The South Carolina State Board of Education now has the authority to regulate the books on school shelves, rather than local school districts.
A new ordinance, which was automatically approved Tuesday, will now govern the selection of materials in schools and school libraries and dictate what is “age and developmentally appropriate” and “educationally appropriate” under state law. It claims to respect parental privileges and protect students, but critics call it “censorship” and worry about what it means for the future.
“Parents, educators, administrators, and communities are grappling with questions and concerns about the selection and use of age-appropriate, educational materials for K-12 students in public schools,” the policy proposal reads. “More and more disagreements have arisen regarding the suitability and suitability of different materials.”
The policy, proposed by state Education Superintendent Ellen Weaver, states that materials were not managed by a “statewide uniform process.” The plan was sent to the General Assembly in February, but remained generally untouched by both the House of Representatives and the Senate and was never debated or put to a vote. By law, lawmakers had 120 people to provide input before it became official.
“Under the current patchwork of district policies and practices, stakeholders are given an unequal opportunity to have their concerns addressed in a uniform, transparent manner,” the policy states.
It establishes a threshold for reviewing new materials to test their appropriateness and appropriateness for education, creates a process for local school boards to hold public hearings on complaints, and establishes an appeals process to the State Board of Education.
“I’m certainly in favor of local control, but I also know that half of our state education budget comes from the state, and with those investments comes responsibility,” Weaver said at an October meeting. “It is well within the authority and responsibilities under state law of this board to advise on age appropriateness and alignment with South Carolina instructional standards … that is what we will present before this board.”
Decisions of the state board will be final and binding on all school districts in South Carolina.
“South Carolinians today are less free,” Jace Woodrum, executive director of the ACLU of South Carolina, said in a statement. “By creating and promoting a broad new book ban policy, Superintendent Ellen Weaver has handed a blunt instrument to her ideological allies in the pro-censorship lobby. We still believe in academic freedom and, together with teachers, librarians, students and parents, we will fight tooth and nail against the ongoing campaign of harassment and intimidation in public schools and libraries.”
The ACLU said the policy “opens the floodgates” for pro-censorship groups that oppose academic freedom, such as Moms for Liberty and the state House of Representatives Freedom Caucus, to keep books in elementary and middle school classrooms and to challenge and ban libraries containing descriptions of “sexual behavior.”
Tamara Cox, acting president of the South Carolina Association of School Librarians, previously told The State that she was concerned about the policy because she did not know librarians were involved in drafting it.
“We already have local policies. The funding for the school library comes from local money. For me it would only make sense to (use) local policy. What a school in rural Chesterfield wants to buy may be different than a school in Columbia,” Cox said. “It gives the locally elected school board and local parents more control.”
Books from school libraries have become a point of contention for some conservative groups in recent years. School districts in counties across the state have faced challenges with books. In September 2023, the Lexington School District 2 reviewed 30 books in its libraries after complaints and removed at least 17. In October 2022, 97 were taken from the shelves of the Beaufort County School District for review, a lengthy process that ended in December 2023 with the removal of five books.
The state board already had the power to oversee the selection of textbooks and other course-related materials in public schools. But decisions about other books in classrooms and school libraries have until now been in the hands of local school boards.
The policy was first proposed just months after Weaver decided in August to cut ties with the South Carolina Association of School Libraries, ending a 50-year partnership.
In a letter to the organization, Weaver said the library association had created a “hostile environment” using “politicized rhetoric” to oppose efforts to remove books from school libraries.
“Parents have every right to ensure that the educational materials presented to their children are age-appropriate and consistent with the overall purpose of the South Carolina program of instruction and standards,” Weaver wrote. “When SCASL labels these efforts as prohibitions, censorship, or an infringement of teachers’ intellectual freedom, the result is a more hostile environment that fails to meet the needs of students.”
Weeks later, SCASL president Michelle Spiers resigned, in direct response to Weaver’s letter.
“Although the decision to step down as president of the SCASL has not been an easy one, it is a decision I have made to put the well-being of my family and myself first,” Spiers wrote in a statement to the State . “I remain committed to the work that SCASL does and will continue to support the organization and its members.”
