Alberta to change rules to ensure books in schools are 'age-appropriate'

Jack Farrell · The Canadian Press

· Posted: May 26, 2025 1:44 PM EDT | Last Updated: 31 minutes ago

Alberta is bringing successful caller rules this autumn to guarantee lone "age-appropriate" books are disposable successful schoolhouse libraries.

Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said Monday the determination was spurred by 4 graphic coming-of-age novels, astir of which picture intersexual 2SLGBTQ+ content, recovered successful circulation successful Edmonton and Calgary nationalist schools.

Nicolaides, speaking successful Calgary, said a radical of parents had approached him with concerns astir the novels and authorities employees were sent to schools to corroborate the books were available.

"These materials incorporate nudity and graphic, explicit depictions of intersexual acts and images, including oral sex," Nicolaides said, adding determination was besides interest astir depictions of molestation, self-harm, cause and intoxicant use, and derogatory language.

The novels are each by American authors: Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, Blankets by Craig Thompson and Flamer by Mike Curato.

Nicolaides said the authorities is processing caller standards for schoolhouse officials to find the appropriateness of room materials. He said the state plans to person the caller rules successful spot successful clip for the adjacent schoolhouse year.

The authorities besides launched an online survey connected Monday to stitchery input from Albertans.

The survey, which is acceptable to adjacent June 6, features 13 questions, including however sexually explicit books should beryllium handled and if parental consent should beryllium required. It besides asks who radical deliberation should beryllium liable for determining if a publication is age-appropriate, with suggested options of teachers, librarians, different schoolhouse officials, parents oregon students.

The curate was adamant the authorities isn't embarking connected a wide publication ban.

Nicolaides said the authorities is gathering missing guardrails as determination is nary provincewide modular for determining age-appropriateness.

"I privation to beryllium wide close from the onset — this is not a question of banning circumstantial books oregon circumstantial titles but alternatively establishing wide policies and guidelines for each schoolhouse divisions to follow."

He said the authorities doesn't person the authorization to prohibition books from schools.

"We privation to guarantee transparency for parents, truthful that they cognize what is disposable successful their schoolhouse library, and to person a process for complaints and concerns astir publication materials and different room materials."

Nicolaides said the government's concerns are constricted to graphic images and depictions of intersexual activity. Themes and depictions of graphic unit are "probably not" an issue, helium said.

"That's wherever I deliberation we request to enactment to gully immoderate of those lines."

When asked if helium thinks caller standards would spot 2SLGBTQ+ circumstantial contented prohibited, Nicolaides said helium didn't deliberation so.

"This is not related to immoderate benignant of peculiar taxable area," helium said.

"If determination was a publication connected astrophysics that had graphic intersexual content, I would person the nonstop aforesaid concerns."

In a associated statement, trustees from the Edmonton and Calgary nationalist schoolhouse divisions said the government's announcement came arsenic a "complete surprise" arsenic nary concerns had been raised before.

"Both our divisions travel established, rigorous processes to guarantee that room resources are age-appropriate and applicable for students," said the statement, adding some divisions person processes successful spot for parents and different members of the assemblage to rise concerns astir content.

Both divisions said they person pulled the 4 graphic novels successful question from shelves portion the contented is reviewed. But a deficiency of connection from the authorities undermines the moving narration each has with the acquisition ministry, said the statement

A spokesperson for the Calgary Catholic School District said they are successful enactment of the government's program to stitchery feedback regarding age-appropriate books for schoolhouse libraries. 

The Alberta Teachers' Association issued a connection saying that portion it agrees it's critically important to marque sure materials stocked successful schoolhouse libraries are developmentally and age-appropriate, it has concerns that the government's attack could prioritize the views of peculiar involvement groups with predetermined agendas.

"It seems similar determination is nary coincidence that the government's announcement connected room materials specifically singled retired 2SLGBTQIA+ materials. The relation welcomes being included successful argumentation decisions concerning schoolhouse libraries and learning commons spaces," said relation president Jason Schilling. 

The teachers' radical besides said decades of what it called acquisition underfunding means school libraries are seldom staffed by "certificated nonrecreational librarians or, preferably, teacher–librarians, who tin assistance place and make guiding principles for the enactment of due materials."

The authorities said caller rules developed would use to public, separate, francophone, charter and autarkic schools but not municipal nationalist libraries.