Despite Alberta’s Minister of Education implementing province-wide standards for material in school, the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) says it already has processes in place to ensure books are appropriate.
Last week, Minister Demetrios Nicolaides laid out the province’s plan to have school boards review books in their school libraries to ensure they didn’t contain sexually inappropriate material for the age group.
While some school boards may be scurrying over summer break to meet the province’s Oct. 1 deadline, the CBE said they were prepared.
“The CBE already has rigorous processes to ensure that library resources are age-appropriate and relevant for students. Our practices are guided by principles such as those outlined in the Foundations for School Library Learning Commons in Canada: A Framework for Success (Canadian School Libraries, 2023),” a CBE-issued statement read.
“We also have clear mechanisms in place for any member of the school community to bring forward concerns about specific resources.”
Both the CBE and Edmonton Public School Board (EPSB) said they were shocked when Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides announced his intention to review guidelines for school book selection in May.
This time around, the minister said that districts were informed 90 minutes before the announcement.
“It’s my practice to always provide our school boards and other partners with notice before any kind of announcement like this is made. So that was done when we first announced our intent to develop new standards, and that was done just now,” Nicolaides said.
“An hour and a half ago, upstairs, I had a roundtable conversation, I think there was about 160 attendees on the call, where I was able to walk them through what the announcement was that I was about to make, and give them an opportunity to ask questions.”
After the announcement, the CBE said they will be taking time to review the new provincial standards to understand what adjustments may be required to their policies and processes to align with this Ministerial Order.
The CBE was unable to provide a list or number of books to be removed.
In a statement, the Calgary Catholic School District, or CCSD, said that it remains committed to supporting student success and well-being.
“As always, the Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) follows the direction of Alberta Education and will align with the new mandated standards for school libraries,” the statement read.
“CCSD also has an established Administrative Procedure, AP 251 – Instructional Resources, which outlines how resources are selected. CCSD remains committed to supporting student success and well-being in safe and caring learning environments where students can reach their full potential, centred in Christ.”
