Academy School District 20 has unveiled a plan to implement a library review committee to read, discuss and review several books to determine if they are appropriate for middle school libraries.

District Superintendent Jinger Haberer laid out a proposal for the committee at the Jan. 18 school board meeting.

“I know parent choice is an important value for us here in D-20,” Haberer said. “I see the topic of library books being a real opportunity for members of our community, and especially parents, to have a dialogue about a topic that can be divisive.”

Library content has been a major point of contention in the district in recent months. In May, several books were removed from D-20 libraries in response to a request from about three dozen district parents who alleged the books contained sexually explicit content.

The books were later returned to library shelves after the move was met with resistance from other district parents.

In December, a collective composed of nearly 20 local conservative groups petitioned 4th Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen to initiate a criminal investigation of El Paso County schools and districts for offering material the group alleged met the legal definition of pornography. After reviewing the petition and the case law it cited, Allen’s office denied the request to investigate.

According to Haberer, the review committee would consist of 20 parents and/or guardians of current D-20 middle school students, as well as five middle school administrators and teachers. The parental group would consist of varying perspectives, she said.

The members would read books in the district’s libraries that are rated a 3, 4 or 5 on booklooks.org, a website that rates the appropriateness of a book for a child or young adult. The website’s rating system ranges from zero (appropriate for all ages) to 5 (suitable for adults only).

After reading the books, the committee would reconvene to discuss the material and attempt to come to a consensus on whether a particular volume should stay in middle school libraries, or be removed.

“We’re still working on the fine details,” Haberer said.

Board of Education member Derrick Wilburn spoke in favor of the idea.

“There are those in the community who would say, ‘Let’s get everything out of there. If I don’t like it, it goes.’ Well, that’s not reasonable,” Wilburn said. And there are those who would say, ‘Let’s remove nothing.’ That’s not reasonable either.”

“It’s important for the community to know we’re not trying to open up a can of worms,” said board member Nicole Konz. “The intention is to bring the community together to start dialoguing, to start supporting our district, despite differences of opinion.”

The tentative plan is to select the committee members in February, Haberer said.

Parents of an Academy School District 20 student have filed a federal lawsuit, alleging the district failed to respond when a student sexually assaulted their daughter.

the Gazette file