The Alberta government has rewritten its school library standards policy after school boards and critics rightfully pointed out that the previous one would result in classic authors like Margaret Atwood and Maya Angelou being pulled from school shelves.
In a news release Monday, Premier Danielle Smith’s government announced that the policy would be amended to only include “visual” depictions of explicit sexual content. Which means Smith’s fave, Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, is safe, but queer comics and graphic novels like Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer and Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home will still be removed from school shelves in the province.
The move comes after the Edmonton Public School Board published a list of 200 titles that would be pulled from shelves, including many pieces of classic literature. Atwood even responded by penning a satirical short story criticizing the censorship.
This new order announced this week includes several other minor changes, including that it now covers everything in schools and classrooms. Schools are still required to create and maintain lists of school library materials that parents can access. The full implementation date has been bumped back to January from October, but schools must let the government know what books they’re removing by the end of October.
In a news release, Alberta Education and Childcare minister Demetrios Nicolaides said he is “confident” that the new standards are “straightforward and easy to implement.”
We break down what you need to know.
Why you can trust Xtra
