Written by MAKIYA SEMINERA

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — After fiery debate, a North Carolina bill advanced through the state House on Wednesday that gives parents a bigger say in which books are allowed — or banned — from the state’s public and charter schools.

Now, the bill heads to the state Senate. The legislation had a short trip through the House as Republican lawmakers quickly ran it through committees the day before. It’s also an issue the Trump administration has signaled it supports.

A few days after President Donald Trump took office, the Education Department denounced what it called former President Joe Biden’s “book ban hoax.” The agency dismissed 11 complaints on book challenges and removed a coordinator charged with investigating those bans, saying it was the first step in “restoring the fundamental rights of parents to direct their child’s education.”

Book bans have reached record highs over the past five years, as several states across the country have passed their own legislation barring some subjects from school libraries and letting parents submit book challenges. Their supporters say book bans protect students from being exposed to explicit material in school and empower parents within school systems.

In some conservative states, teachers and librarians could face criminal penalties for what some consider “obscene” material found in public schools. Over the past year, a countermovement in Democratic-led states has outlawed book bans instead.

North Carolina’s bill would charge a public school superintendent with creating a “community library advisory committee” made up of five parents and five school employees. That committee would then make recommendations for which books or films should be approved or denied.

Those recommendations would be published on school websites, where community members could submit their own objections to content slated for approval. The governing body of the district, typically the school board, would then decide on the recommendations at a meeting, according to the bill.

A stand of books with queer subjects and/or authors at Epilogue Books in Chapel Hill, N.C. Some stories centered on LGBTQ+ characters or experiences have sparked parents’ requests for bans of books in school libraries, especially in recent years. (Photo by Madison Ward/Chapel Hill Media Group.)

Some GOP legislators spoke in support of the bill and adamantly denied that the legislation facilitated book bans. Instead, they said parents could choose to buy books or check out books from public libraries if they weren’t available at their school.

“This is not a book ban,” Cabarrus County Republican Rep. Brian Echevarria said. “This is putting things out of the reach of children.”

Several Democratic House members vehemently opposed the bill, saying it could lead to censorship within schools. They argued that lawmakers shouldn’t play a role in determining what books can be allowed in school libraries — which was met by applause from attendees in the chamber gallery.

“Let’s stop tasking our superintendents with edicts from Raleigh that drain their time from actually educating our children,” said Democratic Rep. Amos Quick of Guilford County.

Debate was eventually cut off by GOP leadership using a parliamentary procedure.

Schools that do not comply with the legislation could be subject to civil penalties by parents or residents who sue. The State Board of Education would also be responsible for maintaining a public database of library materials that have been rejected.

Related Stories
‹
'Where Do We Draw the Line?': NC Legislation Targets Public School Libraries
In this legislative session, North Carolina Republican lawmakers sponsored bills that would allow more control over public school libraries.
North Carolina Republicans Introduce Public Education Overhaul in Dwindling Days of Session
Written by HANNAH SCHOENBAUM As the North Carolina legislative session winds down and budget negotiations plod along, House Republicans are pitching an eleventh-hour overhaul of public education laws that would take power away from superintendents and the State Board of Education while giving parents and lawmakers more control. Republican committee chairs pulled the proposal — introduced earlier […]
North Carolina House Unlikely To Proceed With Education Overhaul, Speaker Says
Written by HANNAH SCHOENBAUM A sweeping education proposal that would take away power from North Carolina superintendents and the State Board of Education, placing it in the hands of public school parents, is unlikely to advance this session, the House speaker said Thursday. The 26-page bill, introduced last week but pulled from a committee agenda, would […]
North Carolina Measure Limiting LGBTQ+ Curriculum Heading to Governor's Desk
Written by GARY D. ROBERTSON North Carolina lawmakers on Thursday finalized legislation touted by Republicans as giving parents greater authority over their children’s public school education and health care, with limits on LGBTQ+ instruction in early grades a key provision. The Senate, which passed the measure the day after the House pushed through some alterations, […]
House Minority Leader Shares Thoughts on NC Primaries and General Election Strategies
North Carolina House Minority Leader Rep. Robert Reives joined 97.9 The Hill to reflect on primary Election Day results and trends.
'A Junk Pile of Bad Ideas': State Sen. Graig Meyer on How to Understand the NC Legislature
State Sen. Graig Meyer (D-Orange) discusses the latest developments in the legislature - and how we can understand them from the outside.
North Carolina Governor Says GOP Teacher Pay, Voucher Plans a Public Education ‘Disaster’
Written by GARY D. ROBERTSON and HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper launched a campaign Monday to try to beat back education and tax legislation from the Republican-controlled General Assembly that he said if enacted would crush North Carolina’s public schools and wobble the state’s economic future. “It’s clear that the Republican legislature is aiming […]
North Carolina GOP Again Seeking To Limit Racial Teachings
Written by HANNAH SCHOENBAUM A previously vetoed proposal advancing in the North Carolina House would restrict how teachers can discuss certain racial topics in the classroom amid a national GOP crusade against ideas they associate with “ critical race theory.” The bill, which passed Tuesday in the House Education Committee, would ban public schools from compelling students […]
Health Experts, Orange County Officials Share Concern for LGBTQ Wellbeing in Wake of NC Bills
The passage of two bills by the North Carolina General Assembly has drawn condemnation from some elected bodies in Orange County and local pediatric health experts alike for their anti-LGBTQ+ elements. The bills’ sponsors say the elimination of gender-affirming medical care for those under 18, as well as the requirement of educators to alert parents […]
NC Schools Agency Highlights Literacy Gains in Early Grades
Written by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Early-grade students in North Carolina’s public schools made marked improvements in reading and literacy skills during the last school year, outpacing students in other states evaluated with similar testing, the Department of Public Instruction said Thursday. The gains came during the first full school year of a new initiative contained […]
›