Library content order distracts from real issues, critics say

The province announced new standards and guidelines about what schools will be able to put in their libraries. CTV News Edmonton's Evan Kenny reports.

A provincial government order that Alberta schools remove sexually explicit materials from their libraries garnered condemnation yesterday as an example of costly and potentially harmful overreach.

NDP education critic Amanda Chapman called the new standards a distraction from critical issues in Alberta’s education system.

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“Of course materials in schools should be age appropriate,” she said in a statement emailed to The Macleod Gazette. “But once again, the minister is inserting himself into decisions that should be made by educators and librarians — if this government actually funded schools enough to keep them in the building.”

The order made by Demetrios Nicolaides, the minister of education and childcare, requires that by Oct. 1 school libraries rid their shelves of explicit depictions of sexual acts.

Then, by Jan. 1, 2026, school authorities must either create policies and procedures to reflect the standards or make sure existing ones align.

The new standards allow non-explicit sexual materials for Grade 10 and up, providing the materials are developmentally appropriate.

The move follows consultations with stakeholders, public opinion polling of 1,500 Albertans and an online survey of about 77,000 respondents.

Results of the survey leaned towards restrictions related to the ages of students, but there was only mixed support for the government setting standards or requirements.

Parents of school-aged children were most supportive of province-down standards, with 44 per cent ticking the somewhat or very supportive boxes.

Thirty-four per cent of respondents in the online survey said children should never be able to access sexually explicit content in school libraries.

But explicit content — defined in the order as “containing a detailed and clear depiction of a sexual act” — isn’t allowed in any grade. Examples provided by the province were masturbation, genital contact, ejaculation and penetration.

Jason Schilling, president of the Alberta Teachers’ Association, said the standards do more harm than good.

“This ministerial order accomplishes little other than adding to teacher workload, politicizing a non-issue and targeting vulnerable students,” Schilling said in a statement yesterday afternoon.

“It’s also an overreaction that highlights a lack of resources for school libraries and the fact that our schools cannot afford to employ teacher-librarians to create, curate and coordinate library resources to support student learning in age- and grade-appropriate ways,” the statement said.

But Nicolaides said he’s confident the standards “strike the right balance of supporting the important role that school boards, librarians, teachers and staff play in selecting school library materials while setting clear expectations.”

He continued: “This is an important step because, and I can’t stress this enough, until now Alberta schools had zero standards for selecting age-appropriate books for libraries.”

The standards have no bearing on depictions of medical processes, biological functions, hugging or hand-holding, which the government terms as non-sexual content and therefore available to all grade levels.

Some reports published yesterday prompted a clarification from the minister’s office. “There are absolutely no restrictions on content about puberty, menstruation and breastfeeding for any grade level,” said an email message from a ministry spokesperson.

Nicole Buchanan, chair of the board for Red Deer Public Schools, said school authorities are confident they can purge their library shelves of non-compliant materials by Oct. 1. The date reflects an extension that boards got from the government to make it happen, she said.

“Multiple school board chairs stated that (Sept. 1) was not enough time,” she told the Thursday news conference. Nicolaides has also told boards that his ministry is willing to work with them if they need more time “to do what’s right for students (and) ultimately right within our schools.”

No provincial funding is attached to enacting the standards.

Nicolaides conceded in earlier media comments spoke that identifying sexually explicit materials won’t be a straightforward task.

“It’s almost an impossibility to be able to know the full extent of the content of the vast majority of books that are published in any environment,” said Nicolaides, the member for Calgary-Bow.

“How school boards have their libraries vet or sort content will probably be left up to them,” he said during a roundtable last month with rural media before the actual standards had been set.+

Buchanan spoke in favour of the standards, saying they protect children and reflect societal wishes.

“These standards come at a time when many families, education partners and stakeholders are asking important questions — questions about what children are exposed to and what role schools should play in shaping not just academic learning, but safe and respectful environments,” she said.

“We all want students to be challenged to engage with new ideas, to learn how to think critically, independently and with empathy, but we also want to know that the content and resources that they access, especially in school, are appropriate for their age and stage of development. That’s the balance that these new standards are meant to support.”

She continued: “This isn’t about banning books or silencing voices. It’s about recognizing that some content simply isn’t appropriate in a K-12 setting.”

Buchanan likened the standards to other principles applied in a school setting, like not providing access to alcohol and tobacco.

“Some students in our schools may be of the provincial age to consume them, but that doesn’t mean that we put them in our vending machines. Why? Because they don’t belong in a school environment, regardless of age and legality.

“Explicit sexual content should be viewed the same way. It may exist in society, but that doesn’t mean it belongs in our classrooms or libraries, and we must be mindful of this. If a passage or image isn’t appropriate for the front page of a newspaper or a billboard on the side of the highway, then it shouldn’t be available to students in K-12 learning environments.”

Developing the standards began when sexual depictions in four books were brought to the province’s attention. The graphic-novel-style books were found in Calgary and Edmonton school libraries.

All four were written by Americans and are based upon their authors’ life experiences. Three of them directly reflect experiences in the LGBTQ2S+ community.

They include depictions of masturbation, oral sex, pornography use and petting. Mentions of self-harm, sexual abuse and suicide are also present. The books were in libraries visited by students in kindergarten and higher grades, the government said.

The standards apply to public, separate, francophone, charter and independent schools. The don’t apply to 55 municipal public libraries located in school buildings or to resources selected by teachers to support curriculum.

Schilling of the ATA said the order limits teaching and learning within a diverse school population.

He said: “The sweeping scope of this ministerial order will result in the removal of valuable and inclusive resources from our libraries. It will also discourage teachers from seeking out materials that interest and engage students.

“Ultimately, it will have a chilling effect on our schools and signal to students who are coming to understand themselves that some expressions of their gender and sexual identities are shameful and should be hidden away.”

Chapman of the NDP said urgent issues require the ministry’s attention, like student funding, a looming teachers’ strike, overcrowded classrooms, and a shortage of educational assistants to support students with complex needs.

“These are the issues facing our education system that deserve the most focus,” said Chapman, the member for Calgary-Beddington.

“Our kids don’t need political theatre and press conferences about books. They need teachers, EAs, and a government that actually funds public education.”

Buchanan, however, put more stock in the government’s move.

“These new standards set clear expectations, and they give school boards across Alberta the tools to make thoughtful, transparent decisions about library materials,” the Red Deer board chair said.

“This is about accountability. It’s about open communication with the families and communities we serve, and most of all, it’s about creating learning spaces that keep students’ wellbeing at the centre.”

By George Lee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Macleod Gazette