'Freedom to read' is law in NJ— what this means for parents

⚫ A new law goes after so-called book bans

⚫ Librarians are protected with the new rules

⚫ The rules take effect in a year

It’s you, not other kids’ parents, who should choose which books your children can be reading.

So says a new law in the Garden State.

The Freedom to Read Act, signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday, goes after so-called book ban attempts at libraries across New Jersey.

What the new law means

Under the law, which won’t officially kick in for a year, those who make decisions for school and public libraries are barred from excluding books because they disagree with the background or views of the material or its authors. Also, material can’t be censored based on disagreement with a viewpoint, or solely because an individual finds the content offensive.

“These bans are a deliberate effort to erase voices and perspectives that challenge the status quo, often under the guise of protecting children from discomfort,” said Sen. Andrew Zwicker, D-Somerset, a primary sponsor of the measure.

Sponsors and advocates noted that much of the material targeted by parents as inappropriate involved LGBTQ and racial themes.

In response to the governor’s signing of the bill, Republican lawmakers from the state’s 24th legislative district released a comment insisting that the move eliminates “longstanding protections that have successfully kept sexually explicit and obscene materials out of the hands of minors for generations.”

“Our school libraries are meant to be a peaceful place for learning, not littered with lewd or inappropriate materials that distract from a child’s education,” the legislators said.

The new law allows for boards to restrict access when the decision is based on “developmentally inappropriate material” for certain age groups.

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Illinois and Minnesota also have laws that prohibit book bans.

Are “book bans” still possible?

But the signing of the law does not mean that objections to library materials will be ignored. The law also gets the ball rolling on establishing policies that will direct how libraries respond to concerns over library materials.

“We encourage every parent to speak up and engage in a good faith conversation if they have any concerns about the materials our state’s children can access, but this should always be open, honest and a civil conversation,” Murphy said during a press conference at the Princeton Public Library.

Murphy was joined by Martha Hickson, a former high school librarian who was harassed for her efforts to battle attempts by parents to have certain material pulled from the shelves.

“I’ve been confronted on the street and my car has been vandalized,” Hickson said.

The Freedom to Read Act provides protections for library staff members, against lawsuits tied to complying with the new law.

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