PRINTER'S NO. 1722
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
1506
Session of
2023
INTRODUCED BY FRIEL, GUENST, HOWARD, MADDEN, SANCHEZ, KHAN,
SCHLOSSBERG, PROBST, PIELLI, BELLMON, T. DAVIS, HILL-EVANS,
OTTEN, SALISBURY, BOROWSKI, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, BRENNAN AND
DONAHUE, JUNE 26, 2023
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, JUNE 26, 2023
AN ACT
Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
act relating to the public school system, including certain
provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
laws relating thereto," in terms and courses of study,
providing for prohibited review of curriculum, instructional
materials and voluntary inquiry material in public school
entities.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Article XV of the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30,
No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by
adding a subarticle to read:
(e) Prohibited Review of Curriculum, Instructional
Materials and Voluntary Inquiry Material in Public
School Entities.
Section 1561. Findings and declaration of policy.
The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
(1) The sharing of all ideas and the freedom to read are
essential for a strong democracy.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
(2) Suppressing the freedom to read and denying access
to literature, history and knowledge are antidemocratic
approaches that have only been employed by regimes seeking to
limit free speech and debate.
(3) The unreasonable restriction of access to books and
instructional materials in schools violates students' freedom
to learn and impairs their ability to think independently and
is contrary to the First Amendment to the Constitution of the
United States.
(4) Students have a right to access a diverse range of
age-relevant information, stories, perspectives and ideas.
(5) PEN America identified 457 books that were
challenged or banned in this Commonwealth from July 2021 to
July 2022.
(6) The Supreme Court has held that, as centers for
voluntary inquiry and the dissemination of information and
ideas, school libraries enjoy a special affinity with the
rights of free speech and press.
(7) In Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free
School District No. 26 v. Pico , the court noted that removal
of books is constitutionally permitted only if it is done
based on the educational appropriateness of the book, not
because it was intended to deny students access to books with
which school officials disagree.
Section 1562. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this subarticle
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Committee." An educational resource material review
committee established under section 1567.
20230HB1506PN1722 - 2 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
"Department." The Department of Education of the
Commonwealth.
"Instructional expert." A public school administrator,
instructional staff or school librarian with expert knowledge in
the subject areas in which they hold a certification.
"Instructional materials." Textbooks and supplementary
materials used as a part of required classroom instruction.
"Parent or guardian." A biological parent, adoptive parent,
legal guardian or other person with legal custody of a child.
"Public school entity." A public school, including a school
district, charter school, intermediate unit or area career and
technical school.
"Qualifying complainant." A student or a parent or guardian
of a student enrolled in the public school entity where a
complaint is filed.
"Qualifying complaint." A complaint concerning an
instructional material's literary or educational merit.
"Soft censorship." The removal of instructional and
voluntary inquiry materials outside of established processes.
"Voluntary inquiry materials." Nonfiction and fiction books,
magazines, reference books, supplementary titles, multimedia and
digital materials, software and instructional material and other
materials not required as part of classroom instruction.
"Weeding." The process of clearing the collections in the
library or media center of materials that have outlived their
usefulness.
Section 1563. Prohibited censorship.
(a) Removal.--Voluntary inquiry materials of sound factual
authority shall not be removed from library shelves or
classrooms due to any of the following reasons:
20230HB1506PN1722 - 3 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
(1) Partisan approval or disapproval.
(2) The author's race, nationality, gender identity,
sexual orientation or political or religious views.
(3) School board of directors' or complainants'
discomfort, personal morality or political or religious
views.
(4) The author's points of view concerning the problems
and issues of our time, whether international, national or
local.
(5) The race, nationality, gender identity, sexual
orientation or political or religious views of the
protagonist or other characters.
(6) Content that is relevant to the research,
independent reading interests and educational needs of older
students based on their age, development or grade level.
(7) Content related to sexual health that addresses
physical, mental, emotional and social dimensions of human
sexuality, including puberty, sex and relationships.
(b) Soft censorship prohibition.--Instructional materials
and voluntary inquiry materials shall not be removed from
circulation of a public school entity except in accordance with
the process outlined in section 1568. The following apply:
(1) Each public school entity and the department shall
furnish on their publicly accessible Internet websites a
censorship complaint form where qualifying complainants can
report experiences of materials removed or hidden without
abiding by the formal process outlined in this subarticle.
(2) The Secretary of Education or a designee shall
investigate reports of soft censorship.
Section 1564. Curriculum review by parents and students.
20230HB1506PN1722 - 4 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Public school entities shall adopt policies to ensure that
parents or guardians have the following:
(1) Access to information about the curriculum,
including academic standards to be achieved, instructional
materials and assessment techniques.
(2) A process for the review of instructional materials.
(3) The right to have their children excused from
specific instruction that conflicts with their beliefs, upon
receipt by the public school entity of a written request from
the parents or guardians.
Section 1565. Qualifying complaints on instructional materials.
(a) Written request.--A qualifying complainant shall remit a
written request to the school principal, teacher, certified
school librarian or relevant staff member regarding an
instructional material. A separate request must be submitted for
each instructional material.
(b) Assistance.--The teacher or staff member may offer to
assist the parent or guardian or student to find an alternative
to the instructional materials that would better meet the needs
and interests of the parent or guardian or student.
(c) Removal.--Materials shall not be removed or restricted
from use by other students as a result of individual qualifying
complaints.
Section 1566. Powers.
The responsibility for selection, purchase and weeding of
voluntary inquiry materials shall be delegated by the board of
school directors to the instructional experts employed by the
school entity.
Section 1567. Qualifying complaints on voluntary inquiry
materials.
20230HB1506PN1722 - 5 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
(a) Removal.--A board of school directors or administrators
of a public school entity may not remove voluntary inquiry
materials that have been challenged outside the process outlined
in section 1568.
(b) Establishment.--Each intermediate unit shall establish
an educational resource material review committee. The selection
of the committee shall be the responsibility of the
superintendent advisory council of the intermediate unit.
(c) Membership.--An educational resource review committee
shall minimally consist of the following individuals associated
with the intermediate unit:
(1) Principal.
(2) Director of curriculum or similar position.
(3) Certified school librarian from the public school
entity or other school entity if the entity has no certified
school librarian.
(4) The superintendent or a designee of the
superintendent.
(5) Faculty members from an elementary, middle and high
school located within the intermediate unit.
(6) Special education director.
(d) Selection.--Members must be selected from multiple
school districts with no more than two members from a single
school district.
Section 1568. Process.
If a qualifying complaint cannot be resolved informally
without removing the voluntary inquiry material from
circulation, the following guidelines shall be followed:
(1) The principal or designee shall furnish the
qualifying complainant with a district form for
20230HB1506PN1722 - 6 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
reconsideration of materials. The form shall require a
qualifying complainant to explain the objection to the
material's literary, educational value or age appropriateness
and include an attestation that the qualifying complainant
has read the voluntary inquiry material in its entirety. The
qualifying complainant shall file the objection with the
educational resource review committee.
(2) A qualifying complainant can submit one complaint at
a time. Complaints are limited to 10 complaints per year for
each qualifying complainant.
(3) Voluntary inquiry material shall not be removed from
the collection until the review process is complete.
(4) The educational resource review committee shall
establish a process and criteria for reconsideration that
includes, at a minimum:
(i) Reading and examining the voluntary inquiry
material in question and the submitted request for
reconsideration.
(ii) Communicating with the individual making the
request for reconsideration and clarifying the
objections.
(iii) Checking general acceptance of the material by
reading authoritative reviews and conducting other
research as necessary.
(iv) Evaluating the positive and negative aspects of
the voluntary resource material as a whole, not on
selected passages read out of context.
(v) Preparing a report that includes a
recommendation regarding the request for reconsideration.
(vi) Preparing a minority report should the
20230HB1506PN1722 - 7 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
committee fail to reach an agreement.
(vii) Submitting each report to the superintendent
of the school district in question no later than 60 days
after the reconsideration is filed, unless an exception
is granted by the board of school directors.
(5) In the event that the committee's findings support
removal or restriction based on the age appropriateness of
the materials, a copy of the report shall be submitted to the
department for the department's evaluation and concurrence.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
20230HB1506PN1722 - 8 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10