Right to Read Legislation

Freedom to Learn Advocates Proudly Announces Support for Model Right to Read Statute Legislation

February 12th, 2024

Today, Freedom to Learn Advocates (FTLA), proudly announces its endorsement of model “Right to Read” legislation that aims to protect students’ and educators’ First Amendment rights and work to prevent censorship in schools and libraries.

FTLA strongly supports statutes like the proposed Model Library Bill of Rights that will create clear rules and procedures around challenges to books while upholding libraries’ discretion in collection development. Under the model law, books may not be removed until the conclusion of a transparent review process, providing due process for both complaints and materials. “Students have a right to read, and authors have a right to be read. No specific group or ideology should dictate what books and information others can access,” said Rory Steele, FTLA’s Executive Director. “We support Right to Read laws that defend the freedom to read against viewpoint-based censorship while providing fair processes for concerned parents and community members.”

The model legislation would also allow affected parties – like students, parents, librarians, and authors – to legally challenge attempts to ban books. School board members could face fines for engaging in censorship.

FTLA is calling on legislators across the country to introduce Right to Read bills in our state capitals to protect Constitutional freedoms, combat censorship, and uphold the values of equal access to education in the face of a troubling rise of recent book banning and educational gag orders in the United States over the past several years.

About the Model Library Bill of Rights

The Model Library Bill of Rights Statute is designed to serve as a state law backstop to Americans’ Constitutional First Amendment rights. It will guarantee appropriate library material selection and removal processes and allow affected parties to challenge censorship in state court with the benefit of clear rules and procedures.

• Covered Rights Include:
  • Students: Right to Read
  • Author, Publisher, and Bookseller: Right to Be Read
  • Librarian/Educator: Right to be left alone

A shield for librarians, not a sword – preserves librarians and educators discretion to determine the content of their collections.

• • No liability for librarians/educators
  • Librarians are not required to add any specific library material

• Non-partisan:
  • Districts cannot censor based on disagreement with ideas, regardless of political ideology

• Due Process for Book Challenges:
  • Requires school boards and their members to own their decisions rather than scapegoating librarians
  • Books stay on the shelves; challenged materials stay in libraries until the conclusion of any review or appeals process, including litigation
  • A decision to remove or suppress access to books must a) include a rationale and b) be appealable for review

• Enforcement:

Rather than relying on government authorities, the Model Bill creates a private Right of Action for a new tort of Censorship.

• • Personal skin in the game; school board members can be fined personally for censorship
    • Like public records and data privacy laws
  • No Passing the Buck
    • School boards or their board members cannot seek insurance coverage of legal expenses if they lose a claim
    • School board members cannot be indemnified by a district if they lose a claim
    • No library funds can be used to satisfy a judgment
  • Librarians subjected to discipline or termination for refusing to censor can get their job back and obtain damages
  • Attorney’s fees: Prevailing plaintiffs can recover reasonable attorney’s fees and costs

And for a more detailed sample of this model legislation, please see below.

Freedom to Learn Advocates Library Bill of Rights

• For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
  1. The term “Library” means: classroom, school, academic, public, prison, or special Library.
  2. The term “Libarian” means: an employee who is responsible for the purchase, selection, curation, removal, and display of Library Materials.
  3. The term “Weeding” means: moving or removing Library Materials based on recognized, nonideological professional standards such as MUSTIE (Misleading; Ugly; Superseded; Trivial; Irrelevant; Obtained Elsewhere).
  4. Government Body. The term “Government Body” means: any government decision-making body, such as a school or library board, that exercises authority over the purchasing, selection, curation, and location of Library Materials at the village, county, city, town, municipality, district, special district, and other such local political subdivision levels.
  5. Government Actor. The term “Government Actor” means a member of a Government Body with voting authority.
  6. Library Materials. The term “Library Materials” means: books, videos, databases, newspapers, magazines and other such periodicals, charts, graphs, movies, games, maps, interactive applications and software, and other such enrichment or entertainment materials in any printed or electronic format, inclusive of fiction and non-fiction.
  7. The term “Block” means: prohibit acquiring a specific title or subject matter.
  8. The term “Suppress” means: imposing barriers to access. It includes:
     1. Interfering with the purchase of works;
     2. Hiding, removing, restricting access to, or restricting searchability of works;
     3. Requiring parental opt-in to access works;
  9. The term “Censor” means Block or Suppress on the basis of disagreement with ideas or concepts. It includes, but is not limited to: objections to depictions of race, gender, sexuality, religious, or political views.

• Right to Read.
  1. Authors and publishers have a right to communicate their ideas to anyone who is interested in hearing them. Students and Library patrons of all ages have a corresponding right to encounter them without government interference.
  2. Librarians have significant discretion to determine the content of their collections to ensure that they meet pedagogical, informational, and other enrichment needs of their communities. They are not required to add or remove any specific Library Material to their collection as long as their discretion in content selection and weeding is not exercised in a narrowly partisan or political manner.
  3. A decision to Block or Suppress Library Material must be appealable for review by a Government Body. Library Materials will remain in libraries until the conclusion of any review process, including any appeals or legal challenges. A substantive rationale for Blocking or Suppressing Library Material must be memorialized by the Government Body in writing and made publicly available.

• Private right of action.
  1. An Anti-Censorship claim is established under this section when a Government Body:
     1. Censors or orders others to Censor Library Materials.
     2. Imposes discipline or terminates a school or library employee for refusing to Censor Library Materials.
  2. A librarian who has been subjected to discipline, termination, or threats of discipline or termination for refusing to Censor Library Materials may bring an Anti-Censorship action in any court of competent jurisdiction for any damages, including punitive damages, and for declaratory and injunctive relief and such other remedies as may be appropriate against a Government Body.
     1. A Government Actor may be personally sued outside of their official capacity for actions taken in furtherance of Censorship of Library Materials that directly result in Censorship. No defense of Qualified Immunity shall apply.
     2. A Government Body may not use funds that would otherwise have been used by a Library to pay damages, attorneys’ fees, or other related costs.
  3. A student, or their parent or guardian, may bring an Anti-Censorship action in any court of competent jurisdiction for declaratory and injunctive relief against a Government Body that enforces Censorship of Library Materials. Damages shall be a minimum of $500 dollars per censored work but shall not exceed $5,000 per censored work.
     1. Students, or their parents or guardians, may only challenge Censorship within a school they, or their child, attends.
     2. A Government Actor may be personally sued outside of their official capacity for actions taken in furtherance of Censorship of Library Materials that result in Censorship. No defense of Qualified Immunity shall apply. Damages shall be a minimum of $500 dollars per censored work but shall not exceed $5,000 per censored work.
     3. A Government Body may not use funds that would otherwise have been used by a Library to pay damages, attorneys’ fees, or other related costs.
  4. An author, bookseller, or publisher whose Library Materials have been subjected to Censorship may bring an action in any court of competent jurisdiction for declaratory and injunctive relief against any Government Body that enforces Censorship of Library Materials. Damages shall be a minimum of $500 dollars per censored work but shall not exceed $5,000 per censored work.
     1. A Government Body may not use funds that would otherwise have been used by a Library to pay damages, attorneys’ fees, or other related costs.
  5. In any Anti-Censorship action, the court shall grant a prevailing plaintiff reasonable attorney’s fees and related costs, including expert fees. A Government Actor sued in their personal capacity shall be jointly and severally liable.
  6. Affirmative Defense. A Government Actor, or member thereof, acting under direct compulsion from binding state or federal government authority shall not be liable for Censorship.
  7. Non-Insurability. 
     1. If a plaintiff prevails in a claim of Censorship, a Government Body may not look to an insurer for coverage of legal expenses (including attorneys fees, settlement payments, damages, and other costs).
     2. If a plaintiff prevails in a claim of Censorship, Government Actors may only look to reimbursement from a Government Body or the insurer of a Government Body to cover legal expenses if they did not vote for, or otherwise act in furtherance of, Censorship.
  8. Statute of Limitations. Any action or proceeding to enforce this section shall be commenced no later than one year after the date on which the violation of this section is committed.