By Staff Reporter |

A Phoenix-area school district instituted a new policy requiring oversight of books in the classroom. 

Queen Creek Unified School District (QCUSD) began enforcing the policy in January after its governing board approved it unanimously in December.  

The policy required the district to restrict general access to materials containing sexually explicit content within school and classroom libraries; develop procedures for site-level review, inventory, and parental access to the inventory list of all classroom library collections; and establish an accessible opt-out procedure for school or classroom library materials not directly related to content, curriculum, or standards.

Although Arizona law has long prohibited exposing children to sexually explicit materials, Arizona libraries and schools continued to offer books containing sexually explicit materials under the defense of the necessity of educating children on topics of sexuality and identity. 

Books with sexually explicit content offered to minors in the past by school libraries throughout the state have included titles popular nationwide: “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson, “Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe, “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky, “Tricks” by Ellen Hopkins, “Looking for Alaska” by John Green, “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” by Jesse Andrews, “Crank” by Ellen Hopkins, “Sold” by Patricia McCormick, and “Flamer” by Mike Curato. 

QCUSD Board member Kelli Anderson introduced the classroom library oversight policy after recognizing that district policy on oversight extended only to school library books. In a press release, Anderson reported that the primary complaint from parents concerned the books brought into classrooms.

“Before this policy, complaints about classroom books were the number one issue I heard from parents,” said Anderson. “Since it went into effect, I have received zero complaints from parents.”

Anderson said QCUSD’s action should be adopted by all other districts in the state as best practice. 

“[A]fter listening to parents and reviewing our policies, it was clear there was a gap that needed to be addressed,” stated Anderson. 

Arizona Women of Action (AZWOA), a parental advocacy nonprofit and Arizona chapter of America’s Women, agreed with Anderson’s assessment. 

“This policy closes a major loophole and restores trust between schools and families,” stated AZWOA in a press release. “It empowers parents, supports teachers, and ensures students are learning in environments that are transparent and accountable.”

According to AZWOA, at least one parent has already reported seeing a difference in school handling of inappropriate books. That parent allegedly told AZWOA that his elementary-aged child’s school contacted him prior to the policy compliance deadline to recover a classroom library book deemed inappropriate under the new policy. 

The parent also reportedly said he wasn’t aware his child had access to such materials in the classroom. 

At the beginning of last summer, the Maricopa County Library District piloted a “parental choice” program at the Queen Creek library enabling parents to choose which books, if any, their child may not check out. 

Months later, in September, the county removed sex education books from the children’s sections to the adult non-fiction sections at 12 of its 14 libraries.

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