Government firms up guidelines on sexual content in school libraries

Almost 80,000 people completed an online survey, the province says, to provide feedback on what standards should be in place regarding age-appropriate materials in a school library. 

The Government of Alberta said explicit sexual content is not permitted in school libraries, firming up guidelines for school boards after controversy.

The new standards announced Thursday look to address the situation where they provided four books that were inappropriate — either imagery or language — in high schools in Edmonton and Calgary in May.

Public feedback was sought to make changes to set clear expectations for school library materials with regard to sexual content and to implement those policies. 

Under the new standards, school libraries are not permitted to include library materials containing explicit sexual content. Non-explicit sexual content may be accessible to students in Grade 10 and above, provided it is “age-appropriate,” the government said in a press release. 

Policies from school boards must be available publicly by January 1, 2026

They must outline how school library materials are selected and reviewed, how staff supervise students’ access throughout the school day, and how a student, parent, school board employee, or other member of the school community can request a review or removal of materials in the school library.

“Protecting kids from explicit content is common sense. LGBTQ youth, like all children, deserve to see themselves in stories that are age-appropriate, supportive and affirming – not in material that sexualizes or confuses them,” said Blaine Badiuk, education and LGBTQ advocate, in the press release. 

Some critics believed the government was targeting LGBTQ materials with their crackdown on what is allowed in school libraries.

However, according to the GoA’s survey data, more people in each category didn’t want the province setting consistent requirements. Image taken from the survey linked earlier in the article.