Bill
S 2696
The bill standardizes school library material selection and requires transparent, age-appropriate criteria with procedural safeguards before removing contested materials.
Note: Metadata supplied with this file includes a different short title (“Relates to proof of claims for unjust conviction and imprisonment”), but the bill text and official heading identify it as “An Act regarding free expression.” This summary follows the bill text.
The bill establishes statewide procedures and protections governing the selection, retention, and challenge of library materials in public K–12 school libraries and offers related guidance and duties for public (municipal) libraries. Its stated intent is to protect professional judgment in library material selection, limit removals based on personal/political/doctrinal views, increase transparency, and provide procedural safeguards for challenged materials.
Section 1 — Amendments to Chapter 71 (education)
- Inserts new Sections 82A–82C:
- Section 82A
- Selection of school library materials must be: age-appropriate, serve an educational purpose, and be based on the selecting employee’s professional training (not personal/political/doctrinal views).
- Definitions: “school library” includes municipal, regional, independent vocational, and county vocational/agricultural schools.
- A challenged material cannot be removed except after: notice, a public hearing, appointment of a school personnel review committee (by school committee and superintendent), and a school committee vote finding the material devoid of educational/literary/artistic/personal/social value or not age-appropriate for any attending child.
- Decisions to remove may be challenged by student/parent/guardian via petition for writ of mandamus in the Supreme Judicial Court or Superior Court.
- Allows routine removal for obsolescence or replacement, provided removal is not for prohibited reasons (personal/political/doctrinal).
- Section 82B
- Requires each school district, charter school, and local education agency to adopt a written library policy covering material selection, facility use, and challenge-response procedures.
- Policies must follow American Library Association (ALA) standards, be posted online, and require challenged materials remain on shelves pending the full challenge process and school committee vote.
- The Board of Library Commissioners (through the Massachusetts Library System) must provide resources and sample policies.
- Annual reporting to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on all challenges during the previous calendar year.
- Section 82C
- Protects school employees from loss of license, certification, dismissal, discipline, adverse employment actions, fines, or imprisonment for selecting library materials made in good faith and consistent with the required policy.
Sections 2–10 — Technical and gender-neutral edits to Chapter 78
- Replace gendered terms (e.g., “chairman,” “his,” “him,” “selectmen”) with neutral alternatives (“chair,” “the member’s,” “select board,” etc.).
Section 11 — Board of Library Commissioners support
- Mandates the board make resources available to assist municipal public libraries in creating/modifying written policies for selection, collection development, use of materials/facilities, and responding to challenges consistent with ALA standards and section 19B.
Section 12 — Amendments to section 19B (partial, truncated in supplied text)
- Replaces clause (7) with two clauses requiring: (a) reporting nonresident loans/circulation as a percentage of total circulation (certified and auditable); and (b) adoption and publication of a written policy for selection and use of library materials (text truncated).
If you want, I can:
- Extract the full, final text of the amended S.2696 / S.2726 for closer review.
- Prepare a one-page brief on likely legal challenges and constitutional considerations (e.g., First Amendment, due process).
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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