An Eastern Shore school board wants an 18-and-over rule for young-adult books

Somerset County’s school board is considering barring students under the age of 18 from reading any young-adult literature in school libraries, essentially restricting all but 12th graders from checking out books written for teens and tweens.

The proposed policy also calls for the superintendent to discipline librarians if “adult” reading material appears in the children’s section.

The policy defines young adult as students over 18. “Young adults are not minors and books suitable for young adults shall be placed on a separate Young Adults library section to reflect age-appropriate literature,” a draft of the policy says.

Jacob Gerding, president of the Maryland Association of School Librarians, said that that definition would likely block all but the oldest students from reading “The Perks of Being a Wildflower” by Stephen Chbosky, “The Outsiders,” by S.E. Hinton and “The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank.

The proposed policy “demonstrates that the board is willing to sacrifice the educational development of its students in basic literacy as most books in the library would no longer be intellectually stimulating to students over the age of 12,” he said.

Somerset County’s MAGA-aligned school board has attempted to impose conservative views on the small, rural Eastern Shore school system with fewer than 3,000 students. Last year the board attempted to eliminate school librarians but then reversed course when the county commissioners came up with $1 million to keep them.

The board introduced the policy in late June, saying that it is using a National Academies definition of young adult, which is age 18 to 26. The National Academies evaluate research in science, engineering and medicine.

But Gerding said the publishing industry defines young-adult literature as that for 12- to 18-year-olds.

The policy calls for librarians to catalogue books for children and for those over 18. Students would check out books from the section of the library designated for children unless they had turned 18.

The Somerset school board’s proposal goes against the intentions of Maryland’s Freedom to Read Act, said sharlimar douglass, lead advocate for the Maryland Alliance for Racial Equity in Education.

The act, passed two years ago as a way to ensure that political ideology doesn’t encroach on the selection of books in school libraries, requires any book removed from a public school library to be reviewed by a local committee.

“We made sure with the Maryland Freedom to Read Act that no student would be denied access to books based on some partisan ideas and that we were clear about what the rights of the librarian were,” douglass said.

Sean Johnson, president of the Maryland State Education Association, agrees. “This policy is plainly illegal. It would not withstand scrutiny and challenge under the Freedom to Read Act, and is a reflection of a board that knows they are going out of power after the next election,” he said.

But Gordana Schifanelli, an attorney who represents the Somerset school board, said the policy doesn’t conflict with the act. “The policy speaks for itself. Obviously, you will not be able to blame the Board of ‘burning books’ since no books may be removed from the school,” she said.

The policy also includes a line saying that the board will prioritize the classics over other literature in selecting new materials, a point which douglass said essentially favors books written by dead, white men. “It essentially saying what people are trying to shut down which is a culturally aware American history,” she said.

But classics read by generations of teenagers that are now categorized as young-adult fiction might be off limits, including “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L’Engle and “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott, as well as the Harry Potter series of books by J.K. Rowling.

Schifanelli said books categorized for young adults can be used by school system employees. “We do have adults in the school system: teachers and paraprofessionals who also have the right to use the school library and check out books,” she said.

School librarians will have to catalog the books based on student age and educational suitability, she said.

The president of the Somerset County teachers union, who is a librarian, declined to comment. The Maryland State Department of Education had no comment.

Somerset County Superintendent David Bromwell declined to comment on the substance of the policy, saying that he carries out the directions of the board.

Gerding said the board “has a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that they are providing opportunities for all of their students to thrive, and it will be their responsibility to explain how books written at a fifth and sixth grade level engage and interest students that read at much higher reading levels than that.”

Books that have been commonly read by generations of students would be off limits.

Gerding said he believes the policy, if passed, could be challenged by a member of the public to the Maryland State Board of Education.

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.