Classic literary books will remain on shelves, while materials with visual depictions of sexual acts will be removed from schools.
Children should never be exposed to images that show child molestation, sex toy use, penetration or other sexual acts at school. In response to a school board's proposed removal of more than 200 books, including classic works like Brave New World and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Alberta's government has updated its standards for school literary materials. The updated standards prevent misinterpretation and ensure that restrictions focus specifically on materials with explicit visual depictions of sexual acts.
"Our goal has always been to make sure students are not exposed to visually graphic sexual material in school libraries. I am confident we can meet that goal while making the process as simple and straightforward as possible for schools and teachers. The revised order will ensure that classic literary works remain in school libraries, while materials with explicit visual depictions of sexual acts do not end up in the hands of children."
Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister of Education and Childcare
Under the updated standards, school boards must remove any school literary materials that contain explicit visual depictions of a sexual act. To ensure the intent of the standards is clear and achievable, the updated order:
- Narrows the scope to focus strictly on explicit visual depictions of a sexual act.
- Requires school boards to be transparent about school literary materials.
- The school authority must establish and maintain a publicly available listing of all school literary materials other than those contained in a classroom collection.
- The school authority must ensure that the parents of the children or students who have access to a classroom collection are informed of the school literary materials contained specifically in the classroom collection.
- Extends the implementation date to January 5, 2026, to provide school boards with additional time for communication and preparation.
- Does not apply to material, whether in physical or electronic form, brought into the school by a child or student without the knowledge of any school authority employee.
By October 31, school boards must provide the minister with a list of literary materials they intend to remove in order to implement the standards.
With clear expectations for school boards, the new ministerial order will ensure the standards continue to protect young students from exposure to materials with inappropriate images as previously intended.
Quick facts
- The original ministerial order was approved at cabinet on June 17 and published on King's Printer on July 4.
Related information
- Ministerial Order
- School library standards engagement
- Reference Materials: Content warning: this document contains graphic content that may be disturbing to viewers and is not appropriate for young viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.
Related news
- New standards for school libraries (July 10, 2025)
- Strong support for school library policy (June 20, 2025)
- Ensuring age-appropriate books in school libraries (May 26, 2025)
