians from political pressure.
State Senators Ceci Maher (D-Wilton) and Bob Duff (D-Norwalk), hosted the discussion on Senate Bill 1271 at the Wilton Library on Sunday afternoon, May 4. The proposal would establish a process through which certain material can be challenged by someone who may find the contents offensive.
“Essentially what’s in the bill is asking libraries and school boards to set up a system of governance by which the book can be challenged for reconsideration,” Maher told the audience of around 40 people.
Duff explained that the idea for the proposed legislation is in response to instances throughout the country where books are being banned.
Duff pointed to Florida, where that state’s Department of Education released a list of 700 books that were pulled from the shelves during the 2023-24 school year. The Florida legislature later passed a law to limit the amount of challenges from people who don’t have children in the school district.
“And what we’ve been seeing across the country, which is why I thought it was so important to introduce this legislation, I don’t know if any of you have seen the picture of the library in Florida, where it was literally bare,” Duff said. “They had almost like those plastic tablecloths that you can buy, over empty shelves.”
Maher stressed that the point of the legislation is to establish a process, not to make determinations about any particular book.
“We’re not saying this is a good book, that’s a bad book. What we’re saying is if you have these governance documents in place, you have a pathway for reconsideration,” Maher said. “And that pathway includes getting school members, community members, board members to look at the request for consideration and then make a determination.”
The proposed legislation would require policies to make sure there is a process for receiving, considering and making a decision regarding a request to remove a book, material, display or program as well as for appealing those decisions.
The bill also clarifies procedures at a school library versus a public library, requiring that school policy has to address age appropriate and grade-level appropriate material and that a superintendent appoint a review committee to consider the request.
The bill also establishes that people who challenge a book must have a “vested interest,” such as a parent or guardian of students enrolled at the school.
For public libraries, individuals who live in that town in which the library is located can submit requests to challenge a book, displays or a program. Those requests would go to the library director to start the review.
In both cases, individuals must explain what part of the material is their concern.
Kirk Carr, a Ridgefield resident, said the legislation would stifle healthy debate.
“It’s a mandate that all the libraries and all the schools have, not only that they have a process, but that it’s your process and it’s your standards,” Carr said.
Carr said this is an issue that should be a matter of local control, allowing parents, grandparents and taxpayers to be able to say certain content is inappropriate for certain ages.
“And I think most people would agree with that,” Carr said. “It’s just when you say you must adopt our standard that you start to get into problems, and that’s the problem I have with this bill.”
Others said having a policy in place is helpful to districts when handling a request to pull a book. They pointed to Westport in 2023, where a parent challenged three books at Staples High School. A committee voted to uphold the books, and the parent eventually dropped an appeal of that decision.
Audra Good, an elementary school librarian in Norwalk, said having a policy helps provide the staff with guidelines.
“Because what happened in Westport, their policies helped the entire situation. Whether the book gets banned or not, you have to have that system in place,” Good said. “This bill is just protecting all of our public and school libraries in Connecticut, making sure that those things are in place in case it happens.”
Good said school libraries are sometimes a student’s only access to books, and all students should be able to see stories that reflect their own experience.
“They’re not going to be able to afford to go to a bookstore, and so providing access plus they see themselves reflected in a lot of the choices that are being questioned by people in other areas,” Good added.
Maher and Duff asked for those who support the proposal to contact their legislators.