TN: Another Bad Library Law

Tennessee is working on another example of performative nothingburger legislation.

SB 2407 is entitled the "Age-Appropriate Materials Act of 2022." This two and a half page gem is Governor Lee and the legislature GOP's attempt to get some traction over the rising panic over books.

The substance of the bill is as simple as it is thin. Each school must have a list of materials in the school library, and the list must be posted on line. The school must also have a process for accepting complaints about materials, and a process for regularly reviewing the materials in the library to make certain that the materials are appropriate for the "age and maturity levels" of the students as well as "suitable for, and consistent with, the educational mission of the school."

Yes, right now, all over Tennessee, school librarians and teachers are slapping their foreheads and exclaiming. "Age appropriate!!?? Golly whonkers, but I'd never thought of that!" Not to mention the librarians saying, "Yeah, a list of the stuff in the library. Never thought of that."

The bill offers no guidance or direction on how to define "age appropriate," leaving that definition entirely up to the local district.

That means that Governor Lee and the legislature can look like they're getting really tough on Naughty Books, without actually having any of the tough calls that land you in the news. 

And while I respect the fact that, for once, they've actually built in some respect for local control, they ultimately could have achieved the same effect by just not passing any law at all. Just a little "We know local districts are able to manage this" or maybe a nudge letter from the state ed department saying "If you don't have a policy for book challenges, you need to get one." But that wouldn't let the folks in Tallahassee look like they were being all tough on naughtiness. 

Will this create the kind of annoying busywork that so many of these transparency bills involve? I don't know how things are in Tennessee, but I know plenty of schools where the only step needed would be to add an interface with the school's card catalog program to the school website, and everything else is already in place. No, I think this bill is just some pointless puffery, a way to say to Moms for Liberty et al "Hey, we did something about this!"