Assembly Bill A5416

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5416
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 14, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. FORREST -- read once and referred to the Commit-
   tee on Libraries and Education Technology
 
 AN ACT to amend the education law,  in  relation  to  requiring  certain
   libraries to maintain a collection of diverse books
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
 the "books save lives act".
   §  2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 286 to read
 as follows:
   § 286. ACCESS TO DIVERSE BOOKS. 1. FOR THE PURPOSES OF  THIS  SECTION,
 THE FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   (A)  "UNDERREPRESENTED  COMMUNITY"  SHALL  MEAN A GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS
 THAT SHARE A COMMON IDENTITY OR CHARACTERISTIC, AND DISCRIMINATION BASED
 ON SUCH IDENTITY OR CHARACTERISTIC IS PROHIBITED BY THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT
 OF 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000D), THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT  OF  1990
 (42  U.S.C.   12101), THE REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701), OR
 THE EDUCATION AMENDMENTS OF 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1651).
   (B) "DIVERSE BOOK" SHALL MEAN A BOOK CONTAINING  CHARACTERS  THAT  ARE
 PART  OF  AN  UNDERREPRESENTED  COMMUNITY,  INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
 INDIVIDUALS WHO:
   (I) ARE MEMBERS OF A RACIAL OR ETHNIC MINORITY GROUP;
   (II) ARE LESBIAN, GAY,  BISEXUAL,  TRANSGENDER,  QUEER,  INTERSEX,  OR
 NONBINARY;
   (III) ARE MEMBERS OF A RELIGIOUS MINORITY GROUP; OR
   (IV) HAVE A DISABILITY.
   2.  EACH  PUBLIC  LIBRARY,  OR  PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM, AND EACH SCHOOL
 LIBRARY, OR SCHOOL LIBRARY SYSTEM, THAT RECEIVES STATE AID  SHALL  MAIN-
 TAIN  A  COLLECTION OF DIVERSE BOOKS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO BOOKS
 THAT:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD07380-01-5
 A. 5416                             2
              

 
   (A) ARE WRITTEN OR ILLUSTRATED BY AN INDIVIDUAL WHO IS A MEMBER OF  AN
 UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITY;
   (B) ARE ABOUT AN UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITY;
   (C) PROVIDE INFORMATION REPRESENTING VARIOUS POINTS OF VIEW, ESPECIAL-
 LY REGARDING CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES;
   (D)  PROVIDE  INFORMATION  REPRESENTATIVE  OF THE COUNTRY'S MANY RELI-
 GIOUS, ETHNIC, AND CULTURAL GROUPS AND THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR SHARED
 HERITAGE;
   (E) INCLUDE CHARACTERS AND SETTINGS THAT REFLECT THE  RACIAL,  ETHNIC,
 CULTURAL,  RELIGIOUS, AND/OR GENDER AND SEXUAL IDENTITIES OF THE STUDENT
 BODY AND THE COUNTRY AS A WHOLE; OR
   (F) PROMOTE THE UNDERSTANDING  AND  APPRECIATION  OF  CULTURE,  CLASS,
 LANGUAGE,  RACE,  ETHNICITY, OR OTHER DIFFERENCES THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE
 DIVERSITY OF LIFE IN THE UNITED STATES.
   3. (A) ANY PERSON SEEKING TO PERMANENTLY REMOVE ANY  MATERIAL  FROM  A
 SCHOOL  LIBRARY SHALL SEEK THE FORMAL APPROVAL OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
 THROUGH A RECONSIDERATION PROCESS, AS DETERMINED BY SUCH BOARD OF EDUCA-
 TION. THE PERMANENT REMOVAL OF MATERIAL MAY ONLY BE AUTHORIZED  BY  SUCH
 BOARD OF EDUCATION FOLLOWING SUCH RECONSIDERATION PROCESS.
   (B)  ANY  DETERMINATION  BY SUCH BOARD OF EDUCATION THAT SUCH MATERIAL
 SHALL BE REMOVED:
   (I) SHALL BE BASED UPON THE EDUCATIONAL SUITABILITY OF  SUCH  MATERIAL
 IN QUESTION; AND
   (II)  SHALL  NOT YIELD ONLY TO PUBLIC DEMANDS OR IMPEDE THE OBLIGATION
 OF SCHOOL OFFICIALS TO PROMOTE PLURALISM AND DIVERSITY.
   § 3. Section 276 of the education law is amended to read as follows:
   § 276. Existing rules continued in force.  All existing provisions  of
 law  and  rules  established  by the commissioner [of education] for the
 management of public school libraries shall hold good as to the  manage-
 ment  of  such school libraries until altered by or in pursuance of law.
 SUCH LAWS AND  RULES  SHALL  INCLUDE  POLICIES  TO  ENSURE  THAT  SCHOOL
 LIBRARIES  AND  LIBRARY  STAFF,  INCLUDING  BUT NOT LIMITED TO CERTIFIED
 LIBRARY  MEDIA  SPECIALISTS,  ARE  EMPOWERED  TO  CURATE   AND   DEVELOP
 COLLECTIONS OF MATERIALS THAT PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH ACCESS TO THE WIDEST
 ARRAY  OF  DEVELOPMENTALLY  APPROPRIATE  MATERIALS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO
 PUBLIC SCHOOL LIBRARIES, INCLUDING  MATERIALS  THAT  MEET  THE  CRITERIA
 ESTABLISHED  PURSUANT  TO SUBDIVISION TWO OF SECTION TWO HUNDRED EIGHTY-
 SIX OF THIS PART.
   § 4. Subdivisions (f) and (g) of section 283 of the education law,  as
 added  by  chapter  348  of  the  laws  of  1984, are amended to read as
 follows:
   (f) encouraging awareness of the resources and services  available  in
 participating school libraries; [and] (g) cooperating with other library
 systems  in  resource  sharing and other activities; AND (H) THAT SCHOOL
 LIBRARIES AND LIBRARY STAFF, INCLUDING  BUT  NOT  LIMITED  TO  CERTIFIED
 LIBRARY   MEDIA   SPECIALISTS,  ARE  EMPOWERED  TO  CURATE  AND  DEVELOP
 COLLECTIONS OF MATERIALS THAT PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH ACCESS TO THE WIDEST
 ARRAY OF DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE MATERIALS  THAT  ARE  AVAILABLE  TO
 PARTICIPATING SCHOOL LIBRARIES, INCLUDING MATERIALS THAT MEET THE CRITE-
 RIA  ESTABLISHED  PURSUANT  TO  SUBDIVISION  TWO  OF SECTION TWO HUNDRED
 EIGHTY-SIX OF THIS PART.
   § 5. Section 273 of the education law  is  amended  by  adding  a  new
 subdivision 12 to read as follows:
   12. NO SCHOOL LIBRARY OR LIBRARY SYSTEM SHALL RECEIVE STATE AID PURSU-
 ANT TO THIS SECTION UNLESS SUCH SCHOOL LIBRARY OR LIBRARY SYSTEM, WITHIN
 NINETY DAYS OF THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SUBDIVISION:
 A. 5416                             3
 
   A.   ADOPTS THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION'S LIBRARY BILL OF RIGHTS,
 PURSUANT TO WHICH MATERIALS SHALL NOT BE PROSCRIBED OR  REMOVED  BECAUSE
 OF PARTISAN OR DOCTRINAL DISAPPROVAL; OR
   B. DEVELOPS A WRITTEN POLICY PROHIBITING THE PRACTICE OF BANNING BOOKS
 OR OTHER MATERIALS WITHIN SUCH SCHOOL LIBRARY OR LIBRARY SYSTEM.
   § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.